When winemakers crush the juice from grapes, what's left is a goopy pile of seeds, stems and skins called pomace. Until several years ago, these remains were more than likely destined for the dump.
"The pomace pile was one of the largest problems that the wine industry had with sustainability," says Paul Novak, general manager for WholeVine Products, a sister company to winemaker Kendall-Jackson in Northern California.
Currently, some wineries compost the unwanted leftovers for their own use or to sell to gardeners. But now, scientists and entrepreneurs are finding new and often surprising uses for this former waste product.
Some winemakers, for instance, are using pomace as the basis of grapeseed oil. Researchers are also exploring pomace's properties as a food preservative — studies have shown that compounds called polyphenols found in grapes and in pomace kill bacteria that can cause food to spoil. One Oregon State University professor, Yanyun Zhao, has even toyed with turning pomace into a biodegradable material to make flower pots.
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