Wine lees – characteristcs and potential of valorisation

Abstract

The circular economy's primary goals are reducing and recycling food waste, which are still problems in the agro industrial sector. Waste reduction is one of the potential strategies that can be used to increase the sustainability of food production. So, the best method to transform these wastes into useful products that also reduce environmental issues is to feed nutritious by-products to animals. One of the guiding principles of the circular economy and one of the most significant challenges in food engineering, with implications for the strategic fields of bioeconomy, health, and environment, is the identification and establishment of new directions for utilizing the nutritional and functional potential of wine lees produced as a by-product from the wine industry. Wine lees composition varies widely due to a multitude of factors, primarily connected to the varieties of yeast and grapes utilised as well as the vinification process, as evidenced by data published in the literature. This paper proposes a review of the specialised literature regarding the valorisation of wine lees from the wine industries, in the context of the circular economy and the promotion of "green technologies", in order to obtain food and feed with high nutritional value and antioxidant potential. Future research areas are outlined, along with other strategies for valuing this especially valuable by-product.