Addressing Smoke-Impacted Wines

By: Becky Garrison

In a press release dated May 5, 2023, Willamette Valley Vineyards, Brigadoon Wine Co., Samuel Robert Winery, Retraite, LLC (F/K/A Lingua Franca - LS Vineyards Holdings, LLC) and Elk Cove Vineyards Inc. announced they hired a well-known legal team to investigate filing suit against Pacific Power, a division of PacifiCorp, in the Oregon state circuit courts. The wineries issued this joint statement:

“These fires devastated our industry, and we believe it’s time we investigate seeking compensation. We are encouraged by the recent news reports that the other fire victims in the state are finally able to settle their claims against Pacific

Power (PacifiCorp). We have hired the lawyers who led the $13.5 billion recovery for the 70,000 victims in the PG&E bankruptcy in California and who recently settled their lead fire victims’ claims against PacifiCorp in the Archie Creek Fire litigation in Douglas County, Oregon.”

As evidenced by the wildfires impacting the West Coast in subsequent years, coupled with the current wildfires raging in Canada impacting the East Coast and the Midwest, the issue of smoke damage to wine grapes remains an ongoing concern. During the Oregon Wine Symposium held on February 14-15, 2023, moderator Greg Urmini, operations lead for White Rose Estate in Dayton, Oregon, led a panel of winemakers and researchers to discuss smoke-impacted wine. Urmini pointed to the significance of this topic, noting, “It’s important to understand what winemakers are doing to help save their wine because we have to continue to make wines, and we want to be able to provide a good product.”

CASE STUDY: Barrel 42 & Quady North Winery (Jacksonville, Oregon)

As a founding member of the West Coast Smoke Exposure Taskforce, Nichole Schulte, winemaker and partner of Barrel 42 and Quady North Winery, has experienced trial by fire literally while dealing with multiple smoke indigents over the past decade in Oregon. Overall, she stresses the need to collaborate with local winegrowers and winemakers ahead of time so there’s a strategy already in place regarding what can be done in the winery and the vineyard.

In assessing the risk of a particular wildfire, Schulte looks at three factors. First, she observes the proximity of the smoke event to the vineyard, adding that the AQI (Air Quality Index) measure- ments do not provide a direct relationship between air quality and the volatile smoke-related compounds (“phenols”) floating around in the air. Also, she examines the freshness of the smoke, adding that these phenols can degrade or drop out over time.

The grapes soak up these phenols, which bind to sugar though how much sugar is absorbed by the grapes depends on the varietal and the growing stage. Some grapes ranked from highest to lowest risk for negative effects from smoke damage include pinot noir, grenache, sangiovese, cabernet franc, primitivo, zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah.

While the most vulnerable times for grapes coincide with wildfire season, there’s no carryover impact in the vineyards from previous wildfire events. Preliminary indications of using barrier sprays in the vineyard show to be very promising. In addition, hand harvest reduces maceration time from harvest to the fermenter. Sort out as much MOG as you can, which means not doing a full cluster ferment. Whole berry ferments tend to produce fruity aromas and esters that can, to some degree,