Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/751050
Researcher tests the effects of wildfire smoke on grapes and wine. by Shannon Dininny / photos by TJ Mullinax T he catastrophic wildfires of recent years raise obvious, immediate concerns for growers to protect people, equipment and orchards and vineyards from damage. In premier grape-growing regions, wildfires can have a longer lasting effect: the possibility of a wine vintage being tainted by smoke. Researchers have already established that grape cul- tivars can take in contaminants from wildfire smoke, resulting in undesirable sensory expressions in the wine — smoky, ashy, burnt. It's known as "smoke taint." However, researchers don't yet know exactly how much smoke must be present in the vineyard, or for how long, to experience perceptible taint in the resulting wines. More also needs to be known about how to alleviate severe taint in wine to salvage it. It's a tricky study question, because wine is also a func- tion of how the winemaker produces it, says Tom Collins, assistant professor in Washington State University's Wine Science Center in Richland, Washington. Collins is researching the issue of smoke taint — both in the vineyard and in the winery — with funding from the Washington Wine Commission. "I don't think we're going to see the issue of wildfires going away any time soon," he said. "And as we continue to plant more vineyards in the state and elsewhere, the likelihood that we're going to have this intersection of vineyard and wildfire smoke is only going to get greater." www.goodfruit.com Good Fruit Grower DECEMBER 2016 43