It’s no secret that certain compounds found in wine have health benefits. Red wine is known for resveratrol, a natural polyphenol that has been widely researched for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. But what about the material that’s left over when grapes are pressed for their juice: the seeds, skins, and stems?

At wineries across America, this type of organic matter (known as pomace) is usually discarded or composted. But Barbara Banke, Proprietor of Jackson Family Wines, has found a better, more sustainable use for it. "The idea for creating a raw ingredient from the by-product of winemaking was really inspired by our desire to create a more sustainable wine industry," says Banke. "Wine making is essentially an agricultural endeavor, and as farmers, we strive to utilize the whole grape," she adds. It’s out of this "whole-grape" mindset that came Vine to Bar, a better-for-you chocolate that’s been proven to support gut health and wellness, made from the pomace of some of the country’s most desirable chardonnay grapes from brands like Kendall-Jackson and La Crema. The delicious and nutritionally-beneficial chocolate that supports a more sustainable wine industry is now sold nationwide at major retailers like Publix, and comes in flavors like almond and pink salt dark chocolate and dark cherry and cocoa nibs.

The Inspiration and Research Behind Vine to Bar

As one of the best-selling American-made chardonnays in the country for over 30 years, Kendall-Jackson goes through a lot of fruit. On average, the company makes over 3 million cases of chardonnay per year, which results in tons of pressed fruit byproducts. "We knew that the fresh ripe fruit being pressed had to possess greater value than its current uses — or non-use," Banke says, which is what inspired the team to begin researching a use for the grape byproducts. "Our journey began more than a decade ago in collaboration with scientists from the United States Department of Agriculture," explains Banke. Since then, the brand’s research has grown to include a vast collaboration with leading scientists and experts at University of California, Davis, and other universities. Banke said that their first course of action was to look at multiple grape varietals, both red and white, but ultimately they discovered that the chardonnay grape possessed the most potential thanks to its diverse array of prebiotic fibers known as oligosaccharides. "All wine grapes have prebiotic fiber, but what we’ve found through our research is that chardonnay has a particularly interesting composition for these fibers, which makes it different from other varietals," explained Dr. Harold Schmitz, Ph.D., Senior Scholar at UC Davis and Scientific Advisor for Vine to Bar. "Chardonnay has molecular advantages that other grape varieties do not possess," he added.

After years of research, Banke and the team at UC Davis found that chardonnay pomace is packed with antioxidants, polyphenols, and an incredibly diverse array of dietary fibers, which help promote a strong gut microbiome. According to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, this previously untapped resource is rich in prebiotic dietary fibers that nourish beneficial gut bacteria polyphenols that combat oxidative stress and inflammation and essential micronutrients that support metabolic and immune health. This discovery inspired the team to create the first usable product of its kind that harnesses the chardonnay pomace and turns it into an edible ingredient, also known as marc. Thus, the WellVine company was born, and out of that came a consumer product that tastes so good you won’t believe it has hidden health benefits. "When I first encountered the chardonnay marc product, my first question was how to make this edible product taste good," said Schmitz, "and the oldest trick in the book is to cover it with chocolate."

What Schmitz didn’t anticipate was that the chardonnay material would add more depth and complexity to the chocolate, making it taste even better. "That was a eureka moment for me," he says. "Here was a discovery, totally unanticipated, that the healthy stuff we added to chocolate actually made the dark chocolate taste even better," Schmitz continues. Beyond the taste, the combination of natural health benefits from the cocoa mixed with the naturally-occurring health benefits from the marc is a match made in heaven. "The polyphenols in cocoa, when present in sufficient quantities, can improve cardiovascular health," said Schmitz. "So, by bringing together the chardonnay marc and the cocoa, it creates a dream team of polyphenols," he adds. Better yet, Schmitz explains that since the juice of the grape gets pressed out, so does the sugar. That means by ingesting the chardonnay marc, you’re benefiting from the prebiotic fiber and polyphenols without taking in any added sugars.

How It’s Made

Over the years, the WellVine team has developed a proprietary process for extracting the pomace, one that preserves the health benefits and doesn’t sacrifice any nutrients. Immediately after the juice is pressed, they begin drying the remaining seeds, stems, and skins; they then mill the material into a fine powder. The care and dedication the team spends on creating and preserving this ingredient is key to its nutritional success. "What makes the ingredient so special is that we use high-quality chardonnay grapes in combination with our proprietary approach focused on minimal processing," Banke shares. "In contrast to many of the prebiotics currently used in food products, ours is a complex whole food ingredient derived from fresh, whole fruit," she adds.

What’s Next

The brand doesn’t plan on stopping at chocolate: Banke shares this is a growing and exciting area of the company’s business. "WellVine is also an ingredient in several gut health dietary supplements as well as ones for cardiovascular, brain, and immune health," she adds. The WellVine team is actively engaged in products to add the marc into like baked goods, sauces, smoothies, and other beverages.

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