We’ve all heard about the recent spate of wildfires in the Western United States, but many of us may have not considered the impact that the smoke has on grapes, and ultimately wine, as the smoke passes through vineyards. With the 2008 vintage, we had the opportunity to observe how three different wineries handled the same variety from the same smoked vineyard. The things we associate with extraction; cold soak, enzymes, extended maceration, higher temperature fermentation. longer hang time etc, correlated clearly with level of smoke taint. Separate research indicated that the smoke taint potential derived from fermentation reached its peak in the first few days of fermentation. So early pressing is likely to reduce wine quality more than smoke taint. One Australian study explored various cold soak, yeast and oak treatments. Although they found small but significant variations in smoke taint levels, none of them eliminated smoke taint. Even choosing to make unoaked,low aromatic rose with red grapes, could not eliminate the majority of the smoke character. One fermentation practice that should help is MOG removal. Stem and leaf inclusion increases the smoke taint character of fermentations. Unless it is absolutely critical to your style, 100% destemming, and vigorous rvDG removal are rewarded with lower smoke sensory qualities. Do what you normally do to make the best wine possible. Minimizing smoke taint takes a greater toll on quality than smoke taint itself. The one exception is destemming. It is probably not worth it to include stems in your fermentation. Meanwhile, particularly diligent MOG removal is a good investment. Is it only a red wine problem? Primarily yes, but not entirely. White wine aged on lees, heavy smoke exposure, and/or heavy pressing can all lead to white varieties showing smoke taint. Regarding remediation, many things have been tried and failed entirely or partially. Washing grapes has been tried and is useless, as the taint is in the grape, not on the skin. One winery tried an aggressive PVPP and isinglass fining of their juice. It diminished but did not eliminate the smoke taint in the subsequent wine. Unfortunately, the fining had succeeded in stripping all the vinous character from the wine. IVl expensive estate wine had to be sold off cheaply in bulk. The winery never recovered and subsequently closed. Fine to the extent that you normally would and no more. No fining or adsorbent will remove enough of the smoke taint to be a stand-alone solution. Ally fining, beyond those doses regularly used in winemaking, will reduce color, aroma, and/or tannin and overall quality. Blending. Ignore everything you think you know about blending. If you blend a slightly smoke tainted wine 1:4 (20%) with non-smoke tainted wine, that will be fine, right? Unfortunately, no. We do not know of a smoke tainted wine (regardless of level) ever “disappearing” into a blend acceptably at greater than -5% of the blend. Go ahead and try it on a lab scale. But be sure to hold the blend for at least two weeks prior to sensory assessment. Additives. Tannins, extracts, gums and proprietary blended products have all been tried. Like fining, they may improve matters slightly, but will not cover up the smoke character to a significant extent. For that reason, they are best left, as always, until right before bottling, if used at all. For processing or storing during the winemaking process, check out our line of Stainless Steel Wine Drums
Skolnik Newsletter Wine