Wildfires Are Ruining Your Favorite Wines. These Bacteria Might Be Able to Help

Wildfires Are Ruining Your Favorite Wines. These Bacteria Might Be Able to Help

Microbes already growing on grape plants may help neutralize one of the compounds responsible for wildfire-exposed grapes' off-putting flavors, new research suggests

Scientists Just Found a Clever 'Fix' for Smoky, Wildfire-Tainted Wine

Smokey-tasting wine has cost the industry billions of dollars. A particular species of bacteria could help solve this problem.

Getting the stink out of smoke-tainted wine

Wildfires can damage crops, even if flames come nowhere near the plants. One outcome can be an unpleasant flavor and smell of wine that is made from grapes exposed to smoke. But researchers say that they have developed a way to lessen this smoke taint to improve the palatability of the wine.

Bacteria could help fix the smoky taste of wildfire-tainted wine

New laboratory experiments show that a bacterium that lives on grape plants can break down guaiacol—an unpleasant-tasting substance which ruins wines made from grapes exposed to wildfire smoke. Claudia Castro of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service and colleagues present these findings in PLOS One.

A grapevine bacteria may help douse wildfire-tainted wine's ashy aftertaste

Grape plant bacteria might help mitigate smoke taint in wine by breaking down chemicals that evoke an ashy taste.

Wildfire smoke is charring your wine. This microbe could help

Bacteria already living on grapes can break down smoky chemicals that wreck flavor