The aim of this chapter is to characterize the wastes generated by the production of fruit wine, separating them into two main categories of liquid and solid waste. The liquid stream consists mainly of the wastewater generated by the wine and distillery industries, which is characterized by a high organic load. A concise overview of the treatment processes applied to winery wastewater is given, with a focus on the usage of biological methods and membrane technologies. In evaluating organic solid waste generated from fruit wine production the unavoidable fruit waste quantities and their characterization are considered. The principal methods for valorization of the fruit wastes are emphasized, with a focus on the elaboration of new products and materials as well as their applications. A sustainability-related life cycle assessment method is used to verify the proposed wine fabrication routes, weighing the environmental impact of fruit production as well as that of wine packaging.

Humans have been making and consuming wine from the time immemorial. Most of the wines produced in the world are undoubtedly made from grapes and the technique of winemaking has developed by hit and trial until the fundamental of microbiology, biochemistry, food science especially sensory science could be developed and applied. Fruits other than grapes are also used to make wine. This chapter focuses on the specific features of making table wine from non-grape fruits, viz., pome fruits, stone fruits, berries, citrus fruits, and tropical fruits. The pome fruits include apple, pear, quince, cotoneaster, hawthorn, loquat, medlar, Pyracantha, toyon, rowan, and whitebeam while apricots, plums, peaches, and cherries are the major stone fruits. Among the colorful fruits, are the berries such as blackberry (Rubus sp.), black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis), blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon), red raspberry (Rubus idaeus), strawberry (Fragaria×ananassa), etc. Citrus fruits include orange, lime, lemon, and kinnow, among others, whereas there are hundreds of edible tropical fruits. All these fruits are nutritious, tasty, and flavorful; are very good sources of anthocyanins/carotenoids, minerals like K, Na, Ca, Mg, and Fe, and vitamins, especially vitamin C; are juicy/pulpy in nature; and have appealing color; but their sugar and acid contents vary. In addition, many fruits are good sources of polyphenols that contribute to their antioxidant activities. Being highly perishable, these fruits have to be either consumed immediately or preserved in one or another form, and conversion of such fruits into wine of acceptable quality could save these precious resources from postharvest losses to a greater extent. Consequently, the production of wine from these fruits is receiving a lot of attention these days, with the added advantage that they contain antioxidants, considered useful in preventing cardiovascular diseases.

Since 1995 there has been rising interest in the production of fruit wines, as evidenced by the high number of published papers and books covering this matter. The range of colors, textures, flavors, and compounds present in these fruits is attractive for the production of wine, which may contain many compounds beneficial for health as well as being a way to use an overproduction of fruit, decreasing losses and adding value to the fruit. When aiming to produce quality fruit wines, it is essential to evaluate the analytical parameters of the beverage. These analyses, whether physical (e.g., pH, density), chemical (e.g., ethanol, acids, carbohydrates), microbiological (e.g., presence of desirable yeasts and bacteria, presence of contaminating microorganisms), or sensory (product acceptance), are performed during the fruit wine production process and on the fruit wine itself to establish and ensure wine identity and quality standards. In this context, there are a large number of analyses for the evaluation of wines and fruit wines. This chapter addresses methodologies used in the analysis of fruit wines, emphasizing those related to the quality of the beverage, as a discussion of all the methodologies would be unreasonable for a book chapter. For better organization, methodologies are grouped into physicochemical analysis (Section 2), chromatographic analysis (Section 3), microbiological analysis (Section 4), and sensory analysis (Section 5) and are addressed encompassing the classic and current concerns.

Fortified and sparkling wines are produced and consumed all over the world, primarily from grapes. Vermouth is a type of fortified wine, also known as “aperitif wine,” prepared from the base wine by adding mixture of herbs and spices or their extract. Different parts of various plants (herbs and spices) such as seeds, wood, leaves, bark, or roots in dry form or their extract are used in preparation of vermouth. Preparation of vermouth from fruits such as mango, apple, plum, sand pear, and wild apricot has been standardized and documented. A sparkling wine is a wine with carbon dioxide added (not less than 5g/l at 20°C), produced by secondary fermentation in closed containers such as a bottle or tank to retain the carbon dioxide produced. Attempts to prepare sparkling wine from other fruits such as plum and apple have also been made successfully. Quality-wise, vermouths and sparkling wines made from nongrape fruits have also comparable physicochemical characteristics and acceptable sensory qualities. In this chapter, a comprehensive review has been made on the technology for the production of these types of wines from nongrape fruits and their quality characteristics. Besides this, the chapter also discusses the commercial potential of nongrape fruits for the production of these types of wines.

