The wine supply chain produces huge quantities of waste every year along the production chain. It has become urgent to treat this waste in a sustainable way, according to a zero-waste circular economy perspective. On average, for each hectoliter of wine, 20 kg of pomace and 3.85 kg of stems and over 6.36 kg of lees and clarification solids are produced. The sector produces enormous quantities of solid waste, which is expensive to dispose of.

Dealing in an innovative way with their disposal but above all with their recovery and valorisation is now necessary, since due to the considerable quantities of wine waste and their molecular composition, the environmental impact cannot be underestimated.

Fighting waste by creating high-performance cosmetic products is one of the ways to valorise grape waste.

The beneficial properties of grapes are different. To give a few examples: 

• the polyphenols contained in them play a very important antioxidant and anti-aging role, 
• the presence of important vitamins and aminoacids is precious for restoring the elasticity of the connective tissue,
• the mineral salts improve cell turnover. 

Just as the grape skin protects the bunch from UV rays, in the same way creams based on vine waste can act as a protective barrier for the skin both for woman and man. 

There are many wineries that are starting to produce their own line of cosmetics, or reintroducing production waste into the market for the sustainable cosmetology industry. Even some famous people have raised public awareness of these new possibilities: Brad Pitt for example has launched a skincare range featuring active ingredients sourced from Famille Perrin’s Château de Beaucastel vineyard in the Rhône Valley. The products are made from organic matter that was previously discarded after the grapes had been pressed. Le Domaine Skincare’s packaging also includes recyclable glass bottles and jars, and reusable stoppers made of oak cut from the scraps of the vineyard’s wine barrels.

Wine waste, if used with foresight, will have a long life.