Jenna Fryer, Thomas S. Collins, and Elizabeth Tomasino*
*Oregon State Univeristy, 100 Wiegand Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331 (elizabeth.tomasino@oregonstate.edu)

Smoke is an aerosol that carries organic compounds over vast distances. As wildfire occurrence has increased around the world, the smoke produced from them has be­gun to pose unique issues to wine. These volatile organic compounds, when absorbed by grapes, impart an unpleasant smoky and burnt flavor, with a lingering ashy finish. This lasting ashy finish poses problems when tasting many samples in sequence, which may contain both smoke-tainted and untainted wines. In sensory analysis, car­ryover bias is introduced when residual sensations can cause increased intensity rat­ings of lasting attributes as you move from sample to sample. For accurate intensifi­cation and analysis of smoke-trained wines, this bias must be accounted for. Previous work indicated that a 1 g/L pectin rinse solution is effective in combatting this bias; however, this rinse requires a lengthy separation of two minutes between samples. This work sought an equally as effective, but more efficient, rinse that can mitigate carryover of smoke-related flavor attributes in the mouth. The progression of smoke characteristics and typical wine attributes were evaluated over time in smoke-tainted wines using a fixed-time point evaluation system. Four rinse systems were evaluated, which included the currently recommended pectin solution. Of the rinses studied, 4 g/L dextrose was effective in clearing smoke flavor perception and was more efficient than the pectin rinse, only requiring 90 seconds to clear these flavors. Along with rinse evaluation, this work additionally identified retronasal flavor references to better define the in-mouth sensations associated with wildfire smoke-affected wines. This study overall provided increased insights into the sensory flavor impact that wildfire smoke introduces into wine and the results can help guide future sensory analysis.

Funding Support: USDA-ARS