Automated Environmental Monitoring for Winemaking

I. Functional Requirements

1. The Importance of Temperature and Air Quality in Winemaking

Generally speaking, the production of a bottle of liquor involves the following steps: selecting raw materials, making fermentation starter, fermenting, distilling, aging, blending, and bottling. From grain fermentation and spirit distillation to aging and bottling, temperature control is of paramount importance. Distillation equipment, fermentation starter, and brewing techniques are often described as the “heavenly timing, earthly advantages, and human harmony” of the brewing industry. In fact, “earthly advantages” also refers to the environment—specifically, the fermentation temperature and the quality of the surrounding air. If any one of these three factors is neglected, the quality of the resulting liquor will be significantly compromised.

During the winemaking process, temperature control is critical—from the ripening of the raw materials through fermentation and aging to the bottling stage. If the temperature cannot be maintained at levels that ensure wine quality, even the finest grape varieties and top‑tier equipment will fail to produce a high‑quality wine. In short, without proper temperature management throughout the process, it is impossible to craft a premium wine.

 

The winemaker listed the following reasons:

1. High temperatures accelerate oxidation, microbial‑induced rancidity, and instability.

2. Fermentation and storage under warm conditions can cause the volatilization of aromatic compounds and flavoring substances other than alcohol.

3. At temperatures above 38°C, yeast becomes inactivated, and fermentation may be inhibited by the presence of residual sugars.

It is essential to carefully control the temperature at every stage of the brewing process; even a single oversight can compromise the wine’s quality, causing the world to miss out on this exquisite beverage.

Meanwhile, monitoring and controlling oxygen and carbon dioxide levels during the winemaking process can also enhance wine quality.

1. Traditional detection methods

Currently, China widely employs a relatively traditional method of measuring temperature in distiller’s grains: manually inserting a glass thermometer into the grain mass for on-site measurement and recording. This operational approach has the following shortcomings:

1. Glass thermometers are fragile, and the mercury they contain can contaminate the fermentation mash; moreover, their response time is short, making it difficult to obtain a comprehensive picture of temperature variations across different locations.

2. The workload is heavy, records are not kept promptly, and efficiency is low. For larger fermentation rooms, each room contains dozens or even hundreds of…

At monitoring stations, which often comprise multiple chambers, assigning a single worker to take temperature readings from start to finish can be extremely time‑consuming. The daily workload quickly exhausts data‑collection personnel, and over the long term, this becomes unsustainable. Moreover, the recorded data are often out of sync, resulting in poor comparability and limited practical value, which in turn severely reduces overall efficiency. Increasing the number of workers would inevitably drive up production costs.

3. The data lack continuity, making it difficult to discern trends in temperature changes during fermentation, thereby hindering systematic analysis and evaluation of the fermentation process and impeding improvements to fermentation protocols.

4. Errors or omissions in manually recorded data occur frequently, making it difficult to ensure the accuracy and completeness of data entry.

Outdated data monitoring and recording methods are at odds with the modern, information‑driven, and automated corporate development philosophy and strategic direction.

Being out of step with the times will inevitably hinder a company’s development. Keeping pace with the times and upgrading the methods for monitoring fermentation‑mold‑making temperatures—by adopting modern, automated, and intelligent monitoring and management systems—is an absolute priority that every enterprise must prioritize and advance without delay. Doing so not only yields twice the results with half the effort but also carries profound significance.

The intelligent temperature‑monitoring system for fermentation starter has effectively addressed the aforementioned challenges and has become the preferred temperature‑monitoring solution adopted by leading distilleries.

 

Automated Monitoring Solution for Winemaking Environments

Our company has developed an intelligent environmental monitoring system tailored to each stage of the brewing process. This system measures temperature and carbon dioxide levels at every step, with all data transmitted in real time to a cloud-based platform.

This system comprises four components: front-end sensors, wireless transmission, an alarm terminal, and a cloud platform. The sensors include an insertion-type temperature sensor, a temperature–humidity sensor, and a CO2 sensor. The insertion-type temperature sensor and the temperature–humidity sensor utilize LoRa/LoRaWAN wireless transmission, operate in low-power mode, are battery-powered, and require no wiring. They are easy to use and support plug-and‑play functionality.

Temperature, humidity, and CO2 sensors transmit data wirelessly via LoRa/LoRaWAN to a LoRa/LoRaWAN gateway. The gateway then forwards the data to a local alarm terminal, which stores it locally and triggers an alert when anomalies are detected, automatically notifying relevant personnel for action. Additionally, the LoRa/LoRaWAN gateway uses either an RJ45 (local Ethernet) or a cellular network (4G) to upload data to a cloud server via the MQTT protocol. The system architecture is as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

Jiuqu, commonly written as jiuqu, is produced by inoculating steamed white rice with conidia of Aspergillus molds and then maintaining a warm temperature. Under these conditions, mycelia rapidly proliferate on the rice grains, giving rise to what is known as jiuqu.

The amylase produced by Aspergillus converts the starch in rice into sugars; accordingly, since ancient times, it has been used alongside malt as a saccharifying agent to produce sake, sweet rice wine, and soybean paste, among other products.

Replacing rice with cereals results in what is known as wheat qu. During the production of liquor qu, the primary focus is on monitoring ambient temperature; several qu blocks are selected for internal temperature measurement.

