Winetech Technical Yearbook 2022

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Smokin’ hot Western Cape terroir (PART 2)

SHUTTERSTOCK

12 E ECONOMIC IMPACT OF SMOKE EVENTS The economic impact of smoke events near vineyards on producers can be devastating. Our research into the Elgin fire of 2017 indicated that an economic loss of around R5-million was incurred by the farmers we spoke to, with some abandoning their top/flagship ranges. Similarly fires in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley in 2019 burned vineyards and had massive impacts on the winemaking community. If we go back slightly further, the 2015 fire that savaged the Peninsula also impacted producers in the region severely. And these are just the big events. At some point each decade (or even more frequently), every Western Cape vineyard will likely be exposed to a range of smoke-associated volatile phenols (VPs), which may then transfer to wine. 1 Do we expect producers to write off their entire harvest, and be more financially ex BY MARIANNE MCKAY WINETECH TECHNICAL YEARBOOK 2022

THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SCIENTIFIC FACTS, AS WELL AS THE RESEARCHER’S OWN PERSONAL OPINION, ABOUT THE EMERGING THINKING AROUND SMOKE ‘TAINT’ IN WINE.

posed than they already might be in these extremely tough economic conditions? Let’s consider what happened in Australia and Oregon. CONSUMER REACTION TO SMOKY WINE: THE BURNING ISSUE As most people know, Australia was hit by devastating wildfires in 2019/20. Bush fires in Australia, just as in the Western Cape, are a widespread and regular oc currence, but the 2019/20 fire season was devastating for people, animals and the wine industry. M. Allen 2 explored this is sue with Australian winemakers and found that a number of them had decided to be upfront about the smoke issue with their customers, recommending that the wines were not kept, but consumed as quickly as possible. Surprisingly, the smoke-affected wines sold well, some even at premium prices. Previously, even a hint of smoke taint had been seen as completely off-put