Grape-juice

When properly made, grape-juice is the undiluted, unsweetened,
unfermented juice of the grape and contains no preservatives,
fermentation being prevented by sterilization with heat. The product
is as ancient as wine, and, therefore, as the cultivation of the vine,
for all wine-making peoples have used new wine or grape-juice as a
beverage. For centuries physicians in wine-making countries have
prescribed grape-juice as it comes from the wine-press for certain
maladies, the treatment constituting an essential part of the
grape-cures of European countries. The process of making an
unfermented grape-juice that will keep from season to season as an
article of commerce is, however, a modern invention, and is the
outcome of the discoveries of the last half century regarding the
control of the agents of fermentation.

The manufacture of commercial grape-juice in America, to which country
the industry is confined, began as a home practice following the
fundamental processes of canning fruit. Toward the close of the last
century, several inventive minds discovered methods of making a
commercial product and began developing markets for their wares. The
beginning of the present century found the new industry in full swing,
since which time its growth has been truly marvelous. In 1900 the
amount of grape-juice made in the United States was so small as to be
negligible in the census report of that year. By 1910, the annual
output had reached for the whole country over 1,500,000 gallons and at
present writing, 1918, it is well above 3,500,000 gallons per annum.
The manufacture of grape-juice is no longer a home industry but a
great commercial enterprise. It is an industry closely associated with
grape-growing, however, and as such needs further consideration here.

Grape-juice regions.

The manufacture of grape-juice is centered in the Chautauqua
grape-belt in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. So far, the demand
seems to be almost wholly for juices made from native grapes, the
juice of European grapes grown on the Pacific slope being so sweet as
to be insipid. Possibly 80 per cent of the grape-juice now
manufactured in America comes from a single variety, the Concord.
There can be no question, however, but that sooner or later
grape-juices of distinct qualities will be made from many varieties of
grapes, thus giving wider sale and greater variation for the product.
A very good sparkling grape-juice is now on the market and its
reception seems to promise a great increase in the production of an
article that closely simulates champagne in color and sparkling
vivacity, but not, of course, in taste, since it contains no alcohol.
The grape-juice industry has been started and is in a flourishing
condition in several other grape regions than the Chautauqua belt
which is now its center. There are factories at Sandusky, Ohio, using
grapes grown in the Kelly Island district; in southwestern Michigan
there are several factories; and the industry still survives at
Vineland, New Jersey, which probably should be called the original
home of the manufacture of grape-juice. In the South, some grape-juice
is made from Muscadine grapes, but this product seems not as yet to
have been well received in the markets.

Commercial methods of making grape-juice.

There is at present a great diversity of methods and of apparatus
employed in the grape-juice manufacturing plants throughout the
country. Since the industry is in its infancy, and the attempt has
been made to hold some of the methods as trade secrets, the diversity
of methods and appliances is not to be wondered at. No doubt there
will be greater uniformity of method and machinery and, therefore,
greater efficiency, as the industry develops.

Husmann[19] gives the following account of the manufacture of
grape-juice in the eastern states and in California:

"Sound, ripe, but not over-ripe, grapes are used. These are first
crushed or, in case the stems are to be removed, are run through a
combined stemmer and crusher. If the machinery is stationed high
enough, the crushed fruit can be run through chutes directly into the
presses or kettles; otherwise, it must be pumped into them by means of
a pomace or must pump or carried in pomace carts or tubs.

"If a white or light colored juice is desired, the crushed grapes are
first pressed, the juice which comes from the press being heated to
about 165 deg. F., skimmed, run through a pasteurizer at a temperature of
between 175 deg. and 200 deg. F. into well-sterilized containers, and then
placed in storage.

"If a colored juice is desired, the crushed grapes are heated
immediately, usually in aluminum kettles having double bottoms, which
prevent the steam from coming in contact with the contents. These
kettles usually contain revolving cylinders, the arms of which keep
the crushed grapes thoroughly stirred while they are being heated to
about 140 deg. F. The simultaneous heating and stirring help to extract
the coloring matter from the skins, tear the cells of the berries,
increase the quantity of juice obtained per ton of fruit, and give to
the must many ingredients of red wine, with the substitution of grape
sugar for alcohol of the wine.

"The aluminum kettles are filled and emptied in rotation, thereby
making continuous manipulation possible. The presses should be
situated below the kettles, so that the hot juice can be drained
directly into them. The expressed juice is then reheated to about 165 deg.
F., skimmed, and run through the pasteurizer in the same manner in
which the white juice is handled. The juice passes from the
pasteurizer while still hot (about 160 deg. F.) into the container, which
should be sealed immediately. The lower the temperature (above the
freezing point) at which these containers are then stored, the less is
the danger of fermentation and the more rapidly the juice will clear
and deposit its sediment.

"The ordinary receptacles in which the juice is stored are 5-gallon
demijohns, 20-gallon carboys, or clean, new barrels or puncheons, well
washed and drained. All containers should be thoroughly sterilized
before they are filled, and the covers, corks, bungs, cloths, etc.,
used in sealing them should be scrupulously clean and carefully
sterilized. If barrels or puncheons are used as containers, they are
placed on skids and firmly wedged to prevent movement. As the juice
cools, air laden with fermentation germs is apt to be drawn into the
barrels by the decrease in the volume of the liquid. In order to
prevent this, tight air-filtering plugs of sterilized cotton are
sometimes used instead of the ordinary bungs of solid wood.

