# Assessment of Winery By-Products as Ingredients as a Base of “3S” (Safe, Salubrious, and Sustainable) Fermented Beverages Rich in Bioactive Anthocyanins

## TL;DR

This study explores using winery by-products to create safe, healthy, and sustainable fermented beverages rich in beneficial anthocyanins.

## Contribution

The novelty lies in transforming wine by-products into functional kombucha-like beverages with high anthocyanin content.

## Key findings

- Fermented beverages using wine lees had significantly higher anthocyanin levels (up to 5.60 mg/L) than those using grape pomace (1.69 mg/L).
- Physicochemical parameters like pH and acetic acid remained stable during the 21-day shelf-life period.
- The study supports using oenological residues to create sustainable, health-promoting beverages.

## Abstract

Oenological residues may cause environmental pollution when processing does not significantly reduce volume and/or harmful conditions. The lack of proper valorisation alternatives entails high disposal costs and resource inefficiency that jeopardise the sustainability and competitiveness of the industry. Interestingly, wine by-products are underappreciated sources of multipurpose bioactive compounds, such as anthocyanins, associated with health benefits. Alternatively, transforming oenological by-products into valuable co-products will promote sustainability and thus, create new business opportunities. In this context, the present study has assessed the applicability of winery by-products (grape pomace and wine lees) as ingredients to develop new functional kombucha-analogous beverages “3S” (safe, salubrious, and sustainable) by the Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY). Concerning the main results, during the kombucha’s development, the fermentation reactions modified the physicochemical parameters of the beverages, namely pH, total soluble solids, acetic acid, ethanol, and sugars, which remained stable throughout the monitored shelf-life period considered (21 days). The fermented beverages obtained exhibited high anthocyanin concentration, especially when using wine lees as an ingredient (up to 5.60 mg/L at the end of the aerobic fermentation period (10 days)) compared with the alternative beverages produced using grape pomace (1.69 mg/L). These findings demonstrated that using winery by-products for the development of new “3S” fermented beverages would provide a dietary source of bioactive compounds (mainly anthocyanins), further supporting new valorisation chances and thus contributing to the competitiveness and sustainability of the winery industries. This study opens a new avenue for cross-industry innovation, merging fermentation traditions with a new eco-friendly production of functional beverages that contribute to transforming oenological residues into valuable co-products.