Two women turn winery waste into healthy chocolate

When a national news program features a new food ingredient, it's usually because the story goes beyond nutrition.

For decades, the winemaking process has produced millions of pounds of grape marc—the skins, seeds, stems, and pulp that remain after grapes are pressed. Traditionally viewed as a byproduct with limited commercial value, much of this nutrient-rich material has been discarded, composted, or used as animal feed.

Today, that story is changing.

Through years of scientific research and innovative processing, WellVine has transformed Chardonnay grape marc into a versatile science-backed functional prebiotic ingredient that retains many of the naturally occurring compounds found in fresh grapes, including polyphenols, naturally occurring oligosaccharides, and dietary fiber. What was once considered agricultural waste is now attracting attention from researchers, chefs, food and beverage manufacturers, and, most recently, national television.

The NewsNation feature explored more than an interesting food story. It highlighted a growing movement toward developing functional ingredients from recognizable, minimally processed foods rather than relying exclusively on isolated compounds or synthetic additives. At the same time, it showcased how thoughtful food innovation can create value for consumers, support sustainability, and open new possibilities for the future of nutrition.

While the television segment featured Vine to Bar® premium dark chocolate as an example, the larger story is WellVine itself. The chocolate simply demonstrates how this versatile functional prebiotic ingredient can be incorporated into foods people already enjoy. The same science has potential applications across a wide range of products—from nutrition bars, cereals, and baked goods to beverages, meal replacements, and other functional foods where consumers increasingly seek products that support gut health.

In many ways, WellVine represents a new generation of functional ingredients—one rooted not in the laboratory, but in the vineyard.

Unlike many ingredients that begin with extraction or chemical modification, WellVine begins with a familiar agricultural crop that has been part of the human diet for centuries. The innovation lies not in inventing something entirely new, but in recognizing the nutritional potential that had been overlooked all along.

That combination of scientific validation, culinary versatility, and environmental stewardship is precisely why the ingredient is attracting growing attention—not only from nutrition researchers but also from food and beverage manufacturers looking for innovative ways to incorporate meaningful gut-health benefits into everyday products.

The NewsNation segment captured that broader story. But behind the television cameras lies years of research, collaboration, and a simple yet powerful question:

From Winemaking Byproduct to Functional Food Innovation

The story behind WellVine begins in an unlikely place: the wine press.

After Chardonnay grapes are crushed to produce wine, what remains is known as grape marc—a mixture of skins, pulp, seeds, and stems. For generations, this material was largely viewed as a byproduct of winemaking. While some found secondary uses in composting, animal feed, or vineyard applications, much of its nutritional potential remained untapped.

Yet researchers knew something important.

Many of the grape's most valuable naturally occurring compounds are concentrated not in the juice, but in the structural parts of the fruit that remain after pressing. These include naturally occurring prebiotic oligosaccharides, polyphenols, and dietary fiber—components that are increasingly recognized for their potential roles in supporting a healthy gut microbiome, cardiometabolic wellness, and healthy aging.

Rather than viewing grape marc as waste, WellVine's founders saw an opportunity.

Their vision was not to isolate a single "magic" compound or create another highly processed supplement ingredient. Instead, they set out to develop a science-backed functional prebiotic ingredient that preserves the natural complexity of the whole grape matrix while giving food and beverage manufacturers an innovative way to incorporate gut-health benefits into everyday products.

That distinction is important.

Modern nutrition science increasingly recognizes that foods are more than simply collections of individual nutrients. The naturally occurring combinations of prebiotic compounds, polyphenols, dietary fiber, and other bioactive components found in whole foods often work together in ways that isolated ingredients cannot fully replicate. Researchers sometimes refer to this as the food matrix—the intricate structure and interactions within a food that influence digestion, nutrient utilization, and interactions with the gut microbiome.

WellVine was developed with that philosophy in mind.

Using proprietary processing methods, the company transforms Chardonnay grape marc into a stable, food-grade ingredient while retaining many of the naturally occurring compounds that make grapes nutritionally valuable. The result is a versatile functional prebiotic ingredient that can be incorporated into products ranging from baked goods, nutrition bars, cereals, and beverages to dairy products, meal replacements, premium confections, and other functional foods designed to support gut health.

That versatility is one of WellVine's greatest strengths.

