In this interview from September 11th, 2024, Jose-Maria Heras, the Technical Director of Lallemand Oenology, shares insights with La Prensa del Rioja about the company’s journey and innovations in the wine industry. With 50 years of expertise in wine yeasts and 35 years of experience in malolactic fermentation, Lallemand Oenology has pioneered new practices and developed natural products that optimise wine quality from vine to bottle.
What did these milestones mean for the world of wine ?
Jose-Maria
When the company started providing winemakers with selected active dry yeasts and selected freeze-dried bacteria, it was a revolution. Since 1974, our commitment to R&D has led us to pioneer new practices and develop natural products for growers and winemakers to maximise the potential of the grape throughout the winemaking process, optimising the quality of the wine from vine to bottle, and reducing the use of chemicals and additives. This brings added value to the world of winemaking.
Our experience in the production of microorganisms in dry form has grown over time. We have developed various production processes adapted to evolving market demands and have contributed to secure fermentations, which have greatly helped to improve wine quality and stability. These include the YSEO® process for wine yeasts and MBR® and 1-STEP® for wine bacteria. Moreover, we have perfected our expertise in the production of different inactivated yeast fractions. These specific yeast derivatives now play a crucial role in the entire winemaking process, from the vineyard to the bottle.
As the only company that controls from A to Z – from the selection of micro-organisms to production – the natural solutions offered to the market, we continuously invest in innovation, and have achieved many milestones that have contributed very positively to the wine industry and wine quality.
How has the industry changed over the years and how has Lallemand contributed ?
Jose-Maria
Over the past 50 years, the wine industry has evolved a lot and continues to evolve today. The wine sector combines tradition and innovation, and our role is to support winegrowers and winemakers in producing quality wines that consumers buy and enjoy, while respecting the style, origin and individuality of each wine. Winegrowers and winemakers are very concerned about the impact of climate change that has started in the last 25 years, as well as the need to reduce the use of certain chemicals in their process, from the vineyard to the bottle, and to produce a quality product with a certain style/profile that meets the expectations of consumers.
Our contribution is multi-faceted and is the result of responsible collaborations with all stakeholders in the sector, i.e. our R&D partners and local institutes, our distribution partners, experts on wine market trends, and of course the winegrowers and winemakers. Thanks to our long-term investment and pioneering spirit, we have achieved several important milestones and breakthroughs for the wine industry :
If you look at our innovations since 1974, the first one that showed our focus on collaboration with research institutes was the first wine yeast with the competitive factor (killer K2), a yeast still widely used today.
Our extensive selection programmes, again in collaboration with local research institutes, have resulted in one of the most abundant private collections of wine yeast and bacteria cultures today. This is important for winemakers, who can choose, within our portfolio, from many different isolates with unique characteristics for their winemaking until the desired style is achieved. All these unique wine yeasts are extensively characterised, which is exceptional in the world of wine, for example by knowing the nitrogen requirements of our wine yeasts (an innovation at the time, the result of collaboration with INRAe in Montpellier), oxygen consumption, SO2 and H2S production, etc.
In parallel, we innovated with the selection of non-Saccharomyces yeasts for bioprotection, aroma complexity and bioacidification, the latter being an excellent tool to mitigate the loss of freshness in wines. This exploration into biodiversity was a natural continuation of our selection programmes, and has offered winemakers new and different options for winemaking.
Thirty-five years ago, we first introduced our freeze-dried bacteria to control malolactic fermentation in sparkling wine. Subsequently, we developed specific wine bacteria for direct inoculation, which then, in the first decade of the 2000s, led us to intensively develop the technique of co-inoculation of yeast and bacteria in the must, which is now successfully used all over the world.
Thanks to the diversity of phenotypes of our selected wine bacteria, we were the first to demonstrate that some of them contribute effectively to driving the sensory profiles of red or white wines. Recently, we have also led the way with the production of the first L. plantarum (ML PRIME™) capable of achieving very rapid malolactic fermentation without risk of volatile acidity production, particularly suitable for high pH wines.
