a b s t r a c t
As a traditional alcoholic beverage, Chinese rice wine is quite popular for its unique flavor and high
nutritional value. In this study, we investigated the changes of flavor compounds in varying stages of
fermentation by HS-SPME-GC-MS and HPLC. In addition, 16s rDNA-PCR was utilized to analyze the
changes of bacterial communities during fermentation of Chinese rice wine from the Shaoxing region. It
was noted that the content of flavor compounds including esters, higher alcohols, amino acids and
organic acids was different in varying stages of fermentation. In general, the flavor compounds of Chinese
rice wine were mainly produced after pre-fermentation. The results also showed that the bacterial
community structures and diversity of Chinese rice wine varied significantly during different fermentation
stages, and more than 10 genera of bacteria was detected in Chinese rice wine fermentation broth.
Among these specific bacteria identified in the study, Lactobacillus (the predominant genus) and Bacillus
might take an active part in flavor development in Chinese rice wine. This implied that these bacteria
might play significant contributions on the flavor of Chinese rice wine.