A new biomechanical process from an Okanagan-based company could soon turn the by-products from the wine-making process that are normally tossed away into natural food additives.

Okanagan-based company Winecrush has received research and development support from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for the project called sa国际传媒淢arlee.sa国际传媒�

Winecrush describes the project as a sa国际传媒渘ew biomechanical process to transform the food-grade wine derivatives sa国际传媒� typically discarded after harvest and crush sa国际传媒� into a high-performance flavour enhancement ingredient.sa国际传媒�

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To fund the project, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has awarded funding to Winecrush through its Agricultural Clean Technology (ACT) program, which invests in the research, development, and adoption of clean technologies leading to the promotion of agri-based bio-products.

sa国际传媒淲e are honoured to receive support from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Their ACT program was a perfect fit for our stage of development,sa国际传媒� said Bill Broddy, co-founder and president of Winecrush. sa国际传媒淭he Marlee Project is designed to give wineries an effective alternative for the derivatives from the winemaking process, rather than let these food-grade materials go to waste.sa国际传媒�

Sending waste materials to the landfill or leaving it on a winerysa国际传媒檚 property leads to methane emissions and soil contamination. The new process developed by Winecrush is designed to cost-effectively convert these materials into natural food additives suitable for a variety of health and food products, with both sa国际传媒渉igh nutritional and monetary value,sa国际传媒� according to the company.

As part of its pilot program, Winecrush worked with 10 Okanagan-based wineries to collect their pomace (the grape skins and seeds left after grapes are pressed) and lees (the sediment left behind). Winecrush said this saved a total of 150 tonnes of wine derivative from being dumped in landfills, avoiding the release of a total of 6,500 kilograms of methane.

sa国际传媒淲e werensa国际传媒檛 sure what to expect when we signed up to partner with Winecrush, but their vision for sustainability and environmental preservation seemed to be in line with what we are trying to achieve here at Stagsa国际传媒檚 Hollow Winery,sa国际传媒� said Okanagan Falls winemaker Kiera LeFranc.

Winecrush is now putting plans in place to use its technology for the 2021 harvest.

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jesse.day@pentictonwesternnews.com
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