Hydrogen sulfide production during fermentation

Thomas, C. S., Boulton, R. B., Silacci, M. W., Gubler, W. D. (1993) The effect of elemental sulfur, yeast strain, and fermentation medium on hydrogen sulfide production during fermentation. American Journal ofEnology and Viticulture, 44, 211-216. 

Rankine (6, 38) believes that the differences in the secondary products formed in wines during fermentation by various yeasts are quantitative rather than qualitative, and careful selection of pure yeast strains can eliminate wine disorders caused by large amounts of undesirable by-products such as hydrogen sulfide, mercaptans, acetaldehyde, acetic acid, ethyl acetate, higher alcohols, etc. 

Among the oenological yeasts added during alcoholic fermentation, some strains of S. cerevisiae can use organic compounds to produce hydrogen sulfide and sulfites or the intermediate product of methionine (Zambonelli, 1988). These strains can use other sulfur-containing molecules, such as several of the pesticides employed in viticulture. 

Seasonal Variation in the Production of Hydrogen Sulfide During Wine Fermentations... 

Hydrogen sulfide and methanethiol are directly produced by yeast metabolism. The production of H2S during alcoholic fermentation is controlled by the enzymes responsible for reducing sulfates and biosynthesizing certain sulfur amino acids (cysteine and methionine) (Figure 8.19). Methanethiol is synthesized by yeast from methionine (De Mora et al., 1986). 

Sea, K., G. Butzke, and R. Boulton. 1998. Seasonal variation in the production of hydrogen sulfide during wine fermentations. In Chemistry of Wine Flavour. A.L. Waterhouse and S.E. Ebeler (Eds.), pp. 81-95. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC. 

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