Characterizing chemical influences of smoke on wine via novel application of 13c-labelled smoke
Abstract
Smoke impact is an ongoing and growing issue for vintners across the globe, with the west coast of the U.S. and Australia being two of the largest wine industries impacted. Wine has shown to be especially sensitive to smoke exposure, often acquiring off-flavor sensory characteristics, such as “burnt rubber”, “ashy”, or other medicinal off-flavors.1 While several studies have examined the chemical composition of smoke influences on wine, some studies disagree on what compounds are having the largest impact on smell and flavor.2 This study is designed as a bottom-up approach to inventory the chemical compounds derived from smoke from a grassland-like fire that are potentially influencing wine chemical composition. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) was chosen as a fuel source for its relatively fast growth and high lignin content, a biochemical pre-cursor compound responsible for many smoke sensory attributes. Barley was grown from seed in soil media for 4-6 weeks or until achieving GS 43-44 on the Zadoks’ scale of cereal growth in ambient greenhouse conditions in Corvallis, OR. At the GS 43-44 stages in the plant life cycle, barley growth accelerates, wherein the barley was placed in a sealed translucent container.3 Ambient 12CO2 was purged to
DOI:
Issue: Macrowine 2021
Type: Article
Authors
Ph.D. – Oregon State University
Contact the author
Keywords
smoke, 13c-label, 13co2, barley, pinot noir, chardonnay