A solution to smoke taint coming soon

Smoke tainted wine are becoming more of a problem as the world heats up and wildfires are increasing. A new approach has been developed to block smoke taint.

By spraying vines before a smoke taint incident, taint aromas can be blocked from reaching the grape. Elizabeth Tomasino, an associate professor of oenology at Oregon State believes the coating has the potential to transform the wine industry. Tomasino says ‘The next major research steps are working on the formulation so that it stops all the smoke compounds from getting to the grape. We are currently able to stop guaiacol, 4-methylguaiacol, syringol and 4-methylsyringol. We are working on stopping the cresols from getting through.’

While the coating is food grade, it may need to be washed off the grapes prior to winemaking. This will increase the cost of production and the amount of water required for the washing.

The solution is still at least 3 years away and would need approval from regulators around the world.