As wildfire season gets underway, Oregon State University has announced that a university-led research team has discovered a class of compounds that contribute to smoke taint in wine and grapes.
Researchers hope that the discovery will lead to effective tools for the grape and wine industries to mitigate the effects of wildfire smoke taint on their products.
“This is critically important for winemakers who are increasingly dealing with the impact of wildfire smoke on their grapes,” said Elizabeth Tomasino, an associate professor of enology at Oregon State. “It provides them markers that are much more predictive of smoke taint in wine than we previously had.”
For years, a class of compounds known as volatile phenols have been used as markers for smoke taint in wine and grapes. However, they weren’t considered good predictors of smoke taint issues, Tomasino said