Michigan winemakers face new climate threat: Wildfire smoke
Recent wildfire smoke blanketing northern Michigan vineyards has raised concerns among local producers. While the current crop remains safe, climate change is making the threat of 'smoke taint' an increasingly relevant issue for the industry.
Last month, thick smoke from wildfires burning in Canada and Minnesota blanketed the skies over northern Michigan. Kasey Wierzba, general manager and executive winemaker at Shady Lane Cellars in Suttons Bay, described the experience as looking like a different planet, with a hazy pink-peach sky filtering through the vineyards of the Leelanau Peninsula, a region famed for its winemaking.
While there is no immediate threat to this year's harvest, the incident has highlighted a growing concern for the state’s $9 billion wine industry. The focus is on the risk of "smoke taint"—a defect where grapes exposed to prolonged smoke develop unwanted flavors, often described as tasting like burnt bacon or barbecue. This is a challenge already well-known to wine regions on the West Coast and in Australia, where climate change has increased the intensity of wildfires.
Currently, the grapes are in the "buckshot berry stage," meaning they are still too small and underdeveloped to be significantly impacted by smoke compounds. However, Wierzba stated that the incident serves as a wake-up call, prompting her to consider future lab testing protocols to monitor potential contamination in subsequent years should smoke events become more frequent.
Paolo Sabbatini, a viticulture professor at Michigan State University, explains the difficulty in assessing the damage. Smoke compounds bind to the grape skins and tissues, but the sensory characteristics of smoke taint only emerge during the fermentation process. Consequently, it is virtually impossible to measure the damage before the finished wine is produced, leaving growers in a state of uncertainty during smoke-heavy seasons.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, fires in Ontario and Minnesota have already destroyed over 64,000 acres of forest. While local growers were fortunate that the smoke did not coincide with the sensitive fall color-change period, winemakers like Brian Hosmer of Chateau Chantal recognize that climate change is increasing the frequency of these events. As the industry faces these new environmental realities, local growers are beginning to integrate climate adaptation strategies into their long-term management plans.