Tree Flowers Solutions found a substitute for sulfites

Based in Braganza in northeastern Portugal, Tree Flowers Solutions is the biotech startup behind Chestwine, an organically certified innovation that uses chestnut blossom as a natural preservative for wine. 
Braganza University and Polytechnic Institute filed a patent regarding this innovation back in 2017.

The commercialization stage of the brand, which comes in powder form, debuted in 2024 after meeting the requirements of the International Organization of Vine and Wine’s oenological codex and organic vine-growing certification bodies.

Chestwine can be added to all sorts of wine, throughout the entire production process (harvest transportation, grape crushing, aging and bottling).

Chestwine has applied for Food and Drug Administration certification in the United States. This stamp of approval will provide a solution for organic wine exporters, who can only promote products without added sulfites as organic on the American market. It will also benefit natural and biodynamic wine producers, who often face challenges when shipping abroad due to the need to preserve the quality and stability of their wines without the extensive use of sulfites. In the meantime, a major American wine industry player will begin testing Chestwine as of 2025.

Further investments are going to be made to constantly improve upon Tree Flowers Solutions’ star brand, in view of providing customers with a wide range of natural solutions.

Moreover, research and development will focus on creating other products from this formula for the food and textile industries, and notably to provide alternative treatments to be used against grapevine diseases.