terclim by ICS banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 EFFECTIVENESS OF APPLIED MATERIALS IN REDUCING THE ABSORPTION OF SMOKE MARKER COMPOUNDS IN A SIMULATED WILDFIRE SCENARIO

EFFECTIVENESS OF APPLIED MATERIALS IN REDUCING THE ABSORPTION OF SMOKE MARKER COMPOUNDS IN A SIMULATED WILDFIRE SCENARIO

Abstract

Smoke taint (ST) is a grape-wine off-flavour that may occur when grapes absorb volatile phenols (VPs) originating from wildfire smoke (1). ST is associated with the negative sensory attributes such as smoky and ashy notes. VPs are glycosylated in the plant and thus present in both free and bound forms (2; 3). Wildfire smoke has resulted in a decline in grape and wine quality and financial losses which has become a prominent issue for the global wine industry. This fact has highlighted the need to develop mitigation strategies to manage the impact of smoke exposure on grapes and the resulting wines (4). Currently there are no recommended mitigation action for grape smoke exposure.
The objective of this experiment was to compare the relative effectiveness of applying different potential protective barrier sprays to grapes in a simulated wildfire scenario. Twelve different material combina-tions were applied close to harvest as potential barrier sprays on three bunches each using four Cabernet Sauvignon vines. The vines were exposed to smoke for two hours three days after the barrier application. Control samples prior to smoke exposure was taken and smoked control (no barrier applied) grapes were sampled at different time points after exposure. For the smoke application a rectangular tent structure was built. The smoke was generated by a wood pellet smoker. Air samples were taken, and atmospheric parameters were monitored during the experiment. Grapes were analysed for free and acid-labile forms of VPs using a GC-MS and for glycosylated forms using UHPLC-qTOF MS.
Results show the presence of smoke and smoke derived compounds, however there was a strong stratifi-cation in the distribution of VPs within the structure. The heterogeneous distribution of smoke is reflected in the different concentrations of uptake of VPs in the grapes. Results from non-treated grapes indicate that glycosylation of the free volatile phenols takes place within hours, with significant increases in almost all glycosylated compounds. However, variation in smoke exposure will affect the glycosylation kinetics of VPs. The study indicated that some sprays exhibited some efficacy in reducing VPs absorption under these conditions. However, other treatments seemed to exacerbate the adsorption of VPs in grapes. In a next step, these barrier sprays will be studied further under field conditions. Acknowledgements: This work has been funded by the USDA-ARS.

 

1. Kennison, K. R., Wilkinson, K. L., Williams, H. G., Smith, J. H., & Gibberd, M. R. (2007). Smoke-derived taint in wine: Effect of postharvest smoke exposure of grapes on the chemical composition and sensory characteristics of wine. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 55(26), 10897–10901. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf072509k
2. Caffrey, A., Lerno, L., Rumbaugh, A., Girardello, R., Zweigenbaum, J., Oberholster, A., & Ebeler, S. E. (2019). Changes in Smoke-Taint Volatile-Phenol Glycosides in Wildfire Smoke-Exposed Cabernet Sauvignon Grapes throughout Winemaking. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 70(4), 373–381. https://doi.org/10.5344/ajev.2019.19001
3. Hayasaka, Y., Dungey, K. A., Baldock, G. A., Kennison, K. R., & Wilkinson, K. L. (2010). Identification of a beta-D-glucopyranoside precursor to guaiacol in grape juice following grapevine exposure to smoke. Analytica Chimica Acta, 660(1–2), 143–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2009.10.039
4. Mirabelli-Montan, Y. A., Marangon, M., Graça, A., Mayr Marangon, C. M., & Wilkinson, K. L. (2021). Techniques for mitigating the effects of smoke taint while maintaining quality in wine production: A review. Molecules, 26(6), 1–19. https://doi. org/10.3390/molecules26061672

DOI:

