There is lack of information on tigernut wine production especially dealing with the suitability of the yellow varieties of tigernut for wine production. This research was undertaken to investigate the suitability of producing tigernut wine from tigernut tuber. To prepare the wine, the tuber was washed and must extracted immediately after crushing, then batch fermentation of the inoculated must was carried out by incubating for 144 h at pH 4.5 and at temperature of 30±2°C. The fermented products were allowed to undergo secondary fermentation for 7 days at 25±2°C and then kept below 0°C in a freezer for a few weeks for physicochemical and sensory analysis. The effect of different storage conditions on the storage of tigernut wine packed in differently coloured bottles; clear white, French green, amber, and antique black and stored at different temperature (below 0°C in a freezer, 4°C in a fridge and 30°C in the laboratory cupboard) for 60 days was also investigated. During the storage, browning index and ascorbic acid content of the wines were measured at day 0, 30 and 60. The wines were light yellow in colour, acidic in taste, tigernut flavoured with low ethanol concentration. Storage at low temperature for 30 days significantly reduced the browning index. However, bottle colour had no effect on the browning index. A good wine from yellow variety of tigernut tuber having high nutritional value was produced by fermentation.

Keywords: : Cyperus esculentus; fermentation, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, wine, must, physicochemical, sensory evaluation