And this is just in terms of live micro-organisms. Our knowledge of the characteristics of the different yeast fractions led to the development of the first sterol-rich protectant for use during rehydration of active dry yeast, and later to the introduction of the first organic nutrients from 100% yeast autolysates that are highly effective and constitute an essential tool for preventing fermentation problems.
Our pioneering spirit has also allowed us to develop since 2000 the first specific inactivated yeast to help increase mouthfeel in red wines, glutathione-rich yeast derivatives to prevent oxidation of musts and white and rosé wines, or to develop specific inactivated yeasts to be applied in the vineyard to protect against the impact of climate change, to name but a few examples.
In 2006, we launched our first viticulture research programmes. This led, in 2014, to the creation of our first products in the LalVigne™ range, as an extension of the work we had been doing to understand the microbiology of wine. Through our research, we have developed products to mitigate the effects of climate change on the plant, protecting it against water stress, abiotic and extreme weather events, as well as fungal or microbial diseases. One more way to contribute to the development of the wine industry.
Our major milestones and breakthroughs for the wine industry can be found here: Our history – Lallemand Wine
What do you see as the main challenges facing the wine industry?
Jose-Maria
The wine sector faces many challenges, starting with the trend towards lower wine consumption worldwide. Younger generations are focusing more on other types of beverages with less alcohol, or non-alcoholic beverages, which is a real break from what their parents and grandparents used to do.
At the other end of the spectrum, there is also an increase in the premiumisation of wine. All these changes have an economic impact on the wine industry and directly affect wineries, and with the rising cost and reduced availability of labour, and rising energy costs, profitability is threatened. Wineries have to cope with these problems, without compromising the quality of their wines, while at the same time responding to consumer demands. This is where things get complicated, because we must avoid the ‘shortcuts’ that are sometimes opportunistically proposed through the use of new practices that reduce costs, but at the expense of reducing the quality of the wine.
Climate change and the extreme weather phenomena it causes can threaten a once-a-year harvest, water scarcity and water saving are also a concern. Being sustainable is an important goal for wineries around the world. The wine industry needs to rethink the whole process, from the vineyards to the packaging and transport of wine, by adopting more sustainable practices.
Trade barriers and geopolitical issues disrupt the global wine market, and new regulations such as wine labelling, health and environmental standards need to be adapted. The adoption of new technologies and AI must also be within our immediate objectives, and will need to be combined with our natural intelligence during winemaking processes.
How can Lallemand help meet these challenges?
Jose-Maria
Meeting these challenges requires a multi-faceted approach involving innovation, investment in sustainable practices, regulatory compliance and adaptation to changing market dynamics. For example, our solutions are studied in relation to the impact of climate change. We develop practices and products that help wineries reduce their energy consumption. Co-inoculation with selected bacteria at the beginning of alcoholic fermentation has been shown to eliminate the need to heat tanks for subsequent MLF and therefore reduce energy needs and, as a result, the winery’s carbon footprint. Furthermore, our vineyard solutions with products from the LalVigne™ range are part of a sustainable approach to viticulture. These solutions are bio-based, 100% organic and aimed at controlling diseases, improving vine adaptation and resistance to water deficit and accelerating plant recovery after stress episodes, and have a direct impact on wine quality and sensory.
Our solutions are increasingly market and consumer oriented, diversifying our offerings in terms of wine style trends and catering to the preferences of younger generations, as well as focusing on premium wines.
Most importantly, our innovations to respond to new challenges are the result of scientifically proven solutions, tested and verified in real winemaking conditions and in collaboration with multidisciplinary technical teams. Our investment in research and applications is inspired by the reality that winemakers and winegrowers face on a daily basis, without falling for easy solutions that are attractive from a marketing point of view, but have no scientific basis behind them, which erode the confidence of winemakers. This is why Lallemand Oenology is the most reliable partner for winemakers. They know they can rely on our solutions for their wines.