## 1 Introduction  
Low alcohol wines (\(\leq\)10.5% vol) are novel products that for multiple reasons (modern lifestyle, social reasons, economic motives, etc.) have gradually been gaining the consumers' and market's interest over the last decade [1]. Based on their alcoholic strength, these products may be categorized as dealcoholized (\(<\)0.5% \(v/v\)), low alcohol (0.5-1.2% \(v/v\)), reduced alcohol (up to 6.5% \(v/v\)), or lower alcohol wines (up to 10.5% \(v/v\)), although this distinction may vary among different regions [2; 3]. Low alcohol wine manufacturing can be accomplished by relying on pre-fermentation vineyard strategies (application of growth regulators, decrease of leaf-area-to-fruit-mass ratio, harvest date selection, etc. ), which, however, require balanced actions, and the outcome is hard to predict [4]. On the other hand, application of post-fermentation physicochemical treatments (membrane systems, vacuum or osmotic distillation, spinning cone technology, and supercritical carbon dioxide extraction) is more efficient, but also known to affect the wine characteristics negatively [1; 2]. Color loss and diminished aroma or taste characteristics have been noticed between various discrepancies in the final products, especially when ethanol removal \(>\)2% vol is sought [2; 4]. In the last decades, industrial winemaking has been relying heavily on the use of yeast cultures, thus avoiding stuck or sluggish fermentations, and ensuring better production control and repeatability [5; 6]. Regardless of the practical advantages, the continuous use of a limited number of commercial yeast strains could lead to diminished diversity, loss of typicality and flattening of wine sensory characteristics among the final products [7; 8]. Modern approaches, however, follow the consumers' preferences for wine with a unique character and thus many professionals have employed the use of wild Saccharomyces_ or even non-_Saccharomyces_ strains [9; 10; 11], aiming to link their products with a specific \"terrori\". \"Terroir\" was initially associated only with grape variety, and regional ground and climate conditions, but recent works have highlighted the microbiological aspect of this term, emphasizing the contribution of microorganisms (present in fermentation) to the wine's final characteristics [6; 12; 13]. After alcoholic fermentation completion, wines traditionally produced are usually subjected to malolactic (ML) fermentation, aiming to reduce acidity, microbial stabilization, modification of sensory attributes, etc. [14]. Nevertheless, fermentation failures or delays are not uncommon, and thus the use of mixed cultures (yeasts and malolactic bacteria) for simultaneous alcoholic and ML fermentation is suggested [15]. In this vein, kefir culture (a mixture of yeasts, lactic acid bacteria, and occasionally acetic acid bacteria) originating from the traditional drink \"kefir\" (produced in the Caucas regions of Russia) [16], has been previously immobilized on natural supports (apple pieces, delignified cellulosic material (DCM), and grape skins) and successfully used in low alcohol wine fermentations at a wide temperature range [14; 17; 18]. Worldwide, freeze-dried cultures remain steadily preferred to wet cultures, due to advantages associated with protection against microbial contamination, longer preservation times, easy to handle products during storage, etc. [19]. However, taking into account the lower equipment cost and energy demand, as well as the lack of expensive cryoprotectants and zero risk of remaining cryoprotectant residues in the final product, the application and commercialization of simpler methods, like thermal drying, is necessary [20; 21].