Microbial community succession and volatile compounds changes during spontaneous fermentation of Cabernet Sauvignon ( L.) under rain-shelter cultivation.

Microbiota succession in spontaneous fermentation of Cabernet Sauvignon cultivated under the rain-shelter was characterized, with open-field cultivation as the control. For both cultivation modes, , , and were the principal fungi, and , , and were the prevailing bacteria. Rain-shelter reduced the abundance of , , , , and . During fermentation, fungal microbiota diversity in samples from the rain-shelter cultivation decreased more drastically than the control ( < 0.05). In terms of the correlation between microbiota and volatile compounds production, the abundance of , , , , and were positively correlated with the production of esters and higher alcohols. Instead of bacterial microbiota, fungal community succession exhibited a positive correlation with the final wine volatiles under the rain-shelter cultivation. These findings demonstrated rain-shelter cultivation influences the succession pattern of microbial communities and in turn impacts the wine aromas and flavors.