Smoke taint 2020...

[Victor_Hong]

How long does it take? Here in the Central Valley Ca. we’ve had a layer of smoke and ash for the last couple days now…pretty heavy as you can see the ash and smell the smoke persistently. I would think Lodi is getting this…and am wondering about the other wine areas? How much of this does it take before we start seeing the effects in the grapes? And…does heat play any part in how much absorption the grapes take in the smoke…as it’s also been 100+ here for the last week or so?

Girl or boy?

[Anton_D]

We have a neighbor who has about 4 acres of grapes. Zin, Syrah, Tempranillo, some Mourvedre…

Saw him over Labor day and he said he was going to harvest this coming weekend.

Now, day is night and ash is falling like snow flurries.

He says maybe he will try to invent a wine-grape derived BBQ sauce.

I tried to take pics, but it just looks like it’s dark out.

[Casey_Hartlip]

Looking at the purple air map, Oregon is bad.

[R_Frankel]

I’m very sorry to hear, Kevin. At least that line of redwoods kept the fire from moving closer to winery and vineyards in the SCM.
-Al

Thanks Al (and everyone else!). As bad as it is, it could have been a lot worse. Those Pescadero Creek redwoods saved Alpine and Horseshoe.

Kevin, so sorry to hear about the SCM vineyards. Huge bummer, but the properties being ok is an immense silver lining. How did your AV properties fare? Did the deep end avoid the worst of the smoke?

[Victor_Hong]

Decade’s worth of wtf? Hopefully the next Century:
Covid
Fires
Riots
Crazy heat spikes
20% unemployment, stock market crash

All in 6 months…insane

Plus an election…

Only winning a Nobel Peace Prize can save this year. Oh, wait,…

[Brian_Tuite]

Things have taken a weird twist today.

The higher the sun gets in the sky the darker it becomes.

[David_Bu3ker]

We are not picking fruit at Family Farm, Skyline, Alpine, Horseshoe or Centennial Mtn. Very painful but I guess it could be worse.

I hope other wineries are faring better. This is pretty devastating for everyone.

That’s just horrible. Hoping for better things in the future for you and the team.

[Victor_Hong]

Fake fires, fake smoke. Just watch TV for the real outside…

[Victor_Hong]

…

PS. As I finished typing the above got a call, my mother has passed, in NY, so all of this is pretty much moot to me with the 14 day enforced quarantine BS. So, signing off for now.

So sorry.

[B_Buzzini]

We are not picking fruit at Family Farm, Skyline, Alpine, Horseshoe or Centennial Mtn. Very painful but I guess it could be worse.

I hope other wineries are faring better. This is pretty devastating for everyone.

Sorry to hear that Kevin. Congrats on the 2018 scores from Vinous though! 99pts Horseshoe ungrafted pinot…

[Roy_Piper]

Today was unlike anything I remember here, even in 2017. Orange/yellow sky all day, very poor visibility. Peak temps of 67F in Calistoga (was 112F two days ago.)

Oddly, the actual air quality was better today than yesterday by looking at online meters. But it sure did not look that way. It was like waking up in Mordor.

[M_Taylor]

The photos remind Me of the 80s movie “Night of the Comet”

[Brian_Tuite]

I was talking to a fairly prominent RRV Zinfandel grower today and he had me follow him out to his truck. He hands me a sample bottle and asks, do you smell anything? It was Zinfandel fermented near dry, I smelled nothing off, he said the client winery told him “it’s obvious smoke taint you can smell it.”

We couldn’t smell a thing. I’ve tasted lots of smoke tainted samples that smelled fine but tasted off. The smell usually comes after bottling not during fermentation. This was too loaded with lees cloudiness to be able to taste anything. They told him they’ll have test results back in 18 days. By then the fruit will be too ripe and they’ll likely pass on the fruit. Sucks to be him.

[Casey_Hartlip]

Just had a client pass on 70 tons of Pinot…sucks to be me.

