Photo by Gillian Stohler, SummerGate Winery
Wildfire
Wildfire burning near SummerGate Vineyards in 2017.
A common agricultural spray may be the key to preventing smoky flavour from smoke taint.
It’s a problem plaguing grape-growers worldwide; in an ever-changing climate, how can they protect their crops from the undesirable effects of wildfire smoke exposure.
A recent study by a team of UBC Okanagan researchers has led to the development of a preventative strategy for protecting grapes from volatile phenols; the flavoured compounds present in smoke that may be absorbed into ripening grapes and subsequently impact wine flavour.
“It’s definitely one of, if not the biggest concern wine-making communities are facing today,” says Wesley Zandberg, assistant professor in chemistry at UBC Okanagan and study author.
“When you look at the catastrophic wildfire seasons California and British Columbia have experienced in recent years, and the season Australia is experiencing now, I don’t think a solution can come quickly enough,” he says. “Winemakers are under a lot of pressure to find a way to protect their crops.”
Zandberg and his team tested multiple substances and found that applying an agricultural spray composed of phospholipids—typically used to prevent cracking in cherries—to wine grapes one week before exposing them to simulated forest fire smoke significantly reduced the levels of volatile phenols measured in smoke-exposed grapes at commercial maturity.
