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2008 Pinots Can’t Be Saved From Wildfire-Related ‘Smoke Taint’

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Wine makers in California’s Anderson Valley have been struggling to salvage their 2008 Pinot Noirs from what they’re calling the “wet ashtray affect” caused by that year’s wildfires in Mendocino County. As the Journal reports, there was enough smoke and ash in the air that season to render all but a small portion of the vintage undrinkable, and wineries are trying a bunch of ancient tricks for “fining” the overly smoky wines, including adding egg whites, milk byproducts, and isinglass (sturgeon-bladder powder). The smoke taste wasn’t apparent when the juice first went in the barrel, but snuck up on them as the wines aged.

Most of Anderson Valley’s wine makers are either scrapping a portion of the vintage, selling off their wine to be blended at a discount, or selling it under different labels than their own. At the tasting room of at least one winery, Phillips Hill, you can sample a blend they’re calling “Ring of Fire,” which includes grapes from two nearby vineyards and tries to capitalize on the smoke flavor. We assume the tasting notes say something prettier than, “Hints of cherry, earth… and wet ashtray.”

Sipping These Wines Is Like Smoking and Drinking at the Same Time
[WSJ]

2008 Pinots Can’t Be Saved From Wildfire-Related ‘Smoke Taint’