Soil management affects the nutraceutical properties of Primitivo's grape pomace

Abstract

Soil management is a sustainable agronomic practice to produce grapes, wine, and grape pomace with a low environmental impact in viticulture, affecting soil microbial biodiversity, organic matter, and healthy roots. Grape pomace is the main by-product of winemaking and a valuable source of natural phytochemicals. This research aimed to evaluate the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of pomace deriving from the microvinification of the Primitivo wine grapes obtained by four different soil management techniques: cover crop (C), soil mechanical tillage (T), green manure (G) and farm soil management (F). The content of total phenolic compounds and anthocyanins in grapes and wines is the highest with the vineyard cover cropping system. Moreover, grape pomace derived by cover crop soil management shows a significant abundance of these molecules and a more elevated antioxidant activity than the other soil technique.