'FrootZen™' - the first Pichia kluyverii yeast for winemakers

FrootZen is a double breakthrough innovation for winemakers:

1) it is the first ever commercial product based on a selected strain of the natural wine yeast Pichia kluyverii, a non-Saccharomyces yeast found in 'wild ferments' and selected for its ability to boost fruit flavours through a more efficient use of 'flavour precursors' compounds naturally present in grapes skins and converted by yeasts during the alcoholic fermentation into flavours. 

2) it is the first ever 'frozen yeast for winemakers'... Through and amazingly innovative production process Chr. Hansen has been able to deliver a wine yeast winemakers can innoculate directly into their must: no more rehydration, no more acclimatation, no need to check water temperature, less risk to make mistakes during yeast rehydration and finally less stuck or sluggish ferments! Isn´t it a fantastic news for winemakers?

FrootZen is a Pichia kluyverii product to be used in sequential inoculation with winemakers favorite standard yeast... there is no need to change the vinification process in the winery.

The product is ready to be inoculated into musts and will then start a smooth alcoholic fermentation until alcohol level reaches 4% v/v. Then it is time to inoculate a Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The good news is that winemakers do not need to change their standard yeast... as one of them mentioned to us ''FrootZen is a fantastic product: it gives fruiter flavours, they last forever and I didn´t need to change the way we were used to work in the winery! Great job... great product... to finally get great wines!''

FrootZen has been selected to increase fruit flavour intensity and complexity in white wines and rosé wines... Sauvignon blanc, Riesling, fruit driven Chardonnay, Vermentino for instance.

Pursuing its strategy of offering natural, high value specialty yeasts and malolactic cultures to the wine industry, Chr. Hansen once again launches a breakthrough innovation within enology: A frozen, direct inoculation Pichia kluyveri yeast product for winemakers producing aromatic and fresh white or rosé wines.

Viniflora^® FrootZen™ is the best example of what bio-diversity can provide to the winemakers to differentiate wines, increase food safety and facilitate the overall winemaking process by good management of both the alcoholic and malolactic fermentation, resulting in better, safer authentic wines

Viniflora^® FrootZen™ is based on a yeast strain - Pichia kluyveri – found naturally in grape juice but never commercially used in enology until now. It is a direct inoculation product (no rehydration) containing 20 years of know-how developed within Chr. Hansen.

”The use of this strain helps to bring out the flavor precursors contained in grape juice more efficiently when associated with traditional yeast available on the market today, which boosts tropical fruit notes; it also increases the mouth-feel of the final wine and delivers long lasting fruit flavours which increases the wine’s complexity in a very sustainable way,” explains Hentie Swiegers, Head of Chr. Hansen’s Wine Innovation Department.

FrootZen is particularly suitable for Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Chardonnay.