The Australian wine industry is worth ~$6 billion annually, but making and selling Australian wine, even in a ‘good’ year, has become increasingly challenging due to the effects of climate change.
Our grapegrowers and winemakers are not only affected by drought and heatwaves, but vineyard exposure to bushfire smoke can taint grapes and wine, causing significant revenue losses due to unpalatable smoke and ashy characters that render wine unsaleable. In this presentation, Professor Kerry Wilkinson will share key findings from ~15 years of smoke taint research: (i) the chemical and sensory consequences of grapevine exposure to smoke; (ii) the complexities of smoke taint (bio)chemistry that have hindered progress towards a viable solution; and (iii) recent research evaluating novel techniques for monitoring and mitigating smoke exposure in the vineyard.