Location: Horticultural Crops Production and Genetic Improvement Research Unit
Project Number: 2072-30500-001-020-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Apr 1, 2026
End Date: Mar 31, 2030
Objective:
1. Determine why certain grape varieties are more susceptible to smoke taint than others
2. Mitigate smoke taint in wine by selective removal of only smoke taint compounds
3. Determine the smoke compounds that cause perceptual changes to wine quality
Approach:
The Cooperator Agrees To 1. Work closely with ARS in planning and conducting the research outlined below, in particular we would like to have an ARS member on student(s) committees and for participation in our monthly smoke taint meetings to name a few ways we can plan and conduct research the bets to utilize everyone’s areas of expertise.
Objective 1. Smoke taint impacts both red and white grape varieties in different manners. Some grape varieties require much more smoke exposure before any alteration to flavor can be perceived while others cannot. Multiple research approaches will be used to attempt to determine the mechanism(s) responsible for this including the lipids in skins, as smoke phenols are soluble in oils and therefore the composition of lipids in and on the skin may be a driver for the uptake of smoke compounds. Additionally, grape varieties can have very different skin thickness which may influence both the uptake of smoke compounds in the vineyard but also the release of them back into the juice and fermenting wine. Grapes known to have thin and thick skins will go through smoke exposure using our cage system. Grape skin thickness will be measured, additionally grapes will be made into wine in an attempt to elucidate if these factors are influencing smoke uptake and release. The last approach is in understanding the sulfur and thiol metabolism in the grapes. The activity of the different biochemical pathways may be the driving force behind the differences in smoke impacts in varietals.
Objective 2. To date there are no mitigate processes available to winemakers that only remove smoke compounds in wine. Fining agents, filtration and other processes also remove other desirable products. We aim to develop mitigation strategies that only remove smoke related compounds by developing a trapping system where the compound or compounds that trap the smoke compounds do not come in contact with the wine. Chemistries are well known that can bind only thiol compounds and only phenol compounds, the goal is to embrace the volatility of these compounds and trap them in their volatile form away from the wine.
Objective 3. While there has been much work conducted on the perception of smoke compounds in wines, we still do not know the compounds that are responsible for the actual sensory changes. While there are many marker compounds tested for, this analysis can be very expensive. By knowing the compounds that directly cause perceptual change sin win it will be possible for the industry to know which compounds should be tested for and to interpret testing results, so that they can streamline decision making and risk management.