Some of their conclusions to date are: Laboratory tests on grape samples prior to • All fires are different – we can’t readily use past experience to predict the effect of today’svintage have confirmed that there is no events. smoke taint in our grapes and this was • “Old” smoke is much less of a problem than “new” smoke – the volatile phenols have a shortconfirmed as we continued to test our half-life and travel less than 40 kilometres in most cases. vineyards during the course of the harvest, we • The smoke is absorbed directly by the berry and is stored in the skin. are blessed and thankful to have been some • The leaves however also absorb and store smoke – up to 10 times as much as the skins, so thatdistance from the fires. means diligent sorting to keep leaves out of red ferments. You can be assured that any wine made • The smoke taint compounds comprise volatile phenols – the free form plus those bound to thefrom the 2020 vintage will be sound and free grape sugars. of taint – growers, winemakers and the wine • The smoke taint compounds can’t be washed off. community are committed to ensuring that • The rate of absorption of smoke compounds depends on: smoke duration, repeated exposure,the excellent reputation of our wines isn’t smoke age, day or night exposure and grape maturity. damaged by this crazy and unpredictable • No carryover taint from one season to another eg. not stored in the vine. season.” • Smoke exposure is additive/cumulative. Cheers, Neil. NEMAKER • Detection of the taint compounds varies considerably, even in trained tasters - in a panel of 20 trained tasters at the AWRI sensitivity varied 1000 fold. • The smoke taint aromas and flavours vary from positive “charry” (often similar to charry oak barrel characters) to negative lingering “ashy” flavours. • Good wines can be made from grapes grown in smoke affected areas – it depends on variety, timing, ripeness and other factors. • The Department of Agriculture has set up collection points for grape growers and wineries to deliver grapes for transport to specialised laboratories for testing. • All growers in smoke affected regions will be diligently testing their grapes before picking. If they are smoke affected then the grapes won’t be picked. 09 CelebratingYears