David Hugel, Demi Perry, Gavin Sacks, and Anna Katharine Mansfield*
*Cornell University, Cornell University W 655 North St., Room #125, Geneva, NY, 14456 (akm87@cornell.edu)

Airborne wine taint occurs when undesirable flavors and aromas are introduced to wine through exogenous sources. While the occurrence of environmental smoke taint and eucalyptus terpene uptake have been identified, the impact and risk of other common outdoor odors have not been investigated extensively. With the increasing prevalence of Cannabis sativa farms in New York, neighboring vineyard owners are concerned about a possible “Cannabis taint” in finished wine. This study investigated the effect on wine aroma when flowering C. sativa plants were placed directly in a Traminette (Vitis ssp.) vineyard, with grapes harvested at varying proximities (0, 2.7, and 16.2 m) to the Cannabis plants. Based on the results, it is unlikely that flowering C. sativa plants affect final wine aroma: following targeted analysis using solid-phase microextraction-Arrow gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, vinified wines showed no significant differences in the abundance of common cannabis aroma compounds. This suggests that white wine produced from vineyard sites neighboring C. sativa farms are unlikely to suffer from uptake of presently identified aromatic hemp compounds. Further, we determined the aroma detection threshold of four of the most abundant odorous C. sativa compounds in white wine for the first time, which will assist winemakers with evaluating potential odor impacts in their wine.

Funding Support: Cornell AgriTech Director’s Fund; Hatch Grant #2022-23-205