Smoke taint, lawsuits, and a wine tech opportunity

One thing Peter Mondavi spoke about during class and again at Wine Circle was concerns with how the California wildfires affected the flavor profiles of Napa wines. Smoke taint often leaves wines tasting burned and ashy and have more recently become a concern for wineries as wildfires become more common. Fire produces free volatile (easily evaporated) phenols (a hydrocarbon with an alcohol group) that latch onto the sugars in the grapes. Their effect on flavor profiles may not show up immediately in the grapes and present itself during fermentation. Oak, too, has volatile phenols in it that can make a wine taste more “smoky”. As Mondavi discussed his concerns, I wondered how beyond Charles Krug, other wineries were taking measures to mitigate anticipated damage to flavor profiles and yields with the increasing threat of wildfires in many wine regions. 

As it turns out, just last month, a few wineries sued their insurers for not covering wines that had been affected by the wildfires that burned through Sonoma County in 2017. The wineries argue that the smoke taint affected the marketability of their wines. Though it sounds as though the defense is using technical details about whether the wine is insured during its production process versus while the grape is on the vine, some winemakers argue that the wine can be affected at multiple stages of product— pre harvest and post-harvest— by the smoke. It seems like this lawsuit could set a precedent for the agriculture industry in general. Certainly, wildfires affect marketability for products beyond wine and as the prevalence of wildfires increases, I imagine we will see more lawsuits like this. 

The wildfires have had a terrible impact on agriculture and livelihood, and consequently, many wineries are looking for solutions. In the spirit of proposing our innovative wine ideas for this week, I see an opportunity. In fact, some researchers are currently looking for ways to protect grapes from volatile phenols. One method that is being studied is a spray to prevent the phenols from penetrating the grape skin. I could totally see an innovation here. The spray approach makes me think of Apeel Sciences, a startup building skins to preserve produce longer. Other researchers are coming up with methods to test the impact of smoke taint on grapes. Because different grape varieties absorb the volatile phenols differently, some grapes may actually be spared from smoke taint. A device to measure this pre, peri, or post fermentation could be quite useful to save a winemaker from selling smoke-tainted wine and tarnishing their brand. 

With climate change’s growing threat, winemakers in wildfire-stricken regions are really feeling this pain, and now is a time for innovations in wine and agriculture to solve climate impacts and save quality wine. 

California Wineries Sue Insurers for Wildfires: https://www.winespectator.com/articles/california-wineries-sue-insurers-over-smoke-tainted-wines

How Smoke Affects Wine’s Taste: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/12/13/570188980/winemakers-worry-wildfires-will-leave-whiff-of-ashtray-in-their-wine

Researchers develop method to protect grapes from smoke taint: https://phys.org/news/2020-02-strategy-wine-grapes-smoke-taint.html