"The type of pasteurizer differs in almost every establishment. As the
industry is of comparatively recent development commercially, there
are few models on the market and each manufacturer has constructed the
model best suited to his particular ideas or requirements. There are
two general types, however, (1) open, double-bottomed kettles in which
the juice is heated to the required temperature and then drawn off,
and (2) continuous pasteurizers in which the juice is heated to the
required temperature as it passes through the water bath.

"The presses also show great variation in different establishments,
either hydraulic, screw or lever power being used, and there is a
marked difference between the types of pomace containers. Sometimes
the crushed grapes are heaped on burlap cloths the sides of which are
folded in, and these burlaps are placed one on top of the other in the
press; sometimes press baskets take the place of these burlaps.

"The manufacturers in California and those in the grape-growing
regions of the Rocky Mountains seem to have adopted entirely different
methods of handling the juice after it is first pasteurized and
stored. Most of the eastern juices are red and are obtained from the
Labrusca varieties, generally the Concord. When the juice comes from
the presses, some manufacturers strain it to remove the coarse
particles and then pour it directly into well-sterilized bottles;
others siphon it off the sediment in the containers in which it is
stored after the first pasteurization and pour it into pasteurized
bottles. In either case, the bottles are securely corked and then
repasteurized. The California juices, however, both red and white, are
made exclusively from Vinifera varieties. They are allowed to settle
in the original containers and are siphoned out of these and carefully
filtered to make them clear and bright.

"The clearing of the juice is sometimes facilitated by fining or
adding a small quantity of a substance which coagulates and when
settling carries down with it the solid matters causing cloudiness in
the liquid. Such finings may be applied at the time of the first
pasteurization or just before the final filtration and bottling. In
the latter case the juice is drawn off the settlings in containers,
the finings are added, and the juice again pasteurized into other
receptacles. When it clears, it is either bottled directly or first
passed through a filter, drawn into carefully sterilized bottles,
securely corked, and then repasteurized. Care must be taken that the
final sterilization is not at a higher temperature than the previous
one; otherwise, solid matter may be precipitated and the must clouded
again.

"A simple and efficient form of sterilizer consists of a wooden trough
provided with a wooden grating which is raised 2 inches from the
bottom and on which rest the filled bottles in wire baskets. The
trough contains enough water to submerge the bottles and is kept at a
temperature of 185 deg. F. by means of a steam coil beneath the grating.
It requires about 15 minutes for the must at the bottom of the bottles
to reach that temperature; for packages of other sizes it is necessary
to make a test with a thermometer in order to determine how long it
takes for the entire contents to reach 185 deg..

"To prevent the corks from being expelled during sterilization, they
are either tied down with a strong twine or with some contrivance such
as the cork holder. In order that mold germs may not enter the must
through the corks, especially if a poor quality of cork is used, the
necks of the corked bottles are dipped in heated paraffin before
putting on the caps, or the corks are sealed down with sealing wax. It
is also well to keep the bottles on their rider to prevent the corks
drying out."

Home methods of making grape-juice.

The principles involved in making grape-juice in the home are the same
as those used in canning. The grapes may be crushed by hand or in
mills similar or identical with the small cider-mills owned by many
farmers. In making a light-colored juice, the crushed grapes are put
in a cloth sack and hung up to drain, or the filled sack may be
twisted by two persons until the greater part of the juice is
expressed. The juice is then sterilized in a double-boiler by heating
it at a temperature of 180 deg. to 200 deg. F., care being taken that the
thermometer never goes above 200 deg.. The sterilized juice is now poured
into a glass or enameled vessel to stand for twenty-four hours, after
which it is drained from the sediment and strained through several
thicknesses of clean flannel. The juice is now put in clean bottles
preparatory to a second sterilization, care being taken that at least
an inch of space is left at the top for the liquid to expand when
heated. The second sterilization may be conducted in a wash-boiler or
similar receptacle. The filled bottles must not rest on the bottom of
the boiler but should be separated from it with a thin board. The
boiler is filled with water up to within an inch of the tops of the
bottles and heated until the water begins to boil. The bottles should
then be taken out and corked immediately, using only new corks. After
corking, the bottles are further sealed by dipping the corks in melted
paraffin. A cheap corking machine is a great convenience in this work,
and in any case the corks should be soaked for at least a half hour in
warm but not boiling water.

The process varies somewhat in the making of red grape-juice. The
crushed grapes are heated to a temperature of 200 deg. F., and are then
strained through a drip bag without pressure, after which the liquid
is set away in glass or enamel vessels to settle for twenty-four
hours. Except for this difference in the preliminary treatment of the
juice, the methods are the same in making the red or the light-colored
product. For proper keeping it is not necessary to let the juice
settle after it is strained, but a clearer and brighter product is
obtained if the juice is permitted to settle. In either case the
grape-juice should keep indefinitely if the work has been well done.
As soon as bottles are opened, fermentation begins with the formation
of alcohol.

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