They call it “smoke taint”: the taste of the burnt end of a cigar that results when grapes cloaked in wildfire smoke are juiced into wine. As wildfires worsen, it’s an increasing challenge for Oregon vineyards. After the devastating fires of September 2020, many chose to skip the harvest rather than risk foul wine.

Researchers at Oregon State may be here to help. A team has found promise in spray-on coatings that are flexible, meaning they grow with the grapes, and could protect the fruit from the off-flavors caused by wildfire smoke. Though still years from being commercially viable, such a product “has the potential to transform the wine industry,” says team member and enology professor Elizabeth Tomasino, an associate professor at the College of Agricultural Sciences at OSU. The Oregon wine industry alone generates $7 billion in economic activity.

Up to this point, vineyards have had few options for managing smoke. In 2020, grape production in Oregon fell nearly 30 percent because of the double whammy of that year’s fires and the pandemic. Across the entire wine industry, losses totaled $3.7 billion. Not ones to stand by as grapes went to waste, food science and technology researchers at OSU began studying which compounds in wildfire smoke create the most offensive aftertastes. After these were identified, the team turned to developing cellulose nanofiber–based coatings, an effort led by Yanyun Zhao, a researcher who’s also patented edible packaging made from food waste. Depending on the formulations, the spray-on coatings either block or capture the wildfire smoke compounds that result in off-flavors. If the compounds are blocked, the coating doesn’t need to be washed off; if they’re captured, washing is necessary. Researchers, obviously, are aiming for the latter.

It’s not that winemakers can’t use smoke-tainted fruit. In fact, numerous Oregon winemakers adapted to the 2020 fires, drawing on techniques outside their usual repertoire and running experiments with additives like oak chips, yeast, and activated charcoal. Another effect of 2020? Because the offensive smoke compounds are in the skin of the grape, several winemakers converted their plans for red into extra vats of rosé, which requires less skin contact. So until that spray-on coating arrives on the market, it’s (forgive us) rosé all day.