Cluster thinning at veraison adds to the production costs and generates substantial on-farm loss during grapevine cultivation in which the health-promoting values of thinned clusters (unripe grapes) are usually overlooked. The current study found amounts of flavanol monomers with 208.8 to 763.5 times more (+)-catechin, 3.4 to 19.4 times more (-)-epicatehin, and 3.8 to 12.3 times more procyanidins (by degree of polymerization DP 1-7) in thinned cluster fractions from two leading Burgundian wine grape varieties Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grown in North Coast California when compared to a traditionally-Dutched (alkalized) cocoa powder. These flavanol-rich thinned clusters could make good candidates for functional ingredients in cocoa-based products to enhance their overall flavanol content. With a mission of helping the wine industry to reduce waste during the wine-making process and identifying new upcycling opportunities, we continue this work with chemists, microbiologists, nutrition scientists, sensory scientists, and processors to create and test prototypes of various cocoa-based products incorporated with a larger selection of thinned cluster ingredients to provide a comprehensive picture of the bioactive flavanols in the products.

Flavanol-rich Chardonnay and Pinot Noir thinned clusters as functional food ingredients in cocoa-based products

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ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.