Page 48 - Grapevine July-August 2019

Around The Vineyard

Tom Eddy, owner of Tom Eddy Winery in Napa

“In California, we really only had one wildfire event the wine, but, as Eddy said, “We are still learning.”
that caused problems, and that was in 2008. Then,
we as winemakers were somewhat naïve — we While there are few definitive answers, experts
thought, ‘Well, it’s just an act of God, and it hap- have determined that the key factors influencing
pens,’ but we didn’t do much about it. We tried smoke taint are grape growth state, smoke com-
to remove it later when we discovered it. Some position, length of smoke exposure, and grape
winemakers threw their wine away, some tried to variety. Grapes are most vulnerable to smoke taint
blend it out, which they could do to some extent, between veraison and harvest.
and some just made it and bottled it and called
it Barbecue Red.” Eddy, whose winery was at the Once the grapes start ripening, the grape skins
epicenter of the Tubbs Fire, lost much of his 2017 more quickly absorb smoke particles. As for smoke
wine, representing a $2.5 million loss. composition and duration, studies have shown
that just 30 minutes of exposure to heavy smoke
According to Eddy, the California wildfires of 2017 at a sensitive stage of vine development will cause
were “a wake-up” call. “Now, everybody’s cogni- smoke taint. Beyond that, little is known about how
zant about smoke taint,” he said. “We’re investigat- the specific source of the smoke affects the smoke
ing how smoke taint affects the juice and the wine, taint composition in wine grapes.
how to analyze smoke taint, and how to mitigate
it.” Similarly, research is ongoing into the vulnera-
bility of specific wine grapes to smoke taint. Some
Researchers in the U.S., specifically at top enology experts claim that varieties with thicker skins such
programs at the University of California at Davis as Cabernet Sauvignon are more resistant, while
and Washington State University, are investigating the thin-skinned Pinot Noir is very susceptible. In
ways to minimize the problem in the vineyard and fact, there have been instances where density and

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