Production, antimicrobial, antioxidant, sensory, and therapeutic properties of herbal wine – A comprehensive review

Wine is a fermented beverage. Herbal-infused wine is beneficial to health due to its antimicrobial and anticancer properties. The constituents of these plants, including flowers, fruits, stems, roots, bark, and leaves, contain antioxidant activity. The herbs can be extracted through various methods such as maceration, decoction, infusion, crushing, grinding, and blending. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the primary organism responsible for fermentation, converting glucose into metabolic energy.

This review analyses the potential medicinal value of herbal wine in treating human diseases. Herbal wine is a recent development in culinary technology, as herbs possess antioxidant and antimicrobial properties that make them effective against cancer and diabetes. Polyphenols found in wine have been reported to be effective in treating human ailments such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, microbial infections, neurodegenerative diseases, and aging. Therefore, fortifying alcoholic beverages may increase health benefits and clinical applications.

The qualities of these herbal extracts are comparable to those of fortified wines, making drinking fortified wines a healthier option than consuming conventional wines. However, the production of herbal wine from certain extracts may require the addition of taste enhancers.

Our focus is on the fermentative production of wine from various herbal extracts, including physicochemical, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and sensory evaluation. We compare and describe the health benefits and harmful effects of fruit wine and herbal wine.