Two women turn winery waste into healthy chocolate | American Made

[00:00:00]The United States may not be in the World Cup finals, but that does not mean it's time to stop celebrating our incredible country. Each week on our series American Made, we honor the companies and brands that define the entrepreneurial spirit of America. This week we travel to California's wineries, not to pop champagne, even though that sounds fun, too, but to see how an innovative company is repurposing winery waste and using it to create a superfood that just so happens to pair perfectly with chocolate. Sounds perfect. News Nation's Nancy Liu takes a closer look at how vine to bar use science to produce a sweet surprise hidden in food waste. Watch. While Chardonnay grapes are best known for their use in winemaking, and California is world-famous for that, this sweet and innovative byproduct is poised to become just as notable.

[00:00:53]Dark chocolate has a reputation of being healthy, but not always easy to love. An enticing key ingredient has been hiding in the California vineyards.

[00:01:03]>> This is a pioneering um sort of pathway to chocolate making that the world has never seen before.

[00:01:10]>> The company Vine to Bar is turning leftovers from winemaking into a superfood ingredient for dark chocolate.

[00:01:18]It transforms the taste and also supports gut health.

[00:01:22]>> I love chocolate. I love wine. I love Chardonnay, so uh a marriage made in heaven.

[00:01:28]>> is large.

[00:01:29]>> The idea grew out of a friendship.

[00:01:31]>> We've looked at the increase in obesity and other metabolic disorders, and it it's become unacceptable to not have healthy alternatives.

[00:01:43]>> It's a real food, and I think real food is important. I think you need real food in your diet, and unfortunately, you know, over the last 60, 70 years, our diet has become increasingly made up of things that aren't food. They're these food-like substances or they're little parts of food that have been isolated and purified and ultra-refined. And that's that's not really food. And what we make is a food. There's no question about it.

[00:02:09]>> We discovered that the Chardonnay material was filled with really interesting fibers, including things called oligosaccharides, which are found in, for example, human breast milk and are essential for newborn babies as an example.

[00:02:25]>> Well, Vine Bar is not only disrupting the chocolate industry, Well, Vine and its healthy benefits may also shake up the culinary world.

[00:02:34]>> The antioxidants are cool, but my favorite part is the flavor.

[00:02:37]>> Chef Dustin Valette is incorporating Well, Vine into the menu at the Matheson, an acclaimed restaurant in Sonoma County, furthering the impact of two American women with a dream and showing what American-made innovation can taste like.

[00:02:52]>> Swiss chocolate, French chocolate, but it's all wonderful, but they didn't do this.

[00:03:01]>> I can't wait to try this. Thanks to our Nancy Liu for that reporting.

[00:03:05]>> Thank you for watching. Subscribe below and download our NewsNation app right now on your phone and you will get fact-based, unbiased news for all Americans.