Smoke taint

Hi all,

I have just finished the primary ferment on one tonne of shiraz. Unfortunately due to the recent bush fires, the wine has a distinct smoke smell and this is very noticeable on the palette. Does anybody have any recommendations re getting the smoke taint reduced or even better removed. Thanks all, Leon

Reply to
Leon
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I know of winemakers who get flavors of surrounding trees (like eucalypt/gum) in their wines from non-contact transferrence of some sort. It just becomes part of the flavor of the wine - what better experience of terroir can there be?

I'm guessing that a lot of smoke flavors are going to be large molecules that might just fall out during aging. Someone else with better chemical knowledge might chime in here to support or refute that.

Luckily for you, smoke isn't that off of a flavor in a shiraz. It might even show up as a heavier toast on any oak you expose the wine to during aging.

Rob

Reply to
Rob

Probably due to phenolics such a cresols etc not much chance of removing them. You problem may come if your customers come to accept the variation as a desirable nuance. You might have a problem duplicating it.

Bob

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Reply to
Bob M

Try egg whites. Maybe Lum has a thought on this? I never had that issue.

Joe

Reply to
Joe Sallustio

Thanks all for your ideas. It would appear that after pressing and allowing a little time for the lees to settle ( One week ) that the taint has reduced considerably. I think I will rack the wine early and have another look at it.

Leon

Reply to
Leon

Maybe you could blend it with a cheap scotch to improve the scotch by adding smoky flavor to it. Seriously, my guess is that for better or worse it is there. It might decrease or even disappear with age. Or you may grow to like it and then you are in trouble because you could never duplicate it.

Ray

Reply to
Ray Calvert

Leon,

What you have is a one-of-a-kind example of Terroir. The smokey nose you refer to is actually the expression of the specific locale where the grapes were grown, and may not be repeated in the forseeable future, so it's a rare attribute, and should be a much sought after vintage!

Seriously, it's not likely that you can do much to eliminate the smokiness without diminishing the other positive flavors & aromas, but take heart in what happened to a friend of mine:

He's a commercial grower/maker who maqde the mistake of leaving a batch of Cab franc in new barrels for too long. The result was probably a lot like your Shiraz, way too smokey (& oakey).

He brought a bunch of it along to a wine festival, but didn't have much hope in selling it. My wife & I, who were pouring samples for him, dceided to this wine's defect into a highlight. We explained to tasters the "smokey, oakey nuance" of this wine which was "aged extensively in new French oak barrels. You can actually taste the toasted oak." People found the taste, and understood it (and thought we did it on purpose), and loved it. They bought it by the case, and it sold out on the first day. It was such a hit that a couple of people asked for it in subsequent years.

Did we con the people into buying inferior wine? Not at all. We just explained the wine so they could appreciate it, and they were quite happy with the experience once they knew what it was. I suspect the quality of your Shiraz is not so much a matter of being defective, as it is a matter of letting the wine tell its story. People love a story.

After all, if the French can view Brettanomyces as "adding complexity", what's a little smokiness in a good Aussie Shiraz?

Reply to
Mike McGeough

Mike,

That was a great reply. The power of positive thinking can sometimes prevail. It would seem the smoke taste has reduced in as short a time as one week Tomorrow I will rack it off its sludge in the hope the bulk of the smoke taint will remain in it. I am inclined to agree with you about the different aroma and taste. It is not as over powering now as it once was, combine that with a little oak, a touch more tannin, a little skim milk, perhaps tartaric and who knows.

I do have 600 litres of Cab in barrel from last year that I may use as a blending agent so my guess is some bench trials will be in order next year.

Leon (Melbourne Aust.)

Reply to
Leon

Skim milk???

Reply to
Dirty Harry

Skim milk is a protein, its use is the same for fining as is egg white etc. It must be skim milk with no fat! It works well and is cheap.

Reply to
Leon

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