Oregon State University researchers are developing a product to spray onto their grapes. It is to protect from wildfire smoke before it reaches their vines. The researchers expect to have a spray coating to prevent smoke damage.
Transforming Wine Industry
New research shows that spray-on coatings for grapes in the vineyard have promise. They can prevent off flavors in wines. It results from contact with wildfire smoke.
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Wildfire smoke is becoming a greater issue for wineries in the United States and globally,” said Elizabeth Tomasino. She is an associate professor of enology at Oregon State. “
Right now, vineyard managers have no tools to manage the smoke's effects. This coating has the potential to transform the wine industry.”
Oregon State researchers, led by Yanyun Zhao, recently published a paper. They targeted three compounds. They are known as volatile phenols that contribute to smoke taint in grapes.
Zhao, a university distinguished professor, and Jooyeoun Jung, a senior research assistant professor in Zhao’s lab, developed cellulose nanofiber-based coatings. It contains chitosan and beta-cyclodextrin. It can be applied to grapes in the vineyard.
Blocking & Capturing Smoke Compounds
The work showed that the films can block guaiacol and syringol. The ability to block depends on the formulations. They can also capture meta-cresol. These wildfire smoke compounds are absorbed by wine grapes. This results in off-flavors in wine.
The difference between blocking and capturing is important. Blocking means the coating doesn’t absorb the phenol compounds. It wouldn’t need to be washed off before winemaking. Capturing means the coating absorbs the compounds and would need to be washed off.
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Not having to wash it off saves time, money and water for grape growers. That is what we are aiming for,” said Zhao.
Refining Coating Formulations for Proper Adherence
Developing the coatings is challenging because the phenols have different chemical shapes. This makes it difficult to create a coating that adheres properly to all the shapes to block the smoke. The researchers are continuing to refine the coating formulations. They are also performing cost analysis studies.
Their two years of coating application studies in the vineyard show that the coatings do not impact the growth and quality of the grapes.
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Growers want something they can spray on their vines to protect them,” said Alexander Levin. He is a viticulturist. He is also the director of the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center. “
If this becomes a commercially available thing it’s going to be a big game-changer.”
The Oregon Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Grant fund the work.
Source: Oregon State University