Economic aspects of waste recovery in the wine industry. A multidisciplinary approach

The complex composition of grapes as well as the quite large variations of each component affect the processing thereof differently and at the same time influence the yield in must, its quality and the wine product; they also influence production losses, along with the quality and quantity of by-products. Vinification wastes cause ecological problems because the neutralization and use of fermentative wastes mixed with different compounds present a danger to the environment and to the health of the population. The ecological measures of protection of the environmental factors are very important, especially the economic efficiency obtained through the recovery of the by-products. This paper focuses on the possibilities of using the by-products obtained from the wine making process, based on the fact that this drink is the most widely known in the world, with the highest percentage in terms of beverage production and implicitly with the largest quantity of by-products obtained. The valorization of these by-products leads to obtaining very valuable products both from a nutritional and industrial point of view. Experimentally, the aim was to determine the physical and chemical characteristics of different types of grape pomace and must sampled from a winery in Romania. Thus, the determination of total acidity, conductivity, pH, total content of phenolic compounds, total nitrogen and total content of pectic substances was aimed. The experimental values obtained have shown that grape pomace is a valuable by-product of the wine industry and its valorization demonstrates an important economic efficiency.