Wine represents one of the most important alcoholic beverages in the world with a continuously growing global market currently sized at 25billion liters, of which fruit wines have a share of approximately 2%. To satisfy and maintain market needs a steady production of raw materials to end products is demanded. Therefore, intensive cultivation of land, harvesting of the goods, and manufacturing for the production of commercially available products commodities is being implemented. Fruit winemaking is a timed multistage process generating a considerable amount of waste. Conventional treatment of fruit wine waste is requesting significant amounts of effort, resources and energy mainly involving landfilling, landspreading, waste processing in treatment plants and recycling as animal feed. These methods, apart of being costly and possibly environmentally unsafe, they do recover neither energy nor valuable resources contained in fruit wine waste, leading to substantial losses in the current economic climate. Therefore, the need to recycle, reuse, and recover energy and valuable chemicals from waste and wastewater becomes apparent. Valorization of fruit wine waste is possible when introducing the concept of biorefinery, ergo the use of the waste as bioconversions for feedstock to produce platform chemicals, fuels, heat, and energy.

Like almost all human endeavors, wine production is the result of both insightful creativity and serendipity. Without innovative developments over innumerable generations, wines as we know them would not exist. The result was the transformation of a wild, somewhat sweet, acidic fruit into a salubrious and healthy beverage, to the delight of all willing to savor its delights.

There are two main features that can distinguish fruit winemaking from the grape wine technologies: difficult extractability of the soluble components from the fruit pulp and different concentrations of sugars and organic acids. These obstacles can be resolved using novel methods and techniques. Emerging technologies such as pulsed electric fields (PEF) and ultrasound (US) treatment have been demonstrated to offer a notable potential and selectivity for extraction purposes. Application of microwave technology for fruit juice extraction can serve as an alternative method to traditional crushing and pressing. Membrane separation is considered an essential part of fruit wine processing, which can be successfully scaled up to the industrial level. Membrane bioreactor technology is already applied to the production of aromatic compounds and flavor and stabilizer molecules in the wine industry. The important features of the biocatalytic membrane reactors that have to be further developed on the large scale are the immobilized enzyme stability and the lifetime. Knowledge-based control strategies have to be established for these industrial applications. Finally, various preservation processes such as treatments via high hydrostatic pressure, US, PEF, and high-pressure CO2 can be effectively used in modern wineries.

Fruit wines are fermented alcoholic beverages made of fruits other than grapes; they may also have additional flavors taken from other fruits, flowers, and herbs. Fruit wines can be still or sparkling. Different types of fruit wines are produced worldwide and include low alcohol “cider style,” dry, or “off-dry” fruit wines; sweet fruit wine; cryoextracted fruit wines; fortified or “Port-style” fruit wines; and sparkling fruit wines. The main steps of the fruit wines technology include the following: fresh or frozen fruit reception; fruit must extraction and preparation by crushing, pressing, clarifying, and amending; fruit must fermentation; conditioning and conservation; and aging. The fruits should have high sugar and low acidity characteristics, which should be adjusted when needed. A properly adjusted must is the key for a good fruit wine. The use of yeast as starter culture will improve the fruit wine characteristics. Fruit wines should be aged in a cellar at least six months and consumed within three or four years. This chapter includes traditional fruit wine recipes made of berry fruits, stone fruits, tropical/exotic fruits, citrus fruits, and pome wines.

The aim of this chapter is to describe the biodiversity of microorganisms used in fruit wine production and compare it to the grape winemaking microflora. The microbial diversity is approached in relation to the main fermentative processes occurring during fruit winemaking: the alcoholic fermentation and malolactic fermentation, respectively. The description emphasizes the Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeasts (Candida, Hanseniaspora, Torulopsis, Pichia, Kloeckera, etc.) involved in the alcoholic fermentation, as well as their killer potential. Special attention is given to the lactic acid bacteria occurred during spontaneous or conducted fermentation.

Wine by definition is a beverage made of the fermented juice of grapes or any other fruit and usually contains 7–15% alcohol by volume (Amerine, 1980). It is also made from vegetables, berries, fruits, herbs, flowers, or honey. Agricultural wines are produced from substrates other than the fruit juices (https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/27/24.200). Water, sugar, or both, may be added within a limited amount for the production of agricultural wine. Agricultural wine may or may not be flavored or colored; however, hops may be used in the production of such wines. Flower wine has been enjoyed since ancient times. Some examples of agricultural wines are honey wine, flower wines, etc. There are reports of making wine from a number of flowers but that is only at the home scale and just for the sake of hobby (Fessler, 1971; Keller, 2007). In this chapter, some important agricultural wines from mahua, honey, rhododendron, sweet potato, tomato, whey, and cocoa will be discussed.