Bio product from grape processing – the enocyanine practice

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A winery and distillery company, located in the northern-east of Italy, turned to be an excellent example of biorefinery for the conversion of its agricultural and agro-industrial residues into a varied range of bio-based products.

Thanks to the total usage of biomass generated by grape processing (540,000 tons/year), the wine company has brought waste production close to zero (0.1% of the discarded materials).

In order to obtain the best valorization of organic residues, the owner has equipped the process with modern technologies able to extract enocyanine.

The substance, extracted by red grape skins, is a natural dye of the anthocyanin group, which main use is addressed toward the food sector falling under the code of E163.

The company counts numerous production partners including 30 wine cooperatives producing wine from 12,500 vine growers over an area of 35,000 hectares, equal to 7 million quintals of grapes produced every year. In order to integrate a sustainable business model, the wine company has focused major efforts on:

  • Identifying new technologies applied to by-products

  • Applying new matrices

  • Fostering collaboration with agro-industrial entities

  • Adopting new techniques for bio products extractions/collection that allowed a better organisation of employees’ roles and tasks hence improved productivity

Core Innovation