Another smoke thread

How would buyers know which wines could be bottled with smoke taint ?

Reputable wineries will not release smoke tainted wines. Most all the wineries we deal with are reputable. I think.

There were smoke tainted wines bottled and released in 2008 particularly in Anderson Valley. And in other areas. Some wineries owned up to it, some did not. Alan has a valid question.

Taste them

People learned a lot in 2008.

And there’s still not going to be any way to know.

Maybe they’ll mask it with Mega Purple!

If they are cool to the touch, there is no taint.
If you pick up the wine and it feels hot, the fire got to it.

Or it’s from the hand of Sauron.

After that debacle “most all reputable wineries will not release smoke tainted wine.” Sorry I had to spell it out completely.

This is probably the most reliable indicator.

A secondary, but probably much less foolproof tactic would be to ask when they fruit was harvested. Before Oct 21 = Good (majority of the region), after Oct 21 = bad.

Mike,

Do you think it’s that simple? What about stuff that was crushed but not fermented yet in open top tanks?

I know folks don’t want to ‘assume the worst’ and I’m hopeful it will end up better . . .

I’ve never seen nor heard of Wines crushed and in tank (open or otherwise) having smoke damage.

Adam Lee

The smoke damage comes from unpicked fruit as the smoke phenolics permeate the porous grape skin. This is also why some whites can escape the smoke damage - the unwanted compounds get leached out from the skins mainly over skin maceration.

Since the fires started on the 9th what significance does the 21st hold? Is that when harvest resumed?

This. I’m just a consumer of wine, not ITB. But as a resident of southern Marin County (adjacent to Sonoma, close to Napa, etc) I can tell you the smoke was blowing for days in all directions and traveled as far as 50+ miles from multiple fire sources. I was still cleaning ash off of my car and house exterior into November.

This isn’t going to stop me from buying 2017 vintage Northern California wines, but the primary and secondary challenges from these fires were pervasive. In addition to all of the smoke, there were multiple and wide-spread fire retardant drops, extended power outages, and workers unable to get to their jobs for days.

Personally, the 2017 vintage is interesting to me precisely because of these challenges. It was an absolutely horrible time for people in the area, and for people in the wine industry (all facets of it) in particular. That said, the fire weeks were filled with stories heroic as well as tragic, and most of them took place in wine country. And, in any case, I cannot imagine a more difficult time for a winemaker–it will be interesting to experience the output of wineries who remained in production and who clearly had to apply creativity and other skills outside of the norm during this period .

I can’t say that I know what smoke-taint tastes like, but if I happen to pop open a '17 at some later date and think I’m tasting it, it will only serve as a reminder of the uniquely punishing period endured last October, and of all of the industry people who found a way to power through it.

Actually I’m a pretty good speler

My apoligys!

What are some examples of 2008 wines that were heavily tainted? Asking for fans of Laphroaig =D

Edit: ok, just went through the rabbit hole and read up on those old threads. Some interesting stories on the “boycott” thread too.

You are correct - but this was a ‘unique’ situation where there might have been tanks that were inundated with smoke and/or ash. I’m not saying it happened - and Adam is saying he knows of nothing like this - but in the middle of harvest, and with folks having to get out ASAP, I can imagine that there’s always the chance that it did.

We also know that some wineries were inaccessible for awhile - and some lost power for awhile. That could and would mean that jackets on tanks would have not been on, and smaller tanks perhaps may not have been punched down or pumped over for awhile. I have not heard of any ‘stuck’ ferments, but it would not surprise me if there were.

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see - I know that folks won’t want to think about this and no, I’m not a ‘the sky is falling’ kind of guy - but I can certainly imagine some of these scenarios taking place and possibly affecting the fermentations and subsequent wines.

Cheers.

I would probably grab a 2016 Sonoma or Napa wine over a 2017 each and every time if/when available if buying in a retail store .

Another issue is it was shown that wine that showed no apparent taint prior to bottling developed the problems after bottling. The chemical enzyme may have been present but it was thought insignificant - so now I assume people may err on the side of caution.