GB2085469A

GB2085469A - Manufacture of sugar cane wine

Info

Publication number: GB2085469A
Application number: GB8126632A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: JOHNSON HYMAN EARL
Current assignee: JOHNSON HYMAN EARL
Priority date: 1980-09-02
Filing date: 1981-09-02
Publication date: 1982-04-28
Also published as: ZM7180A1; GB2085469B

Abstract

A potable wine comprises the fermentation product of material consisting of or containing sugar cane juice. In a preferred manufacturing process, sugar cane juice is acidified to within the range pH 3.3 to pH 3.6 by the addition of acidic fruit juice, such as citrus fruit juice, alone or with one or more of: acetic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid and malic acid. The sugar cane juice is then fermented by yeast. The fermented sugar cane juice is then preserved, cleared, filtered and bottled. Fruit e.g. grape may also be present, and amino acid, e.g. glycine, or diammonium phosphate may be added.

Description

SPECIFICATION Manufacture of sugar cane wine This invention is concerned with the manufacture of wine, using sugar cane as the principal raw material.

According to this invention a potable wine is provided which comprises the fermentation product of material consisting of or including the juice of sugar cane.

The word "wine" in isolation refers to wine that has been made from grape. If any other raw material is used, the name of the material from which it is made must precede the word "wine" in describing the product. It follows that, in this specification, "sugar cane wine" refers to wind made essentially from sugar cane.

In countries where "wine" by definition must contain fruit, fruit may be added to the sugar cane juice in order to comply with the legal requirements.

Sugar cane wine may be blended with grape wine, fruit wine or any other wine.

Grape is a temperate zone product while sugar cane is produced in the tropical or subtropical zones. Because the tropical and subtropical areas lag behind in development, it is not surprising to find sugar cane products exported as raw materials for other industries such as sugar refineries and food processing industries, instead of being manufactured into finished products. Enough grape wine is produced to provide each of the 4000 million inhabitants of the world with 8 bottles of wine per year.

25 million acres of land are under grape production.

The origin of wine is lost in antiquity, but wine existed throusands of years before Christ. Wine has been identified as the blood of Christ. There are so many types of wine, that any attempt to classify them all would prove virtually impossible.

In the countries where sugar cane is produced or can be produced, it is or can be the lowest priced material that may be used in wine production. Not only is the material the lowest priced in terms of unit weight or volume, but also in terms of the unit weight or volume of wine produced from the sugar cane.

Like grape, sugar cane may be converted into wine with the aid of very little in the way of additives. The processing is far less complicated than that involved in the manufacture of rice wine.

Further in accordance with this invention there is provided a preferred process for the manufacture of sugar cane wine comprising the steps of: extracting the juice from cut sugar cane, acidifying the sugar cane juice to a pH value within the range 3.3 to 3.6; and fermenting the sugar cane juice with yeast.

The pH of sugar cane juice is 4.8. That of grape is 3.0 to 4.0. Those fruits and other materials from which wine may be made, must be acidified before fermentation if they are alkaline or only slightly acid.

Berries and citrus fruits are very acid with pH below 3.7.

The composition of various materials useful in wine production is set out below: TABLE Composition of Some Materials that are Suitable for Use in Wine Production In terms of 100 grams edible portion Carbo Food hydrate energy Moisture Protein Fat Inc. fibre Fibre Ash calories percent grams grams grams grams grams BANANA (RIPE) 88 77.0 1.5 0.1 20.6 0.9 0.8 GRAPE 62 82.7 0.6 0.4 15.8 2.0 0.5 ORANGE (SWEET) 43 88.0 0.6 0.4 10.5 0.6 0.5 PINEAPPLE 47 86.8 0.4 0.1 12.4 0.5 0.3 RICE 327 13.3 20.9 0.9 60.7 4.8 4.2 SUGAR CANE 75 77.5 1.8 0.8 17.9 2.0 2.0 There follows a detailed description of the preferred method of making sugar cane wine according to the invention given by way of example only.

The sugar cane is reaped from the field, then taken to the wine factory. The juice is extracted by pressing the cane between rollers. Sulphur dioxide is added to retard the growth of undesirable nonalcohol producing yeasts.

The batch is then acidified by the addition of acid fruit juice such as that obtained from citrus. This may be used alone or in conjunction with one or more of the foliowing acids -- acetic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid or malic acid.

The pH must be reduced to between 3.3 and 3.6. Yeast has been grown in a small vessel in order to get the batch off to a fast start is then added. The yeast grown in this way is known as the starter. It is grown in a smail amount of the material that is to be fermented.

