CORVALLIS, OR (KPTV) - Some Oregon winemakers are trying to determine if their grapes are worth harvesting after this year's wildfires sent smoke across the state. To help, researchers at Oregon State University will study the grapes and give out advice.
Elizabeth Tomasino is an associate professor at OSU. She told FOX 12 that grapes absorb the smoke, so the ash can not be washed off.
Winemakers won't know how much has been absorbed until the grapes are being made into wine, and once the fermentation process begins, the smoke comes out and changes the taste.
Tomasino and a group of researchers at OSU are helping grape-growers and winemakers by testing their samples and measuring the smoke impact.
This will help them gage whether the grapes are worth the cost of harvesting.
So far, they have analyzed nearly 500 samples from across the state.
While the work is helping the winemaking industry right now, Tomasino says the data they're collecting will help them further understand the impact smoke has on grapes for future harvests.
"From research standpoint, it's a lot of information that's going to be really, really useful. From an industry standpoint, it's disappointing," Tomasino said.
Tomasino says the vineyards closest to where the fires were burning have been hit the hardest, saying that they had the worst smoke impact.
The vineyards farther out had little to none.
So overall, Tomasino told FOX 12 that people will still be able to enjoy an Oregon wine made this year, saying a lot of great wines will come from the harvest.
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The Link LonkOctober 21, 2020 at 02:01AM
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OSU researchers studying impact wildfire smoke had on this year's grape harvest - KPTV.com
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