Oregon Wildfires Smoke, Grapes, and Vineyards in 2020

Ever Heard of Megafire?

The U.S. Interagency Fire Center defines a megafire by its size: a wildfire that burns more than 100,000 acres of land. As bad as single megafire is, the situation in Oregon is even worse. 

From 1900 through 1999, Oregon had 9 Mega Fires.

From 2000 through 2019, there were 11. 

Within 72 HOURS from September 6th, Oregon got FOUR megafires. Some of these fires turned into Megas within 24 hours. At this point, Oregon doesn't have enough resources to fight them all. 

Oregon Wildfires, Smoke, Grapes, and Wine

You might ask what these fires have to do with wine? 

As you read this article, an eerie smoke cloud hovers over the Oregon wine industry's jam, the Willamette Valley. It's the place where some of the best American and world-class Pinot Noir comes from. 

We never thought this could happen here when we watched fires raging in California wine country a few years in a row! We thought Southern Oregon is more prone to this problem due to its hotter climate and proximity to California. Yet unimaginable happened. 

Now Willamette Valley wineries are under a real threat. There are active fires not just north and south of the region but in the valley itself. Chehalem Mountain - Bald Peak fire is only 10 miles away from Newberg, the unofficial capital of the Willamette Valley, Dundee, the most prestigious AVA of the region, and one of our favorites Yamhill-Carlton AVA.

At the time of this writing, the Chehalem Mountain - Bald Peak fire was relatively small (2,000 acres) compared to the conflagrations destroying forestland and communities across Oregon. According to Fire Marshalls, the risk is low for the vineyards. Still, fire is only partially uncontrolled, and it might take a small shift in wind direction to devastate the vineyards. 

2020 is like a Series of Unfortunate Events for Oregon wineries. It seems to be going from bad to worst. First, a pandemic shot the tasting rooms and virtually sales of wine for many wineries. Some only sold wine through their tasting rooms before. Then cold late spring and summer delayed blooming and véraison (ripening, change of color). Finally, when hot weather came with a good, if not excellent, vintage promise, fires came along. 

Where There's Smoke, There's Fire

Hopefully, fires won't touch the vineyards. Still, the smoke in the air has the potential to contaminate grapes for many. As a result, the wines may develop what's called smoke taint. 

We may enjoy pleasant smokiness in barrel-aged wines, but this is a different kind of smoke. 

It can be described as campfire, bacon, burned rubber, disinfectant, or the sensation of licking an ashtray. Sometimes smoke taint may not be apparent on the nose and only come through on the palate. You'll know it when you tasted it.  

Smoke is like an evil Genie, and it takes some natural magic to get into a bottle. We can always tell when the wood is burning because it has distinct aroma compounds called volatile phenols in scientific jargon. 

As the smoke gets into a vineyard, it leaves a residue of those compounds on the grapes. Then volatile phenols start their bad work called glycosylation. They permeate the berries skins, quickly bind with sugars inside, and form molecules called glycosides. 

Then, paraphrasing Charles Baudelaire, volatile phenols pull the devil's finest trick by persuading that they do not exist. They can no longer be detected either by smell or taste. 

However, they come out during the fermentation when sugars are consumed by the yeast, thus releasing volatile phenols from their bond.

That's how an evil Genie gets in a wine bottle and spoils all the fun.