Wildfire smoke affecting fruit taste?

General Fruit Growing
1

Lots of smoke here in Wisconsin and the midwest from the Canadian wildfires. Has anybody noticed any fruits/vegetables tasting different due to the smoke during ripening or growing? or any experience with large amounts of smoke in the gardens/orchards?

2

We’ve had periods of heavy smoke pollution here in western Montana and I haven’t heard any comments about taste being affected. The are some orchards that maintained that the additional potash from the ash in the smoke was a positive, however.

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3

The biggest issue is probably the smoke smell saturating your nostrils and clothes, making everything taste and smell like smoke even if the fruit would otherwise taste normal. At least that’s been my experience in prior years when smoke was bad here, we haven’t had any this year yet.

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4

I’d expect you’d get some affect on things like blackberries/raspberries. Most anything you consume skin and all and don’t rinse/wash.

Other than that, not likely any issue for peaches, apples, things you’d peel or rinse before eating.

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5

The commercial wine industry in California has reported serious damage to their product in recent smoky years, for what it’s worth.

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6

Is that not chiefly due to grapes not being washed prior to crushing for the wine must?
Pretty sure it’s
either mostly or entirely a surface of the fruit issue, not
significantly affecting interior of the fruit or the tree.

(I actually happen to like a smokey wine such as Pepperwood Shiraz or something, or
a 14% Malbec.)

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7

I spoke with a local viticulturist about how smoke had affected their grapes during some of the more intense California fires we’ve had recently. He said the fruit quality was likely to be affected if the source of smoke was nearby. But when the smoke traveled long distances it had little to no affect on their fruit quality.

8

I’m not a grape grower or wine enthusiast myself, but UC Davis and other wine experts seem to think it’s more complicated than that. Apparently the smoke causes chemical changes to the grapes. If washing would solve the problem, vineyards would certainly be doing it - that’s a cheap fix.

  1. When Smoke Gets In Your Wine
  2. Up in smoke: How wildfires are tainting grapes and threatening the wine industry
  3. SMOKE AND WINE GRAPES: HOW SMOKE CAN AFFECT THE TASTE AND QUALITY OF YOUR WINE
  4. Can winemakers salvage grapes tainted by wildfire smoke?
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