[larry_schaffer]

Just had a client pass on 70 tons of Pinot…sucks to be me.

Sorry to hear that. Was it based on tests or something else?

Cheers.

[larry_schaffer]

I was talking to a fairly prominent RRV Zinfandel grower today and he had me follow him out to his truck. He hands me a sample bottle and asks, do you smell anything? It was Zinfandel fermented near dry, I smelled nothing off, he said the client winery told him “it’s obvious smoke taint you can smell it.”

We couldn’t smell a thing. I’ve tasted lots of smoke tainted samples that smelled fine but tasted off. The smell usually comes after bottling not during fermentation. This was too loaded with lees cloudiness to be able to taste anything. They told him they’ll have test results back in 18 days. By then the fruit will be too ripe and they’ll likely pass on the fruit. Sucks to be him.

As others have said, there are going to be a lot of ‘gun shy’ wineries out there due to issues in 2008 or 2018 - and the ‘fear’ that many are painting this vintage in a certain light. I’m hoping those samples come back perfect and that they are able to sell the fruit . . .

Cheers

[Brian_Tuite]

I was talking to a fairly prominent RRV Zinfandel grower today and he had me follow him out to his truck. He hands me a sample bottle and asks, do you smell anything? It was Zinfandel fermented near dry, I smelled nothing off, he said the client winery told him “it’s obvious smoke taint you can smell it.”

We couldn’t smell a thing. I’ve tasted lots of smoke tainted samples that smelled fine but tasted off. The smell usually comes after bottling not during fermentation. This was too loaded with lees cloudiness to be able to taste anything. They told him they’ll have test results back in 18 days. By then the fruit will be too ripe and they’ll likely pass on the fruit. Sucks to be him.

As others have said, there are going to be a lot of ‘gun shy’ wineries out there due to issues in 2008 or 2018 - and the ‘fear’ that many are painting this vintage in a certain light. I’m hoping those samples come back perfect and that they are able to sell the fruit . . .

Cheers

So do I, he doesn’t have crop insurance. Maybe I take some and wing it with. Little help from my friends.

[Anton_D]

Today was unlike anything I remember here, even in 2017. Orange/yellow sky all day, very poor visibility. Peak temps of 67F in Calistoga (was 112F two days ago.)

Oddly, the actual air quality was better today than yesterday by looking at online meters. But it sure did not look that way. It was like waking up in Mordor.

Mordor, for sure.

Kind of a mash up of Mordor and “The Upside Down” from Stranger Things here.

[Carole_Meredith]

He hands me a sample bottle and asks, do you smell anything? It was Zinfandel fermented near dry, I smelled nothing off, he said the client winery told him “it’s obvious smoke taint you can smell it.”

We couldn’t smell a thing. I’ve tasted lots of smoke tainted samples that smelled fine but tasted off. The smell usually comes after bottling not during fermentation.

In young wine, the smoke taint cannot be smelled because the grapes attach sugar molecules to the smoke taint molecules and these “bound” forms are odorless. The taint can often be detected in the mouth (but not the nose) because enzymes in saliva can break the two components apart again, leaving the smoke taint molecules unbound and able to be smelled retronasally.

[Brian_Tuite]

He hands me a sample bottle and asks, do you smell anything? It was Zinfandel fermented near dry, I smelled nothing off, he said the client winery told him “it’s obvious smoke taint you can smell it.”

We couldn’t smell a thing. I’ve tasted lots of smoke tainted samples that smelled fine but tasted off. The smell usually comes after bottling not during fermentation.

In young wine, the smoke taint cannot be smelled because the grapes attach sugar molecules to the smoke taint molecules and these “bound” forms are odorless. The taint can often be detected in the mouth (but not the nose) because enzymes in saliva can break the two components apart again, leaving the smoke taint molecules unbound and able to be smelled retronasally.

Thanks Carole I thought so.

So if wineries are that sketchy about taint how do you think the public will be?