Peptides as antioxidant, taste-active, and antimicrobial agents in wine: Current evidence and technological perspectives

Abstract Background. Peptides have long represented an overlooked wine fraction with limited perceived technological impact. Recent advances in omics approaches have enabled a deeper investigation on the peptides released in wine during fermentation and ageing on lees, revealing their potential as a reservoir of antioxidant, antimicrobial, and taste-active compounds capable of influencing wine quality. Scope and approach. This review discusses current evidence on the technological properties of wine peptides with a focus on the ones released by the yeasts, while also briefly addressing further potential bioactivities and outlining future research perspectives. Key findings and conclusions. Growing research on wine oxidative stability indicates that peptides, either intrinsically present or added through yeast derivatives, can act as nucleophilic and radical-scavenging agents, thereby enhancing wine resistance to oxidation. Peptides also appear able to directly influence taste and mouthfeel, and to participate in wine flavor interactions, especially when ageing on lees is applied. Furthermore, several wine microbiology studies attribute antimicrobial activity to specific peptide sequences produced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae against O. oeni and oenological non-Saccharomyces species, including the spoilage Brettanomyces bruxellensis, highlighting opportunities for biocontrol. Overall, further work is needed to clarify grape- and yeast-derived contributions to the wine peptidome and to better explore its composition and functional roles, as the ability to preserve and/or modulate this fraction could support more sustainable wine quality management.