This man is trying to save our wine from wildfire smoke

Aroma and taste are everything when it comes to good wine.

A full understanding of the wildfire smoke risks to wine grapes is still largely unknown, but climate change and the expected increase in prolonged smoky events across the Okanagan Valley, has the potential to compromise quality.

That’s where Associate Professor at UBC Okanagan, Wesley Zandberg and his team of researchers come in.

“When ripening grapes are exposed to smoky conditions they may – emphasis on may – go on to yield smoke-flavoured wines that are not acceptable to consumers,” Zandberg told Kelowna10, while making it clear this does not always happen.

But as he explained, the chemistry behind finding the right solutions is complicated.

Grapes exposed to smoke can be normal at harvest but then become smoky flavoured upon fermentation because the yeast used can transfer stored smoky aromas in the process.

Also, while pungent wildfire smoke can impact taste, smoke in the heat of August for example, can actually help protect the grapes from the harsh sun - so long as that smoke is not too stinky and dense.

And, as Zandberg notes, to make matters even more complex, wine is often stored in oak barrels that are toasted on the inside and that transfers small levels of the same compounds found in forest fire smoke. That’s a taste many wine-lovers enjoy.

“It’s a really difficult chemical problem that touches on both plant biology and also basic consumer preferences and sensory perceptions of products,” he said.

So, what does the team hope to achieve?

Zandberg is developing an early test for the industry to predict if they’re going to have a problem on fermentation even before they’ve collected the grapes. If the wine is already tainted that could save growers huge harvesting costs.

Also, the group is exploring ways of treating crops before or during fermentation to stop smoky aromas being released. Experiments are underway in the lab with already-approved agricultural sprays used in other fruit farming.

One method that worked for Australian researchers, but is prohibitively expensive for obvious reasons, is hand-wrapping each bunch of grapes in carbon-fibre bags. Zandberg added the use of Kaolin, a clay-based formulation he describes as a sunscreen for grapes, has produced inconclusive results when it comes to insulating grapes from wildfire smoke.

However, the bottom line from Zandberg is that while we are all clearly seeing the impacts of climate change – note the extreme weather the last year including October wildfire smoke – he’s optimistic the potential risks facing the Okanagan’s flourishing wine industry can be overcome.

“I do believe people dissecting this phenomenon at a chemical level … are going to come up with both predictive tests and strategies to mitigate the problem both in the vineyard … and potentially in the winery.”