Remedies for Smoke Taint?

Hi, first post here. I find the annual weather thread to be an excellent source of knowledge and news. We will be picking a small amount of Pinot this weekend in Sonoma County. Likely the fruit has been exposed to smoke. Are there any measures one could employ to minimize the effects of smoke?
Should one try for less extraction, maybe some stem inclusion? Just making a little bit of wine in the garage. I figure there’s not much recourse but figured I’d ask.

I have a Pinot client saying he won’t use any whole cluster for fear of smoke. That’s all I got.

By more from the previous vintage?

Make rose’. Less time on its skins.

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Gypsy tears

If you are making wine I don’t think any grapes from the previous vintage are available neener

To play around and perhaps be safer, I’d go all out for a blanc.

I’ve heard leaves are particularly bad. Anecdotal (to me, as I haven’t researched it), but totally makes sense, since that’s where the smoke is absorbed. Stems would also make sense, as the delivery mechanism. Perhaps a little counter-intuitive, but destemming, especially with one of those standard very brutal destemmers sold for home winemaking, will tear up and release a lot more fluid from the stems than just pressing with them. The stems will help knuckle into the grapes and the grape skins will protect the stems from breaking up. Same principle for foot stomping. So, sort out every single leaf, give it a thorough foot stomp, them press immediately.

For bonus points, cold crash the juice right away, then rack off the solids that drop out. How depends on your equipment and volume. Maybe dry ice if you don’t have a chiller of some sort or a fridge it’ll all fit in.

The winery I work at in Western Colorado has potential for smoke taint from nearby fires. We pressed Merlot for rose’ a week or two ago. I just tried a sample from the tank. Still early in fermentation and there is no sign of smoke. The lab confirms it as well. We destemmed.

Thank you for all of your replies. We made rose’ from the same vineyard last weekend before things got really bad this week. Might try to “cold crash” with dry ice as Wes suggested. Really a shame as grapes and numbers were looking so good before the change in winds that started Wednesday.

To be clear, that’s with the pressed juice. A white wine technique that some employ.

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Shelf talker, citing “pain grille” tasting notes for 90+ score.

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I forecast more bourbon barrel aged wines from the 2020 vintage.

Tom Collins:

Anita Oberholster, click on the link below.

For any red grape cold soak/maceration- as you see your color extracting, your Volatile Phenols are extracting as well (timestamp 38:30 Anita)

I’d be worried that grapes from the prior vintage might be over ripe by now!

As a follow up we pressed the Pinot yesterday. Decided against taking any extreme measures. Wine tastes pretty good at this awkward stage as Malo had just started. Too early to know if it has been affected but am encouraged by yesterday’s sample.
Thanks to all who offered advice.

Not sure why, but post-ferment lab samples of taint from Cab on the floor are showing no more than you get in any other vintage. Not just for me, but everywhere and everyone I know. Cab seems to have less than Zin and other varietals. Also, press wine shows no difference than free run. None of this makes any sense. I have seen some big numbers in some of the mountains but that’s all. Anyone else testing post-primary?

Going to. I have had the longest ferment in history, but things are still moving (down in sugar) with no increase in VA (mine is always low). The color is what you would expect from the Black Cat…just beautiful.
I tasted his morning and we are just about there. The taste, to me, is gorgeous, because I know what I am expecting at this stage. The winery’s resident winemaker was grimacing (like he always does at this stage of the game). So I am going to say I am in very good shape for 2020, but will do the smoke taint test for everyone’s reassurance.

My 2020 Pinot is a wreck. Smells and tastes great but like I said in the weather thread I blew the water add. It’s now 15.5% alcohol but the sugar is still 2.1. All activity in the barrel has stopped and I’m not going to try to restart a single barrel nor heat the wine up. Will consult with some of my experienced friends and decide. For now will keep it topped and hope for the best.

If the “activity” in the barrel has stopped, and you have that much sugar left, you are going to end up with a sweet Pinot. Why NOT try a restart?

Pinot Port?