The Brewing Process
The brewing process is divided into five stages: pretreatment, fermentation, blending, filtration, and finished product packaging.
What is Fruit Wine?
Fruit wine is a type of wine that is brewed by fermenting the sugar in the fruit with yeast. It is a wine with a fruity flavor. Many fruits can be used to make fruit wine, such as plums, grapes, bayberries, kiwis, and more. The natural yeast found on the skin of these fruits, along with some sucrose, allows for fermentation without the need to add additional yeast. However, traditional methods of brewing fruit wine are often time-consuming and can lead to contamination. Therefore, adding active yeast is an ideal way to brew fruit wines.
The Traditional Fermentation Method
In the traditional fermentation method, fresh, ripe, non-rotten fruits are mashed or juiced. Sugar and wine yeast are added, and fermentation begins. After 10-15 days of fermentation, the wine undergoes pressing, filtration, clarification, and sterilization. This process produces the finished fruit fermented wine. If you want to make fruit spirits like brandy, you would need to distill the fermented fruit liquor using small distillation equipment.
Various fruits such as grapes, apples, pears, oranges, and kiwis can be used to make fruit wine.
Characteristics of Traditional Fermentation
- After fermentation, the residual sugar content is very low, making it convenient for storage and management.
- The bulk wine matures and has a mellow taste, long aftertaste, and a delightful wine aroma.
- Due to the long fermentation time, there is no sugar left in the original liquor, resulting in a rich flavor.
- The fruit aroma is strong, but the process is more complicated.
Immersion Method
The immersion method, also known as soaking wine, is a traditional practice in China and plays a significant role in Chinese medicine and healthcare. In this method, high-grade wine is mixed with rock sugar and fruits. Fruit soaking wine is a product made by combining high-grade wine with rock sugar and fruit. It works well for fruits with less juice content, such as hawthorn, sour dates, red dates, bayberries, lychees, and cherries. The characteristics of the immersion method are:
- Easy to operate
- Maintains the fresh aroma of the fruit
- Better color
- Low cost
- Less susceptible to microbial contamination due to the high alcohol content
- Speeds up the dissolution of certain components and provides good stability, but may lack mellowness and have a slight alcoholic bite.
Combination Method of Fermentation and Soaking
In the combination method of fermentation and soaking, there are three ways to brew high-quality fruit wine:
Fermentation Process
In this method, bulk wine is prepared through the fermentation process, and another batch of bulk wine is simultaneously prepared through soaking. The two kinds of bulk wine are then immediately combined and stored at a room temperature of 15-16°C. They can be stored for a specific period and mixed according to the desired wine characteristics. This method combines the advantages of soaking and traditional fermentation while avoiding their shortcomings. The proportion of each type of bulk wine can be adjusted based on the desired fruit aroma or taste mellowness.
Soak First and Then Ferment
In this method, the fruit is first soaked. After preparing the soaked original wine, the fruit hawthorn is mixed with sugar water, and yeast is added for fermentation in a fermentation tank. The fermented original wine and the soaked original wine are then combined. This method produces fruit wine with a strong fruit aroma, safe and stable fermentation, and is suitable for fruits with low juice content, particularly for making sweet and semi-sweet fruit wines.
Planning to Build a Brewery?
Now that you know the brewing process for fruit wine, you can turn your dream into a reality. Starting your own craft brewery can be challenging, especially if you’re new to the industry. You can contact us, and our engineers will provide you with professional solutions and turnkey beer equipment. Whether you’re planning to open a brewery or expand an existing one, we can design and manufacture brewery equipment tailored to your brewing process. We offer complete turnkey solutions and customized options. We look forward to working with you!
