The Grape Stuff was a group project where we looked to transform the waste created by the winery industry into a strong grape husk spirit that was popular in Italy. I was co-leader of the group and ran the environmental and economic research side of the project, as well as our stakeholder interactions.

Our solution is a mobile grape husk spirit brewing EV truck which will travel around participating wineries on Waiheke Island to collect grape marc. We will utilise an electric food truck to minimise our carbon footprint, which will have a solar panel on the roof to optimize renewable energy. The truck will feature its own distilling kit on board to reduce the need for new infrastructure and allow wineries to share the process. Our primary objective is to minimise our environmental impact by utilising recycled glass bottles to package our product.

Following the distilling process, our truck will then travel around Waiheke basing itself outside wineries and selling the product to tourists and visitors. Our main target audience consists of domestic and international tourists who are looking for new experiences, souvenirs and gifts.