Wine and Hard Cider Research

WARC is actively working on research to improve grape winemaking, hard apple cider and fruit winemaking to support the local wineries and cideries in MT.  The general goal is to help craft beverage makers get the most flavor and profits out of MT-grown fruit. Research supported by USDA and Montana Department of Agriculture.

The purpose of this study:

1) Improve the quality and values of fermented products made from cold-hardy fruit with expanding cultivation in the state of Montana.

2) Increase profitability in wineries and cideries by finding optimal amount of fruit required and extract additional value by utilizing left-over fruit material, such as pomace and pulp.

In replicated research trials, we are evaluating various methods (Figure 1) for improving our local wine and cider including:

A. Fruit Processing & Preparation:
    Strategies included:

• • Adding value to the fruit material left-over after pressing (apple pomace and grape skins and seeds).  This left-over fruit can still contain great flavor and be made into fermented products such as ciderkin and piquette.
  • Juice extraction methods (steam juicer, juicer, wine press); Fruit preparation by Accentuated Cut Edges technique (fruits are run through a fruit mill/blender to mechanically cut into smaller fragments) and Maceration (soaking skins in juices).
  • Figuring out the optimal dilution of fruit wines. While grape and apple juice has a good balance of sugar, acids, and flavor that allows it to be directly make into fermented products, many other fruits (e.g. cold hardy berries like Haskap/Honeyberry and Black Currant) are too acidic and low in sugar to make a balanced wine or cider.  The fruit (juice or crushed fruit) are typically mixed with water and sugar to improve flavor, but little is known about what ratios give better color, aroma, and flavor.
  • Types and varieties of fruit wines evaluated 

B. Evaluating Fermentation Additions:

Different yeast strain impact on fermentation process and products; Enzymatic Treatment to improve clarity and enhance flavor or taste; Fermentation Condition Optimization.

Figure 1.  Methods applied for WARC fermentation research.

The importance of this study:

• Grapes:

Northern cool-climate grapes are relatively new and may require new approaches to make high-quality wines.  The grapes and wines frequently contain excessive acid due to the short,  cool growing season. We are working with wineries to refine recipes and methods for these new grape varieties.

• Apples:

Local craft cideries are looking to branch out from traditional cider making methods to capture new consumers and trends and to deal with limited supplies of traditional cider apple varieties. They also want to get the most out of apple varieties that thrive in MT climates, including heirloom apple varieties.

• Fruit wines:

Fruit wines produced from Montana adapted fruits like Haskap, Currants, Aronia, and Dwarf sour cherry are popular but have almost no research-based knowledge to improve and optimize current wine recipes. Research areas include how extract juice, how much fruit or juice to use in wine, supplemental enzyme utilization, or flavor optimization. Increasing customer preference toward products containing superfruits like Haskap, Currants, Aronia, Elderberry, and Cherry could increase the market for MT-grown fruit crops.

2022-2023 Research Summary

Selective Results

Haskap serial dilution fermentation: Haskap juice: Water (v/v) ratio of 1:1 and 1:2 did not influence fermentation processes; 1:4 to 1:5 dilution fermented slower than higher concentrations of Haskap juice. Reinoculation of yeast and yeast nitrogen nutrient had solved the stuck fermentation problem. Small amounts of haskap juice in fermentation must still had promising taste and colors.

Figure 2: Serial dilution from 1:1 Haskap Wine

McIntosh apple cider fermentation: This research is the first study of McIntosh apple cider fermentation using different must treatments. The starting materials included standard pressed juice, the common cider fermentation material, mash, direct from the apple shredder both with and without pectinase additions, and finally pomace. These four treatments caused multiple differences from the standard hard ciders from juice, starting with the apple must characteristics, following through the fermentation processes, and carried into the final ciders.

Publication
Zhuoyu Wang, Andrej Svyantek, Zachariah Miller, Bridgid Jarrett, Ashley Kapus (2023) Haskap juicing method effects on haskap juice quality. Appl. Sci. 13, 10784. https://doi.org/10.3390/app131910784.

Additional Resources

Fruit Wine evaluations 2021