291: How Wildfires Affect the Taste of Your Wine with Dr. Wes Zandberg

What are the main causes of wildfires in wine country? Which two weather-based factors are the strongest predictors of the severity of wildfires each season? What impact do wildfires have on the taste of your wine, and why is it difficult to predict whether smoke-exposed grapes will, in fact, produce tainted wine?

In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I'm chatting with researcher Wes Zandberg.

You can find the wines we discussed at https://www.nataliemaclean.com/winepicks

Highlights

What sparked Wes’ interest in winemaking and wine chemistry?

Why are BC wineries at a disadvantage coming out of 2022 and 2023?

What are the main causes of wildfires in British Columbia?

How much damage was caused by the wildfires in late 2023 and why were they worse than in the past?

Why did the wildfires start so early in 2024?

Which two weather-based factors are the strongest predictors of the risk of wildfires each season?

How does fire play an important role in the forest ecosystem?

How do wildfires affect wine itself chemically?

What is the economic impact of wildfires on the wine industry?

Why is it challenging to predict smoke taint through analytical tools alone?

How does yeast activity contribute to smoke taint in wine post-fermentation?

Key Takeaways

In 2021, Wes notes that the BC’s Okanagan Valley experienced severe wildfires due to arson. The vast majority, though, of wildfires are started by lightning and human causes, both errors and malevolence.

Wes observes that the quicker snow melts and evaporates, leaving drier conditions, the greater the risk of wildfires. This is exacerbated if seasonal rains are below average, especially in June and July.

There isn’t a chemical test to determine whether smoke-exposed grapes will actually produce smoke-tainted wines. Smoke taint also doesn’t express itself in unfermented grapes, making it even harder to predict its impact on the wine.

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Join the live-stream video of this conversation on Wed at 7 pm ET on Instagram Live Video, Facebook Live Video or YouTube Live Video.

I want to hear from you! What’s your opinion of what we’re discussing? What takeaways or tips do you love most from this chat? What questions do you have that we didn’t answer?

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About Wes Zandberg

Before beginning his independent research career at The University of British Columbia (2015), Wes earned a PhD in chemistry at Simon Fraser University with Prof. B. Mario Pinto. Wes loved the rainy Fraser Valley so much that he remained at SFU, completing his post-doctoral research with Prof. David Vocadlo. This training instilled in Wes a fascination for glycoscience as well as a realization that the study of the structures/functions of carbohydrates (i.e. glycoscience) was—and still is—impeded by a dearth of suitable analytical tools and methods. Now, students in Wes’ lab at devise glyco-analytical methods that actually work for real samples rather than off-the-shelf model systems.

To learn more, visit https://www.nataliemaclean.com/291.