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Enhancing red wine complexity using novel yeast blends The influence of yeast on wine composition has been well established, particularly for white grape varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc where key aroma compounds are released from flavourless precursors during fermentation. Different yeast species, and indeed different strains of the same species, produce varying amounts of important flavour-active compounds such as esters, higher alcohols, volatile fatty acids and volatile sulfur compounds. This means that commercially available Saccharomyces cerevisiae wine strains can be used to impart aroma profiles consistent with specific wine styles (AWRI publication #1514), and some wines made by spontaneous fermentation can contain a more complex mix of flavour compounds (AWRI publication #1123). What options are there if a winemaker is aiming for ‘complexity ’ but doesn’t want the risks associated with spontaneous fermentation? And how can a winemaker optimise the production of flavour-active metabolites that require pathways present in more than one yeast? Saccharomyces interspecific hybrids are providing options to enhance wine diversity while retaining fermentation performance (AWRI publications #1304, #1527). Additionall