This paper explores the potential of grape seed oil as a valuable byproduct of winemaking. It examines the bioactive compounds in grape seed oil, including fatty acids, tocopherols, and phytosterols, which provide antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. The study highlights various extraction methods, from traditional pressing to advanced techniques like ultrasound-assisted and supercritical fluid extraction, which optimize yield and quality. Applications of grape seed oil in food products, such as emulsions, chocolates, and meat products, are also discussed, emphasizing its functional and nutritional benefits. The paper concludes that further innovation and sustainable practices could maximize the utility of grape seed oil, making it a valuable resource for waste management in the wine industry and expanding its role in food applications.
Wine bottle overcapping wax: An aesthetic or functional element?
This study examines the role of wax overcapping in wine bottles, questioning whether it provides functional protection against oxidation or serves primarily as an aesthetic feature. The study tested four types of waxes for their oxygen barrier properties and found that while certain waxes, like a commercial blend, showed low oxygen permeability, the addition of wax over high-quality cork stoppers did not significantly enhance protection. Wax proved slightly more beneficial for natural corks with variable oxygen ingress, especially defective stoppers, where leakage was limited. Overall, the study suggests that wax mainly serves aesthetic purposes when cork quality is high, although it may offer limited functional benefits in specific cases involving defective or untreated corks.
Deep Planet: Pioneering AI for a Sustainable Future
Founded in 2018 by Oxford University scientists, Deep Planet is an AgriTech company leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to address environmental challenges in agriculture, particularly in the wine industry. Their platform, VineSignal, offers precision tools for vineyard management, including optimal harvest timing, yield forecasting, disease detection, precision fertilization, soil carbon sequestration, and smart irrigation. These AI-driven solutions promote sustainability and resource efficiency, helping farmers and winemakers improve crop quality and minimize environmental impact. Deep Planet seeks partners to collaborate on advancing sustainable agriculture globally.
4th Science & Wine World Congress – Energy, sustainability, and green transition in wine and olive oil production
The 4th Science & Wine World Congress, scheduled for May 28-30, 2025, in Porto, will gather experts and stakeholders in energy, sustainability, and agriculture. This year’s congress, held under the University of Porto’s auspices, will spotlight sustainable practices and the green transition in wine and olive oil production. Selected to coincide with World Energy Day on May 26, the congress emphasizes the significance of green energy solutions for these industries. Attendees can explore energy-efficient practices like renewable energy use, precision agriculture, and waste heat recovery, as well as innovative technologies like digital labeling and smart farming. These advancements not only reduce environmental impacts but also enhance product quality and efficiency.
Understanding the Climate Resilience of European Wine Regions
The post emphasizes the importance of adapting viticultural practices, increasing flexibility in Geographical Indication (GI) regulations, promoting grape variety diversity, and investing in adaptive capacity to enhance resilience. The study also suggests rethinking the traditional concept of terroir to allow for necessary innovations in wine production. The overall message is that proactive adaptation is crucial for the future sustainability of European wines in the face of climate change.
Low-Alcohol and Nonalcoholic Wines: From Production to Cardiovascular Health, along with Their Economic Effects
The emergence of nonalcoholic wines is driven by health, economic, and social factors, meeting growing consumer interest in healthier lifestyles. The health benefits of low-alcohol and nonalcoholic wines, particularly cardiovascular health, are increasingly recognized. Winemakers can diversify their product lines using these alternatives, extend their customer base, and contribute to public health. Advanced production techniques such as vacuum distillation, spinning cone columns, and reverse osmosis reduce alcohol content without compromising quality. The expanding market for low-alcohol wines offers significant growth opportunities, enabling winemakers to diversify their revenue streams and enhance profitability. Evolving regulations, especially in Europe, emphasize transparency in labeling and nutritional information, aligned with consumer preferences. Incorporating low-alcohol and nonalcoholic wines is a strategic move for winemakers, ensuring competitiveness and relevance in a changing market.
Wine waste valorisation: crushing the research domain
The paper, “Wine waste valorisation: crushing the research domain,” delves deeply into sustainability practices and the implementation of circular economy strategies in the wine industry. This highlights the urgent need for the wine industry to adopt sustainable and profitable methods for waste valorization, addressing both environmental and economic sustainability goals. This study conducted a systematic literature review of 67 scientific papers and additional grey literature to provide a comprehensive overview of current practices and gaps in the research.
Three decades of research on wine marketing
This comprehensive review examines the evolution and trends in wine marketing research over the past three decades, drawing on 1135 documents published between 1990 and 2022 from Web of Science and Scopus databases. This study identifies key themes and their development over time using bibliometric techniques, such as co-word analysis and bibliographic coupling. Early research focused on consumer behavior and pricing strategies, whereas recent years have seen an expansion in wine tourism, sustainability, and digital marketing. The findings highlight the growing importance of sustainability practices and the role of digital platforms in shaping consumers’ preferences. Key research themes include consumer behavior, wine quality, market segmentation, and sustainability, which reflect the industry’s response to evolving market dynamics and environmental challenges. This study underscores the multidisciplinary nature of wine marketing research, integrating insights from business, economics, food science, and environmental studies and provides a foundation for future research to develop effective marketing strategies in the global wine market.
Viticulture and the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP): Historical overview, current situation and future perspective
The paper emphasizes the importance of disseminating agroecological knowledge and implementing nature-based strategies to ensure the successful application of the CAP reforms. It calls for a collective awareness and effort from all societal sectors, including producers, consumers, and policymakers, to embrace environmental protection measures in agriculture. The paper also stresses the need to communicate effectively the benefits of biodiversity conservation and natural soil processes to accelerate the adaptation of agricultural systems to environmental challenges.
Enhancing employee wellbeing and happiness management in the wine industry
This research examines the connection between Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) and Sustainable Performance (SP) in Spanish wineries, emphasizing the mediating roles of Employee Wellbeing (EW) and Work Engagement (WE). This study is pertinent, given the growing focus on sustainability as a core business strategy. To refine the precision of the examined cause-effect relationships, variables such as the age and size of the winery and membership in a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) are incorporated as controls. Utilizing a conceptual model informed by prior studies, this study employs structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze data from 196 wineries collected from September 2022 to January 2023. The findings highlight a positive and significant link between GHRM practices and the SP of these wineries, with EW and WE serving as partial mediators. The significance of this study lies in its contribution to the understanding of GHRM’s benefits in enhancing SP, particularly in the Spanish wine industry, a context not extensively explored in previous research. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the mediating effects of EW and WE on the GHRM-SP relationship in this sector, marking a notable advancement in this field.