Starter Yeast Selection and Utilization for the Production of Fermented-Fruit-Derived Beverages: Methodologies and Recent Advances

: The production of fermented beverages using different fruits has attracted increasing interest due to evolving consumer preferences (e.g., health consciousness and demand for low-alcohol products) and technological advances in the production process. Yeasts play a fundamental role in determining the sensory, chemical and functional properties of these beverages. This review aims to summarize the latest scientific publications on the selection and use of Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces starter yeasts for juice processing. It illustrates and discusses the most recent findings on isolation and characterization techniques, from phenotypic screening to sophisticated 'omics' approaches, which allow precise identification and engineering of yeast strains. The impact of various inoculation strategies, such as single-strain inoculation, sequential inoculation, and co-fermentation with different strains, is analyzed according to its effect on the quality and complexity of the final product. Recent advances in the application of genomics and metabolomics to re-evaluate fruit by-products highlight the importance of innovation in developing new, sustainable, diverse fermented fruit beverages.