Acetic acid, phenylethyl ester synthesis

As part of their metabolism, all yeasts are known to produce a wide range of esters such as ethyl acetate, isoamyl acetate, isobutyl acetate, ethyl butyrate, ethyl hexanoate, ethyl octanoate, ethyl decanoate, and 2-phenylethyl acetate (Nykanen and Nykanen, 1977 Soles et al., 1982 Edwards et al., 1990 Webster et al., 1993 Rojas et al., 2001 2003 Plata et al., 2003 Lee et al., 2004). Esters are synthesized through reaction of alcohols (commonly, ethanol) and carboxylic acids by different acyltransferases or ester synthases (Mason and Dufour, 2000). Factors that affect ester synthesis include grape maturity, sugar content, fermentation temperature, and juice clarity (Houtman et al., 1980a 1980b Edwards etal., 1990). 

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