Abstract:
Honey wine is Ethiopian traditional alcoholic drink derived from the fermentation of diluted
honey and Gesho (Rhamnus prenoides) in the presence of appropriate yeast. Despite the fact
that honey wine is the most established aged beverage in Ethiopia, produced mainly in an
empirical way. However, its production has suffered for years, due to the absence of
consistent shelf life, variety of aroma and flavor. Therefore, use of additives is significant.
The objective of this study was to produce different honey wine versions by the utilization of
Zingiber officinale (ginger), Foeniculum vulgare (insilal) and citrus x sinensis (orange juice)
as additives in aseptic condition. Preparation of starter cultures for inoculation was carried
using standard methods. Preparation and fermentation process was performed. Physicochemical characteristics such as specific gravity, pH determination and total suspended solids
(TSS) were determined. Sensory Evaluation was conducted using standard protocol. All the
data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Based on this study finding, no significant
difference (P ≥ 0.05) in specific gravity (1.006±0.015-1.007±0.015) and pH (3.6±0.057-
3.7±0.057) were found. However, significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) in alcohol by volume was
found. Among the wine versions, OH3 has maximum alcohol by volume (18.6±0.2%)
followed by OH2 (17.3±0.2%) and OH1 (16.5±0.2%). Significantly low (P ≤ 0.05) total
suspended solids (0.021±0.005g/l) was found in honey wine without additive (GEW) and
significantly (P ≤ 0.05) high total suspended solids were found in orange honey wine
versions OH3 (0.302±0.007g/l), OH2 (0.297±0.006g/l) and OH1 (0.245±0.006g/l). All wine
versions were acidic, having high alcohol content and dry in relative sweetness. Generally,
this study proves that acceptable wine can be prepared from ginger, insilal and orange juice
mix with diluted honey. The results of investigation and final analysis will help large scale
wine industry.
Key words: Additives, Aroma, Honey wine, Relative sweetness, Shelf life.