The following is a typical process for making qu:

1. Soaking the rice: Add water to the rice and let it soak for 3–6 hours; set aside.

2. Pulverization: After soaking, the rice is pulverized into rice flour and then sieved through an 180-mesh fine sieve.

3. Ingredient Preparation and Inoculation: Use three-quarters of the rice flour to form the dough, and reserve the remaining quarter as a coating flour. Add 3% fragrant herb powder and 2% aged qu powder relative to the weight of the fermentation starter, and incorporate 60% water; mix thoroughly.

4. Preparing the starter: After thorough mixing, form the mixture into wine‑making cakes, cut them into 2‑centimeter‑sized granules, and use a bamboo sieve to round them into uniform wine‑starter pellets.

5. Coating: Roll the qu blanks in a layer of fine rice flour, and adjust the moisture content of the fermentation starter to 46%.

6. Qu Cultivation: Maintain the room temperature at 28–31°C, transfer the fermentation mash into the qu‑cultivation room, and incubate for 20 hours until the mold mycelium exhibits vigorous growth. Keep the batch temperature at 33–34°C, with a maximum not exceeding 37°C; after 24 hours,

To promote the proliferation of yeast in the koji, maintain the room temperature at 28–30°C and the product temperature below 35°C for 24 hours. After a total of 48 hours in the fermentation room, the product temperature will drop, indicating that the koji has matured.

7. Harvesting the product: After the mature product is harvested, it is dried in a drying room or sun-dried and then stored for later use.

 

Finished liquor starter

During the production of fermentation starter, our company’s wireless temperature and humidity sensors are used to monitor the ambient conditions. A wireless insertion-type temperature sensor is employed, with its probe inserted into the starter to measure the internal temperature. An alarm control panel is installed at the entrance of the fermentation‑starter production facility or in the duty room to continuously track temperature, humidity, and temperature data throughout the manufacturing process.

 

 

Whether the brewing raw materials undergo complete and thorough fermentation is directly related to both time and temperature. In other words, a longer fermentation period ensures full and thorough fermentation, while a shorter period may result in incomplete fermentation. The relationship between temperature and fermentation duration is as follows: higher temperatures shorten the fermentation period, whereas lower temperatures extend it. Specifically, at 20–25°C, fermentation typically lasts 15–20 days; at 25–30°C, it usually takes about 10–12 days; and at 30–40°C, it generally requires around 8 days. Practical experience shows that for fermenting with raw materials, the fermentation temperature should be maintained between 20°C and 40°C. Temperatures above 40°C can lead to excessive acid production or even yeast death, while temperatures below 20°C hinder fermentation. The optimal fermentation range is 25–35°C, and the fermentation time should be appropriately extended to ensure complete and thorough conversion of the raw materials. Therefore, when the ambient temperature falls below 20°C, measures to provide insulation and raise the temperature are necessary; conversely, if the temperature exceeds 42°C, cooling is required.

During the brewing fermentation process, our company’s wireless temperature and humidity sensors and wireless CO2 sensors are used to monitor the production environment. A wireless plug‑in temperature sensor is employed, with its probe inserted directly into the brewing raw materials to measure the internal temperature. An alarm control panel is installed at the brewery entrance or in the duty room to continuously track temperature, humidity, and temperature data throughout the koji‑making process.

 

Aging

Newly distilled liquor is sharp and pungent, lacking smoothness; it is essentially a semi‑finished product. Typically, it must be aged for a period of time to allow natural maturation, which reduces its harshness and spiciness, resulting in a mellow, well‑rounded palate, rich aroma, and a more harmonious flavor profile. In the brewing industry, this process is referred to as “aging” or “maturation.”

The aging process involves storing this wine in vessels such as earthenware, porcelain, or wine vats—containers that allow for slight air exchange and controlled seepage—and leaving it to mature naturally, without any artificial temperature adjustments.

The wine cellar must maintain a stable temperature, humidity, and oxygen level. Real-time monitoring of internal temperature, humidity, and CO2 is essential. During the aging process, our company’s wireless temperature–humidity sensor and wireless CO2 sensor are used to continuously track the environmental conditions. A wireless plug‑in temperature sensor is employed, with its probe inserted directly into the wine tank, to measure the wine’s internal temperature. An alarm control panel is installed at the winery entrance or in the duty room to provide real-time monitoring of temperature, humidity, and other environmental parameters throughout the aging process.

 

Characteristics of the plan

By deploying lightweight, interconnected sensors in fermentation tanks, qu‑making rooms, and cellars, the system enables real-time environmental monitoring throughout the baijiu production process and establishes standardized operating procedures for each environment. Remote environmental monitoring allows management personnel to remotely track the status of fermentation tanks, while quality‑control and supervisory agencies, as well as higher‑level authorities, can effectively oversee the production process and intervene promptly. Meanwhile, IT administrators can acquire, back up, and analyze on‑site data and visual information. The system supports local display of temperature and humidity readings on large screens, and also permits remote access to the monitoring cloud platform via PC or mobile app, enabling users to view and analyze data from anywhere.

 

This system solution includes front‑end sensors, a gateway, a local alarm terminal, and a cloud platform (including a mobile app, PC management software, and a data‑logging platform). Within this system, the gateway can interface with third‑party cloud platforms. The list of constituent products is as follows: