10 March 2007
published by www.theage.com.au
Australia -- This time of year grapevines are pulsating with life, but what King
Valley wine grower Arnie Pizzini saw and tasted two weeks ago was anything but
lively.
The first of his white aromatic grape varieties were ready to be picked but
they tasted flat and stale. The fruit flavour was muted, as if the volume had
been turned down. The grapes' aroma and aftertaste were, well, like an ashtray
piled with day-old dead ciggies.
Tests later confirmed his suspicion: smoke taint.
| Smoke haze in December from one of the biggest bushfires in
Victorian history had penetrated and undermined the transference of sweet,
juicy flavours in his wine grapes and, at vintage, its effect was horribly
clear.
Many winemakers in the King and Alpine valleys have decided not to make
wine from the smoke-damaged fruit, with the final tally of discarded fruit
possibly as high as 20,000 tonnes.
"We can't put a product out from smoke-affected fruit, especially
an aromatic white," said Mr Pizzini, who runs Chrismont Wines at
Cheshunt. "It would destroy our reputation."
After battling killer spring frosts, drought and bushfires, the wine
makers of the King and Alpine valleys could be forgiven for hoping for a
happier ending to the 2007 vintage. It is not to be. |
Owner of King Valley's Chrismont Wines, Arnie Pizzini,
harvests smoke-tainted grapes, which he has sold for a pittance. This
year's harvest will be used to make blended cheap wine. (Photo: John
Woudstra) |
Brown Brothers at Milawa spent an anxious spring protecting its fruit from
late season frosts, paying for a helicopter to swing by on 12 separate occasions
to hover over its vines, moving the sub-zero air around. They won that battle
only to lose the lot — 2000 tonnes of grapes — to smoke taint.
Chief executive Ross Brown admits he was "highly sceptical" about
the connection between smoke and a flavour taint in wine until he actually
tasted it. Now, he's a believer.
"I believe a major research project needs to be done. It's now such a
huge issue for everybody," he said.
This vintage has seen several wine regions across Australia affected by smoke
haze — from Mount Barker to Adelaide Hills, Tasmania and parts of north-east
Victoria, Strathbogie Ranges, Yarra Valley and Gippsland.
The detection of smoke taint in wine is new. It was noticed widely following
the bushfire-affected vintage of 2003. Wine growers in parts of the north-east,
including the King Valley, picked up an unusual taste in their wines.
In that same vintage, growers in Western Australia noticed a similar taste in
their wines even though there had been no bushfires. Winemakers allegedly traced
the problem back to Department of Agriculture burn-offs (with one company taking
legal action against the department).