Publication date: February 9, 2024

Issue: OENO Macrowine 2023

Type: Article

Authors

Ignacio Arias-Pérez¹, Yan Wen1 and Anita Oberholster¹

1. Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California Davis, 95616, CA, USA

Contact the author*

Keywords

Smoke taint, Barrier spray, Volatile phenols, Glycosylation

Tags

IVES Conference Series | oeno macrowine 2023 | oeno-macrowine

Citation

Related articles…

INVESTIGATION OF MALIC ACID METABOLIC PATHWAYS DURING ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION USING GC-MS, LC-MS, AND NMR DERIVED 13C-LABELED DATA

Malic acid has a strong impact on wine pH and the contribution of fermenting yeasts to modulate its concentration has been intensively investigated in the past. Recent advances in yeast genetics have shed light on the unexpected property of some strains to produce large amounts of malic acid (“acidic strains”) while most of the wine starters consume it during the alcoholic fermentation. Being a key metabolite of the central carbohydrate metabolism, malic acid participates to TCA and glyoxylate cycles as well as neoglucogenesis. Although present at important concentrations in grape juice, the metabolic fate of malic acid has been poorly investigated.

SENSORY PROFILES AND EUROPEAN CONSUMER PREFERENCE RELATED TOAROMA AND PHENOLIC COMPOSITION OF WINES MADE FROM FUNGUSRESISTANT GRAPE VARIETIES (PIWI)

Planting grape varieties with several resistance loci towards powdery and downy mildew reduces the use of fungicides significantly. These fungus resistant or PIWI varieties (acronym of German Pilzwiderstandsfähig) contribute significantly to the 50% pesticide reduction goal, set by the European Green Deal for 2030. However, wine growers hesitate to plant PIWIs as they lack experience in vinification and are uncertain, how consumer accept and buy wines from these yet mostly unknown varieties. Grapes from four white and three red PIWI varieties were vinified in three vintages to obtain four diffe-rent white and red wine styles, respectively plus one rosé.

WHICH TERROIR-RELATED FACTORS INFLUENCE THE MOST VOLATILE COMPOUND PRODUCTION IN COGNAC BASE WINE?

Cognac is a famous spirit produced in southwest France in the region of the eponymous town from wines mainly from Vitis vinifera cv. Ugni blanc. This variety gives very acidic and poorly aromatic base wines for distillation which are produced according to a very specific procedure. Grapes are picked at low sugar concentrations ranging 13-21 °Brix and musts with high turbidity (>500 NTU) are fermented without sulphite addition [1]. Fermentative aromas, as esters and higher alcohols, are currently the main quality markers considered in Cognac spirits.

CHEMICAL DRIVERS OF POSITIVE REDUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND CHARDONNAY WINES

According to winemakers, wine experts and sommeliers, aromas of wet stone, mineral, struck match and flint in white wines styles, such as those produced from Vitis vinifera L. cv. Chardonnay, are considered to be hallmarks of positive reduction.1,2 In recent years, the production of Chardonnay styles defined by aroma characteristics related to positive reduction has become more desirable among wine experts and consumers. The chemical basis of positive reduction is thought to originate from the concentration of specific volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs), including methanethiol (MeSH) imparting mineral and chalk notes,3 and benzenemethanethiol (BMT) responsible for struck match and flint.1,4

GRAPE SPIRITS FOR PORT WINE PRODUCTION: SCREENING THEIR AROMA PROFILE

Port is a fortified wine, produced from grapes grown in the demarcated Douro region. The fortification process consists in the addition of a grape spirit (77% v/v) to the fermenting juice for fermentation interruption, resulting in remaining residual sugars in the wine and increased alcohol content (19-22%). The approval of grape spirits follows the Appellation (D.O. Port wine) rules1 and it is currently carried out based on analytical control and on sensory evaluation done by the public Institute that upholds the control of the quality of Douro Appellation wines. However, the producers of Port wines would like to have more information about quality markers of grape spirits.