The fermentation of the starter may be speeded up by warming and by pumping air through it.

Yeast foods such as glycine or other amino acids, or diammonium phosphate may be added to the batch. If there is excessive foaming, a suitable antifoam may be added.

The temperature should be maintained below 29.40 C, preferably between 21.1 0C and 29.40C.

If the wine becomes "stuck", that is, ceases to ferment while fermentable sugar remains in the solution, fermentation may be restarted by cooling if the temperature is too high, by aeration and by addition of yeast and yeast food such as diammonium phosphate.

If dry wine is required, fermentation is carried to its finaiity. Potable alcohol may be added to preserve and fortify it.

If sweet wine is required, fermentation may be stopped when the desired percentage of alcohol has been attained.

In both cases of sweet and dry wine, preservation may be carried out by pasteurisation alone, or in combination with additives such as sorbic acid, copper sulphate or sodium bisulphite.

Additives such as egg white, agar, isinglass or copper sulphate may be introduced to clarify and stabilise the wine.

Diatomaceous earth, bentonite or any other similar substance may be added before filtering as a filter acid.

Excess acidity may be adjusted by the addition of calcium sulphate, calcium carbonate or sodium carbonate.

The wine is then filtered and may be bottied or left to age again. If it is left to age a second time, it must be filtered again before it is bottled. Permissible colouring materials such as caramel may be added to impart the desired colour to the product.

Activated charcoal is a suitable additive if decolourising is necessary. It must be added before filtration.

Sugar in the sugar cane juice is converted to alcohol during fermentation. The end product cannot, therefore attain a higher percentage of alcohol than is possible when the sugar is converted to alcohol.

It may be necessary to add a fermentable substance such as cane sugar or sugar cane juice that has been concentrated by evaporation in order to ensure that the percentage of sugar that is in the solution at the beginning of and during fermentation is adequate to meet the alcohol requirement of the finished product.

In the case of sweet wine, the final sugar requirement must also be taken into consideration.

The maximum yield of ethyl alcohol from sugar is 48.4 percent. If before fermentation 25 percent of sugar is in the solution, the maximum amount of alcohol that can be in the end product on completion of fermentation is 25 percent of 48.4, that is, 12.1 percent.

If there is to be 12.1 percent of alcohol and 5.0 percent of sugar in the end product, the solution must contain 30 percent of sugar This amount of sugar may be added at the start of or any time during fermentation. Not more than 5 parts of sugar per 1 00 parts of the solution may be added after fermentation has ceased.

Sugar cane wine may be distilled and the alcohol obtained used to fortify the product or fortification may be carried out by the addition of potable alcohol that has been obtained from any other raw material.

Claims

1. A potable wine comprising the fermentation product of material consisting of or including the juice of sugar cane.

2. A wine according to claim 1 in which the said material also includes fruit.

3. A wine according to claim 1 or 2 fortified by the addition of potable alcohol distilled from the fermentation product of material comprising the juice of sugar cane.

4. A process for the manufacture of a potable wine which comprises fermenting a material consisting of or including the juice of sugar cane.

5. A process according to claim 4 comprising the steps of: extracting the juice from cut cane sugar, acidifying the sugar cane juice to a pH value within the range 3.3 to 3.6, and fermenting the sugar cane juice with yeast.

6. A process according to claim 5, in which the acidification of the sugar cane juice is achieved by the addition to the sugar cane juice of acidic fruit juice, alone or in conjunction with one or more of acetic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid and malic acid.

7. A process according to claim 5 or 6 in which the yeast is added to the acidified sugar cane juice in the form of a starter culture in acidified sugar cane juice.

8. A process according to any of claims 5 to 7 in which one or more amino acids or diammonium phosphate or both is added to the sugar cane juice.

9. A process according to claim 8 in which the amino acid is glycine.

10. A process according to any of claims 5 to 9 in which the temperature of the sugar cane juice is held below 29.40C.

11. A process according to claim 10 in which the temperature of the sugar cane juice is held above 21.10C.

12. A process according to any of claims 5 to 11 in which an antifoaming agent is added to the sugar cane juice.

13. A process according to any of claims 5 to 1 2 further comprising one or more of the steps of: pasteurising the fermented sugar cane juice; adding to the fermented sugar cane juice one or more of sorbic acid, copper sulphate, sodium bisulphite, potable alcohol, egg white, agar, isinglass, activated charcoal, calcium sulphate, calcium carbonate, sodium sulphate, a colouring agent, diatomaceous earth and bentonite; filtering the fermented sugar cane juice; bottling the fermented sugar cane juice.

14. A process for the manufacture of sugar cane wine substantially as decribed.