Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/724494
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m S e p t - O c t 2 016 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 1 3 ildfires have become top of mind as of late, having caused unthinkable damage to prop- erty, businesses, structures and lives nationwide. And when those fires are within proximity of vineyard land, the residual smoke lingers in more than just the air. There are conflicting opinions on how and when smoke taint affects wine grape crops, and not enough studies have been done to decipher all the compounds involved. A general consensus says it affects crops most during post-veraison, yet others have found it can get into the vines at other points of the growth process, affecting not only the grape skins, but the leaves and wood as well. This problem, gladly, hasn't proven to linger into the following growing seasons. But smoke taint, even when treated, has been shown to increase during fermentation. So what is a wine- maker or grapegrower to do? "One of the problems is that no one has stud- ied smoke taint extensively enough to under- stand exactly what's going on," says Dave Dobson, winemaker at Carneros Vintners in Sonoma County, a custom crush facility that pro- cesses approximately 7 to 8 tons of grapes per year. "We still need to find all the molecules to be able to accurately measure the amount of Flash Technology Shows Promise for Smoke Taint Removal smoke taint," he continues. "Differ- ent fires probably have different com- pounds. There are too many variables happening. Other unknowns include the time of berry life when grapes are most affected, and whether or not smoke taint can get into the skin and be on the inside." This is where flash technology comes in. Available in Europe, Austra- lia, South America and other areas for 15 or so years, it NEWS FLASH Splinter Group Spirits Partners with Vintage Wine Estates Splinter Group Spirits announced a new partnership with Vintage Wine Estates, which has acquired a majority interest in the company. Splinter, formed in 2013 by the Wilkinson Family and Dave Phinney, produces the limited-production, award-winning brands Straight Edge bourbon whiskey and Slaughter House American whiskey. Dave Phinney, who has sold his interest in Splinter Group, will now focus on Orin Swift Cellars and other projects. Steve Matthiasson (Matthiasson Wines) and Bob Cabral (formerly Williams Selyem) have signed on to the new team, continuing the legacy of winemaker-crafted spirits. Wineries Welcome Department of Justice Ruling on Music Licensing The Department of Justice (DoJ) announced it will refrain from alter- ing the existing decrees regulating Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) and American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), as well as other elements of the music industry. The consent decree has regulated BMI and ASCAP since 1941 in response to anti-competitive behavior. Importantly, the DoJ struck down the Performing Rights Organizations (PRO's) requests for "fractionalized licensing." This is an important decision for wineries who purchase a "blanket license" from PROs to play music at their venue. A blanket license lets a venue play a PRO's entire repertory. Had the DoJ agreed to fractionalized licensing, a winery would have had to pay every PRO that represents a songwriter for a song with multiple writers: for example, if a song has four writers, each with a different PRO, then all four could claim royalties for that song. Ohio's Oldest Estate Winery Turns 100 Debonne Vineyards, Ohio's largest and oldest vineyard estate, turns 100 years old this year. The winery estate currently sits on 180 acres of rolling vineyards in the Grand River Valley Wine Region. The original vineyard of 20 acres was purchased 100 years ago by Anton Debevc. Today, Debonne Vineyards is Ohio's largest estate winery and is proud to celebrate its grape growing legacy. Over the years, it's garnered some of the highest awards in international wine com- petitions, the most recent being the Sweepstakes Award for the Best Dessert Wine at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. For more industry news briefs, visit the News Flash page on V&WM's website: http://www.vwmmedia.com/magazine/web-exclusive1.asp. BY JULIE FADDA POWERS Della Toffola's BTC (BioThermo Cooler) removes unwanted elements while simultaneously extracting wine grapes' best qualities.