Rather than being developed for a single finished product, WellVine was designed as a platform ingredient—one that enables food and beverage manufacturers to enhance a broad range of products with naturally derived prebiotic functionality while preserving the taste, texture, and eating experience consumers expect.

In this case, a material once considered little more than a byproduct has become the foundation for a new generation of science-backed functional prebiotic ingredients—helping manufacturers create foods and beverages that support gut health while also reflecting growing consumer demand for recognizable ingredients, credible science, and exceptional taste.

Why Whole-Food Ingredients Matter: The Science Behind WellVine®

One of the reasons WellVine has attracted growing attention from researchers is that it reflects an important shift in nutrition science.

For many years, functional food development often focused on isolating individual compounds believed to be responsible for a particular health benefit. Scientists identified antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, or plant chemicals, extracted them from their natural sources, and incorporated them into supplements or fortified foods.

That research has produced many valuable discoveries. But it has also revealed something equally important: foods are often greater than the sum of their individual components.

Increasingly, scientists recognize that the naturally occurring combinations of prebiotic compounds, polyphenols, dietary fiber, and other bioactive components found in whole foods interact in complex ways that may contribute to their health benefits. Rather than acting independently, these compounds exist within a natural food matrix that can influence digestion, nutrient utilization, metabolism, and interactions with the gut microbiome.

This emerging understanding has fueled renewed interest in developing functional ingredients that preserve the complexity of whole foods rather than reducing them to a single isolated compound.

WellVine reflects that philosophy.

Made from whole Chardonnay grape marc, WellVine is a science-backed functional prebiotic ingredient that naturally contains prebiotic oligosaccharides, polyphenols, and dietary fiber. Together, these naturally occurring components create a nutritional profile designed to help support gut health while preserving the integrity of the whole-food matrix—a combination that is difficult to replicate through isolated ingredients alone.

That approach received additional scientific validation in a recently published, peer-reviewed clinical trial in Nutrition Journal. In the randomized, placebo-controlled study, researchers found that incorporating WellVine into dark chocolate supported healthier post-meal metabolic responses compared with a control chocolate while also favorably influencing several markers associated with gut health.

Those findings are significant for two reasons.

First, they reinforce the growing body of evidence supporting the role of prebiotic ingredients in promoting a healthy gut microbiome—an area of nutrition science that continues to receive increasing attention for its potential influence on digestive health, metabolic function, and overall well-being.

Second, they demonstrate that these benefits can be delivered through familiar foods that consumers already enjoy. Rather than asking people to adopt another supplement or radically change their eating habits, WellVine gives food and beverage manufacturers an opportunity to incorporate science-backed prebiotic functionality into products that fit naturally into everyday life.

As highlighted in the NewsNation segment, consumers increasingly want foods that deliver more than basic nutrition, but they also want recognizable ingredients derived from real agricultural sources—not highly processed formulations with lengthy ingredient lists. At the same time, manufacturers are looking for ingredients that satisfy growing consumer demand for gut-health benefits without compromising flavor, formulation flexibility, or product quality.

WellVine demonstrates that those goals do not have to be mutually exclusive.

By preserving the nutritional richness of Chardonnay grapes while creating a versatile ingredient suitable for a broad range of food and beverage applications, WellVine represents a new generation of functional prebiotic ingredients—one built on the idea that innovation can begin with nature itself.

Where Science Meets the Kitchen: Why Culinary Acceptance Matters

For any functional ingredient to succeed, scientific evidence is only part of the equation.

Consumers may appreciate the health benefits of an ingredient, but they still expect food to deliver on the qualities that matter most at the table: flavor, texture, aroma, and overall eating experience. If an ingredient compromises taste, even the strongest science may struggle to gain widespread acceptance.

That's one of the reasons the NewsNation story focused not only on research, but also on the culinary potential of WellVine.

The segment featured acclaimed Sonoma chef Dustin Valette, who showcased Vine to Bar® premium dark chocolate—crafted with WellVine—as a delicious real-world demonstration of the ingredient's versatility. Rather than masking the grape-derived ingredient, Vine to Bar demonstrated how WellVine can complement sophisticated flavor profiles while delivering the benefits of a science-backed functional prebiotic ingredient.

It's an important distinction.

It demonstrated that WellVine can be incorporated into a premium food without compromising the flavor, texture, or eating experience consumers expect. More importantly, it illustrated how the same ingredient could potentially bring science-backed prebiotic gut-health benefits to a broad range of foods and beverages beyond chocolate.

