Ultrasound as a Multifunctional Physical Platform for Whole‐Grape Valorization: From Field Management to Green Extraction, Quality Modulation, and Intelligent Scale‐Up

The grape and wine industry faces prolonged barrel aging, microbial spoilage, protein haze, chemical additives, and inefficient by-product valorization. These challenges motivate nonthermal technologies that reduce chemical inputs. Ultrasound operates in two mechanistically distinct regimes: sensing, based on acoustic propagation, reflection, and echo detection, and processing, driven mainly by acoustic cavitation and its physical and chemical effects, including microjets, shock waves, localized hotspots, and reactive radicals. These complementary modes provide a versatile physical platform. This review covers ultrasound across the grape-wine continuum: acoustic imaging for precision viticulture; postharvest preservation with green activated water; green extraction enhanced by natural deep eutectic solvents; grape protein modification for ingredient assembly; modulation of wine color, aroma, and colloidal stability; selected aging-associated reactions involving 1-hydroxyethyl radicals; selective microbial inactivation and fermentation modulation; and scale-up based on energy characterization, continuous-flow reactors, and data-driven modeling. Current evidence indicates that ultrasound is evolving from an empirically optimized unit operation toward a mechanistically informed and quantitatively characterized physical-field platform. Reported effects include accelerated aging-related transformations, modified protein structure and stability, and selective microbial responses, although they depend on treatment conditions and matrix properties. Absorbed energy density supports quantitative comparison of treatments, but reliable scale-up also requires acoustic-field distribution, residence time, temperature, and reactor geometry. Future progress will require standardized energy reporting, pilot- and continuous-flow validation, physics-informed data-driven modeling, and integration of process analytical technologies with closed-loop control. These advances would support more reproducible, scalable, and sustainable ultrasound processing in the grape and wine sector.