Despite the advances in the molecular characterization of oenophages, the role of these viruses in the wine ecosystem is still not clearly defined. Some oenophages would be able to induce O. oeni growth inhibition and malolactic fermentation failures (MLF) in red wines, even at low pH, while others on the contrary would not affect MLF, probably due to their potential inactivation, total or partial, by wine conditions, such as low pH, ethanol above 5% (v/v) and/or sulfur dioxide content. It has been also reported that monomeric phenols of wine, especially caffeic acid, would affect the oenophages infective capacity. On the same way, other wine phenolic compounds might act against O. oeni phages since they are inhibitory to animal or bacterial viruses. Actually, the risk of MLF failure associated to phage attack is difficult to assess and may be neglected. A better understanding of the phage-host interaction and impact of the environment is needed to point out the factors which govern the activity of oenophages in wine. In this context, we investigated the effect of wine phenolic compounds on the lytic activity of O. oeni bacteriophage and our data suggest an interference of some molecules with the early step of the lytic cycle.