Historically, many "healthy" foods required consumers to make a compromise. Better nutrition often came at the expense of flavor or texture, reinforcing the perception that functional foods were something to tolerate rather than truly enjoy.

Today's consumers expect something different.

They want foods that are both enjoyable and beneficial—products that fit naturally into everyday life rather than feeling medicinal or overly engineered. This growing demand has encouraged food developers to rethink how health-promoting ingredients are incorporated into familiar foods.

WellVine appears well suited to that evolving landscape.

Because it is derived from Chardonnay grapes, the ingredient offers a naturally food-based origin that resonates with consumers seeking recognizable, minimally processed ingredients. At the same time, its versatility allows food and beverage manufacturers to explore applications across multiple product categories, including baked goods, nutrition bars, cereals, dairy products, beverages, meal replacements, premium confections, and other functional foods designed to support gut health.

During the NewsNation interview, Scott Forsberg emphasized another important point: innovation is most meaningful when it improves foods people already want to eat. Rather than asking consumers to adopt unfamiliar products, WellVine gives manufacturers a versatile functional prebiotic ingredient that can enhance familiar foods with meaningful gut-health benefits while preserving the eating experience consumers value.

That philosophy reflects a broader trend within nutrition science.

Functional ingredients that integrate seamlessly into familiar foods have the potential to reach far more people than products positioned solely as specialty health items.

The collaboration between food scientists, ingredient innovators, and culinary professionals illustrates exactly how that vision comes to life. Scientific research identifies promising nutritional opportunities, while chefs demonstrate how those opportunities can become memorable eating experiences.

When those two worlds work together, the result is something greater than either could achieve alone: foods that satisfy the palate while supporting long-term health.

In that sense, the chocolate featured on NewsNation wasn't simply an innovative dessert.

It demonstrated what's possible when a science-backed functional prebiotic ingredient is thoughtfully incorporated into foods consumers already love.

And that's the larger opportunity.

The same approach can help inspire a new generation of foods and beverages that combine exceptional taste, credible science, and meaningful gut-health benefits—without asking consumers to choose between enjoying their food and supporting their health.

Sustainability with Purpose: Creating More Value from Every Harvest

One of the most compelling aspects of the WellVine story extends well beyond nutrition.

It reflects a broader movement toward making our food system more sustainable—not simply by producing more food, but by making better use of the resources we already have.

Every year, wineries generate substantial quantities of grape marc after the winemaking process is complete. Although some of this material has traditionally been repurposed for compost, livestock feed, or other agricultural uses, much of its nutritional value has remained largely underutilized.

WellVine represents a different way of thinking.

Instead of viewing Chardonnay grape marc as the end of the winemaking process, the company sees it as the beginning of a new opportunity. By transforming this naturally nutrient-rich material into a science-backed functional prebiotic ingredient, WellVine helps extend the value of every harvest while creating new opportunities for food and beverage manufacturers to develop products that support both consumer health and environmental sustainability.

This concept is often referred to as upcycling—finding higher-value uses for agricultural materials that might otherwise be overlooked. Unlike recycling, which typically transforms materials after they have been discarded, upcycling seeks to preserve and elevate the inherent value already present in those resources.

In the food industry, that idea is gaining significant momentum.

Consumers increasingly want products that align with their values as well as their health goals. They are paying closer attention to where ingredients come from, how they are produced, and whether companies are making responsible use of natural resources. At the same time, manufacturers are seeking ingredients that combine credible science, formulation versatility, and environmental stewardship. Ingredients that can satisfy all three priorities are becoming increasingly valuable.

WellVine illustrates how those priorities can work together.

The same whole-food approach that preserves naturally occurring prebiotic compounds, polyphenols, and dietary fiber also supports a more circular approach to food production. Rather than requiring new farmland or additional agricultural inputs, WellVine creates value from a nutrient-rich portion of grapes that already exists within the winemaking process.

As researchers continue to explore the relationship between prebiotic nutrition, gut health, and healthy aging, and as food and beverage manufacturers seek innovative ingredients that align with evolving consumer expectations, WellVine demonstrates that environmental responsibility and nutritional science can move forward together.

The NewsNation feature captured that larger vision.

At first glance, the story appeared to be about an innovative chocolate made with Chardonnay grapes.

