Scientists Created a “Micro Winery” That Turns Grape Juice into Wine in 1 Hour

And it’s a “non-stop” flow of wine.

Daniel Attinger, a multiphase microfluidics researcher from Iowa State University and wine connoisseur, developed a miniature device that can produce a “non-stop” flow of wine, simply by fermenting regular grape juice with some strategically placed yeast.

The best part of it all? The process only takes one hour, while conventional winemaking in barrels can take weeks.

Basically, the same fermentation reaction that occurs in the barrels takes place in a much smaller space, and dramatically speeds up the process.

Yeast is stored in small compartments, and released into the grape juice compartment through a thin membrane perforated with little holes called nanopores. Then, just like in a wine barrel, the yeast and grape juice combine, and the yeast absorbs the sugar and releases alcohol and carbon dioxide.

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However, although it sounds like the genius invention we’ve all been waiting for, there are a few drawbacks.

First, although the device produces wine at a “nonstop” rate, it only ferments 1 milliliter of wine per hour — which is about 0.13 percent of a full bottle of wine. This means it’d take up to four days before enough wine for a single glass was made.

Second, the flavor of the rapidly-produced wine isn’t quite the rich taste you may enjoy from your favorite vintage. The micro winery produces wine that’s refined enough for testing purposes, but the researchers acknowledge that it’s not intended for regular consumption.

So what’s the point of a micro winery if we can’t use it to fulfill our wine needs? Attinger’s primary goal in creating the device was to supply wine experts and winemakers with a research tool to help improve their understanding of fermentation processes.

The device is currently being tested by researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, and Attinger hopes it will go on to help winemakers in the wake of global warming, which could drastically change how wine is produced.

“Climate change is having an impact on the quality of grape crops around the world,” Attinger said in a press release. “Due to the heat, some crops ripen too quickly, the harvest takes place sooner and the wines end up with a higher alcohol content or a different taste. We need to find ways to analyze and adapt how the wine is made.”

At the rapid rate that the micro winery can produce wine, winemakers could more readily experiment with new ingredients or methods without having to wait weeks on the samples.

"Let's say a winemaker in the Lavaux region of Switzerland finds that a certain type of yeast or a certain fermentation temperature leads to an overly bitter wine. We could quickly test alternatives," said Attinger. "At a traditional winery, it takes weeks to separate the yeast from the wine, because they're mixed together. That's not a problem here."

Interestingly, Attinger says that there’s a lot more to the device than its fun, rapid-wine-producing capabilities — “it also addresses a lot of fundamental concepts.”

“Pharmaceutical companies are also interested in this type of process, and by the same type of yeast, in order to produce certain substances. So the real-world applications are actually much broader,” he concludes.

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