VASCM: Trellis Alliance Seminar on Smoke Taint: Issues in Wine Production, Nov.4

[Mary Lindsay]

The Trellis Alliance is offering this seminar on smoke taint.  You need 
to be a member of the Alliance to participate.  If you are interested in 
this or any other Trellis Alliance programs, you'll need to contact Kay 
Bogart at the Trellis Alliance about membership: klbogart at ucdavis.edu, 
530-754-9876. 

One of the featured speakers, Dr. Kennison, has done a lot of key 
research from the viticulture perspective, including the long-term and 
cumulative effects of smoke on vines and fruit; the worst time for 
exposure (which is at veraison and the week following). This is based on 
research over the past 6 years on the effects of smoke taint from the 
bush fires in Australia that are a huge problem for the wine industry there.

The Trellis Alliance was created through UC Davis' Dept. of Vit & 
Enology as a consortium for the wine industry to explore issues 
affecting it. Each spring the Trellis Alliance holds an excellent 
conference on Recent Advances in Viticulture & Enology (RAVE).  You can 
read more about the organization at 
http://wineserver.ucdavis.edu/content.php?category=Trellis%20Alliance.

- Mary Lindsay
Viticulture Assn. of the Santa Cruz Mountains
408-234-2079 (cell)


*Smoke Taint: Issues in Wine Production
Wednesday Nov. 4, 2009
1:00 pm - 5:00pm
Activities and Recreation Center, UCD campus
*
*Featuring:
Kristen Kennison*, Viticulture Research and Development Officer, 
Department of Food and Agriculture, Western Australia
*Dr Mark Gibberd*,  Associate Professor, Curtin University, Chair of 
Viticulture & Oenology 
 
As a Trellis Alliance member, we are pleased to offer you the first 
chance to register for a half-day seminar that we expect to be one of 
our most popular ever: Kristen Kennison, one of the two leading 
researchers on the impact of bushfire smoke on grapevines and wine, is 
planning her first trip to the US.  She will be accompanied by Mark 
Gibberd, of Curtin University, one of her research partners and a 
co-author on several publications. We feel very fortunate to have been 
able to get them to UC Davis for a public discussion of their years of 
work with smoke-tainted vines, grapes and wine.  As you all know, this 
is rapidly becoming a serious issue in California as well.  
The symposium will include: lectures by Kristen Kennison and Mark 
Gibberd; a panel of California winemakers who will discuss their 
experiences and participate in a tasting of wines "spiked' with the most 
common compounds thought to contribute to the smoke taint character in 
grapes and wine; insight about how these compounds have been identified 
using GC Olfactometry; and, finally, a panel of  industry professionals 
who have been involved in the mitigation of the smoke taint character, 
which will include a tasting of actual wines displaying the 
characteristics that have been attributed to smoke taint.  You'll leave 
this fact-filled, half-day seminar with a whole new vocabulary of 
descriptors and valuable experience recognizing and treating smoke taint 
in grapes and wine. 
This is the first in a series of seminars at UC Davis targeting wine 
industry professionals and featuring issues that could impact the entire 
industry.  Everyone has recognized smoke taint as a very timely and 
relevant topic in Australia, and now, in California.  So this is your 
chance to learn from the researchers who have been dealing directly with 
it .  As Trellis Alliance members, we are giving you the first 
opportunity to register for this very timely and relevant symposium.  
Seating will be very limited, but we will not advertise this symposium 
to the rest of the industry until Sept.25.  So you have 2 weeks to 
assure yourself a seat at this lecture/tasting/discussion group, then 
we'll release the registration to the general industry.

*Issues in Wine Production: Smoke Taint
When*: Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 1:00pm to 5:00pm
*Where:* Activities and Recreation Center, UC Davis map and directions 
here 
<http://campusrecreation.ucdavis.edu/cms/internal.aspx?uid=0ebe886d-4128-4f81-8922-66301b508950>
*Fee:* $200.00 includes course materials and smoke-taint sensory 
evaluation trials
seating is _very_ limited; register at 
https://ucce.ucdavis.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=3998

**For further details, see the *course description and program*, updated 
as changes occur, on the Trellis Alliance Website 
<http://wineserver.ucdavis.edu/content.php?category=Trellis%20Alliance&id=865>
at 
http://wineserver.ucdavis.edu/content.php?category=Trellis%20Alliance&id=865

**
The program, subject to change, is below:

1:00-1:15: Registration

1:15-1:20: Welcome and Introduction of Speakers: *Linda Bisson

*1:20-1:45:   *Dr. Mark Gibberd*, Associate Professor, Curtin University 
of Technology, Australia
                 "Overview of wine industry and land managers experience 
of smoke exposure to grapes in Australia" 

1:45-2:40: *Kristen Kennison*, Viticulture Research and Development 
Officer, Department of Food and Agriculture WA
               "Australian research on smoke derived taint in grapes and 
wine: aiming for a national smoke reduction system"

2:40-2:55: *Winemaker panel:* Glenn McGourty (moderator), Kristen 
Barnhisel, Daniel Baron, Barry Gnekow, Bob Swain
               *Aim*: discuss experiences with tasting smoke-tainted 
wines and normal grape smoke character (below)

2:55-3:20: *Tasting* of smoke-character-"spiked" wines with 5 of the 
following compounds: Guaiacol, Methylguaiacol, Ethylguaiacol,
                 Dimethoxyphenol, Ethyl-3-hydroxybutyrate, Thioguaiacol

3:20-3:35: BREAK

3:35-3:45:* Lucy Joseph*, GCO Analysis of Smoke Taint and Smoke Character

3:45-4:15: *Mitigation Panel*: Linda Bisson (moderator), Bob Kreisher, 
Tom Collins, Greg Gessner and Eric Herve  
             *Aim*: Discuss experiences with attempting to rid wine of 
smoke taint and analysis of situation;
                        stay as panel for evaluation of "smoky" wines, below

4:15-4:45: *Tasting* of actual smoke taint wines; panel above

4:45-5:00: Questions and Discussion with panelists and audience: Linda 
Bisson

Kristen Kennison's bio is on page 4 at  
http://www.gwrdc.com.au/downloads/R&D@WORK/R&Dat%20Work%20Nov08.pdf 
<http://www.gwrdc.com.au/downloads/R&D@WORK/R&Dat%20Work%20Nov08.pdf>

<http://muresk.curtin.edu.au/about/staff_profile.cfm?id=10>Mark 
Gibberd's website   
http://muresk.curtin.edu.au/about/staff_profile.cfm?id=10

Keeping you informed......................
The Trellis Alliance
"Facilitating communication between UC Davis Department of Viticulture 
and Enology and the wine and grape and affiliated industries"