Grape Juice & Wine Processing Line

Two Product Routes on One Pre-Treatment Platform

Grapes arrive at the plant with stems, leaves, damaged berries and field heat. The front end of the line is therefore common to both routes: bubble washing, manual or automated sorting, destemming and crushing. From the crusher onward, the process splits according to whether the customer is producing a juice product or a fermented wine.

• Juice route: pre-heating to deactivate pectinase and limit browning, vacuum membrane pressing, decanter separation, enzyme treatment, disc separation, ultrafiltration, optional evaporation, tartaric acid removal, UHT sterilization and aseptic filling.
• Wine route: controlled fermentation in temperature-regulated tanks, vacuum membrane pressing of the fermented must, aging, blending, clarification, then 3-in-1 bottle filling, drying, capsule shrinking, capping, labeling and date printing.

Process Stages and Equipment in the Juice Route

The juice route is built to protect colour, aroma and nutrients while removing the solids and salts that cause haze and instability in storage. Heating and cooling steps are kept short and close-coupled so the product is not held at temperature longer than the process requires.

Wine Route: Fermentation, Aging and Bottling

For wine, the emphasis shifts from yield to control of fermentation temperature and oxygen contact. Crushed grapes enter temperature-regulated fermentation tanks, and the fermented must is pressed in the vacuum membrane press. Aging, blending and clarification follow, after which the wine moves to the bottling block.

• 3-in-1 filling machine for glass bottles, followed by bottle drying.
• Capsule heat shrinking and capping stations for closure integrity.
• Labeling and laser date printing to complete the retail-ready pack.

Plants that already run a juice line can add fermented products through a Wine Processing Line Factory that designs the wine route on the same front end, so the washing, sorting, destemming and pressing equipment is shared, which reduces capital outlay and floor space. We design these combined layouts during the proposal stage rather than after equipment selection.

Specifications That Define the Line

Configuration Choices We Confirm With You

The same nominal capacity can be built in several ways depending on the product mix and the site. We fix these decisions before fabrication so the piping, utilities and control logic match the intended operation.

• Clarity target: cloudy juice stops after decanter and pasteurization; clear juice adds enzyme treatment, disc separation and ultrafiltration.
• Concentration: single or multi-effect evaporation, with forced external circulation available for higher-viscosity streams.
• Sterilization: tubular UHT or tube-in-tube configuration depending on product viscosity and required holding time.
• Filling format: aseptic bag-in-box, bag-in-drum, or both, with the filler matched to the bag size range.
• Multi-fruit flexibility: where local fruit supply is seasonal, we design combined lines that share the front end across grape and other fruit campaigns.

Controls, Utilities and Installation

The PLC system coordinates washing through filling, with interlocks on temperature, level and pressure at the critical stages. Heat regeneration through cold and hot product exchange reduces steam and cooling demand compared with conventional sterilizer designs, which lowers operating cost across the season.

• Steam, chilled water, compressed air and electrical supply requirements are defined during plant layout planning.
• Drainage and cleaning access are laid out with the aseptic zone separated from the raw intake area.
• Operator safety provisions cover guarding at crushing and pressing, hot-surface protection on the sterilization block, and lockout points for maintenance.

Quality Control and Acceptance

We apply full-process quality management from incoming stainless steel and components through to final assembly. Before shipment, every line completes a full trial operation and water commissioning run so that pumps, valves, sensors and the PLC sequence are proven together rather than as separate machines.

Acceptance at site follows the same logic: mechanical completion, water test, product trial, then handover of set points and cleaning procedures. Our engineers remain on site for the first production run where the project scope includes commissioning support.

Maintenance, Spare Parts and Season Support

Grape campaigns are short and intense, so wear parts and service access are planned around the harvest window. Membranes, seals, gaskets and filter elements are identified in the spare parts list issued with the line documentation.

• Operator training covers startup, shutdown, CIP and routine inspection.
• Remote diagnosis supports fault finding between site visits.
• Pre-season inspection visits check equipment condition before the campaign begins.

Where This Line Sits in Our Range

The grape line shares engineering principles with our other fruit and vegetable lines, and customers sometimes run more than one product through a single plant. Related lines in our Fruit/Veg. Process Line range include apple, pear and thorn-pear juice processing and tomato paste processing, both of which use comparable extraction, evaporation and aseptic filling modules.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can one line produce both grape juice and wine?

Yes. The washing, sorting, destemming and crushing stages are shared, and the line branches after the crusher. We size the shared front end for the higher of the two throughputs and specify the downstream modules for each product separately.

What capacity range do you build for grape processing?

Our grape juice and wine lines are configured from 2 to 25 t/h of fresh fruit input. Smaller pilot and laboratory systems are available for product development and trial production before a full industrial line is committed.

How is aroma protected during concentration?

Concentration uses multi-effect low-temperature vacuum evaporation, which lowers the boiling point and shortens product residence time. Heating and cooling steps elsewhere in the line are kept short and close-coupled to limit flavour loss during heat treatment.

What packaging formats can the line fill?

Aseptic bag filling covers 5 L to 220 L bags and 1000 L drums. The wine route uses glass bottle filling with capping, capsule shrinking, labeling and date printing as part of the same bottling block.

How is the line tested before delivery?

Each line undergoes complete trial operation and water commissioning before shipment, verifying pump and valve operation, sensor response and PLC sequencing. Site acceptance then repeats the sequence with product before handover.

Do you support installation and operator training?

Our engineers provide on-site installation guidance, commissioning and operator training covering operation, cleaning and routine maintenance. Where the scope requires it, engineers can remain on site through the initial production period.