But underneath that appealing culinary example lies something much more significant.

It is the story of a science-backed functional prebiotic ingredient that transforms an overlooked agricultural resource into new possibilities for healthier foods and beverages—demonstrating that sustainability, scientific innovation, and better nutrition can all begin with the same harvest.

When scientists, agricultural producers, food companies, and chefs collaborate, they can uncover value in places that were once overlooked—creating ingredients that nourish people, reduce waste, and inspire the next generation of functional foods.

That may ultimately be WellVine's greatest contribution.

Not simply demonstrating what's possible with Chardonnay grape marc—but providing food and beverage manufacturers with an innovative ingredient that makes it easier to build meaningful gut-health benefits into foods consumers already know, trust, and enjoy.

National Recognition Reflects a Larger Shift in Functional Foods

News stories often come and go.

A new product is introduced, a health trend captures public attention, and within a few days the conversation moves on. But every so often, a story resonates because it reflects something much larger than the news itself.

The recent NewsNation feature on WellVine is one of those stories.

At its heart, the segment wasn't simply about dark chocolate or even Chardonnay grapes. It highlighted a broader transformation taking place across the food industry—one in which consumers are asking better questions about where their food comes from, how it's is produced, and whether it can support health without sacrificing taste or authenticity.

Those questions are changing the way companies innovate.

WellVine embodies that philosophy.

Its development demonstrates that innovation doesn't always require creating something entirely new. Sometimes the greatest advances come from recognizing the hidden value in resources that have been overlooked for generations.

Vine to Bar® chocolate featured on NewsNation beautifully illustrated that idea—but it represents only one example of what's possible.

The larger opportunity lies in WellVine itself. As a science-backed functional prebiotic ingredient, it has the potential to help food and beverage manufacturers develop a wide variety of products that support gut health while meeting growing consumer demand for recognizable, minimally processed ingredients. Whether incorporated into nutrition bars, cereals, beverages, dairy products, meal replacements, baked goods, or future food innovations yet to be imagined, WellVine offers manufacturers a versatile platform for bringing meaningful prebiotic functionality to everyday foods.

That's an idea with implications far beyond a single ingredient.

As research continues to explore the relationship between diet, the gut microbiome, metabolic health, and healthy aging, interest in science-backed functional prebiotic ingredients is likely to continue growing. Consumers increasingly want foods that are recognizable, minimally processed, and supported by credible science. Manufacturers are looking for ingredients that satisfy those expectations while also contributing to sustainability goals and delivering meaningful health benefits.

When all of those priorities converge, opportunities like WellVine begin to emerge.

The ingredient's journey—from California vineyards to peer-reviewed research to national television—illustrates how collaboration can accelerate innovation:

• 1
  Scientists identified the nutritional potential of Chardonnay grape marc.
• 2
  Food technologists developed methods to preserve its naturally occurring compounds.
• 3
  Culinary professionals demonstrated its versatility.
• 4
  Journalists helped introduce the story to a broader audience.

Each played an important role.

For consumers, the result is encouraging.

It suggests that the future of functional foods may not be defined by increasingly complicated ingredient lists or highly engineered formulations. Instead, it may be shaped by thoughtfully developed ingredients derived from real foods—ingredients that honor both scientific discovery and the agricultural traditions from which they originated.

For food and beverage manufacturers, the implications may be even broader.

Consumers are increasingly looking for products that do more than satisfy hunger. They want foods and beverages that fit seamlessly into a healthy lifestyle, contain recognizable ingredients, and deliver benefits supported by credible science. Functional prebiotic ingredients like WellVine provide manufacturers with an opportunity to meet those expectations without asking consumers to abandon the foods they already know and enjoy.

The NewsNation feature offered viewers a glimpse of that future.

What began as a story about an innovative chocolate ultimately became a story about possibility: the possibility that nutrition, sustainability, culinary excellence, and scientific research can work together to create ingredients that help inspire healthier foods and beverages across an entire industry.

In many ways, that's the real story behind WellVine.

It's not simply about transforming Chardonnay grape marc into a functional ingredient.

It's about giving food and beverage manufacturers an entirely new way to incorporate science-backed prebiotic gut-health benefits into the foods people eat every day.

This article is intended for educational and informational purposes and summarizes published research and publicly available information about WellVine®. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, nor should it be considered medical advice. Consumers should consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding individual health concerns.