Grape seeds account for around 5% of the weight of the whole grape berry, representing approximately 40%-50% of the solid by-products that the different wine industries generate during the winemaking process.
In recent years, proteins endogenous to grape have become of great interest to the wine industry because they represent a new alternative to other biopolymers subjected to more legal restrictions (i.e. animal origin and synthetics) that can be used in technological applications to modulate sensory attributes such as wine color and have a positive impact on wine quality.
While the ethanol and tartaric acid contained in wine lees are typically recovered by distilleries, the remaining solid fraction (yeast biomass) is usually disposed of, thus negatively affecting the overall sustainability of the wine industry.
Among the macromolecules of enological interest in white wines, much attention has been paid to polysaccharides.
Climate change and reduction of inputs are two major challenges for viticulture and oenology. With increasing temperature, wines become less acid and microbiologically less stable (1).