Development of Melon Wine Products and Repeated-Batch Fermentation

This study aimed to develop melon wine through fermentation technology in order to increase the value of melon. Two varieties of melon, Momo (orange pulp) and Kimoji (green pulp), were used for wine production. The effect of dilution of extracted melon juice by water at 1:0, 1:1 and 1:2 ratio and fermentation duration at 2, 3, 5 and 7 days were studied. It was found that green-pulp melon juice could be processed into wine product faster than orange-pulp melon juice. The optimal conditions were dilution ratio of extracted melon juice with water at 1:2 and fermented with commercial yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae for 2 days. The melon wine received an average liking score of 7 on a nine-point scale indicating acceptable sensory quality. This study also attempted to increase wine fermentation efficiency and reduce the cost of inoculum preparation by performing repeated-batch fermentation. The repeated-batch fermentation using the culture broth as the inoculum for the following batch could be performed up to 4 cycles with high fermentation efficiency. This method not only reduces the inoculum preparation cost but also shorten the fermentation time. To improve the taste, the green melon wine was formulated by adding concentrated melon juice at wine to juice ratio of 2:1. The formulated green melon wine showed better taste and received higher average liking score of 7.3.