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Oregon Wineries Come Together To Save Grapes Rejected For Smoke Taint
Grape growers in southern Oregon thought they had already weathered one of the biggest challenges of the 2018 season — the Klondike Fire, which burned over 175,000 acres in July.
But on Sept. 22, they faced even more devastating news: Copper Cane Wines and Provisions, a Calif.-based winery that contracts with numerous growers in the region, canceled grape orders mere days before harvest was supposed to start, citing smoke taint.
"We were shocked," says grower Leon Pyle. "We knew that we had a lot of smoke, but it wasn't worse than the previous year, and the previous year's wine turned out just fine."
[...] Currently, research focuses on guaiacol and 4-methylguaiacol — chemical compounds produced by fires — when assessing taint, but there are no set standards to determine what constitutes acceptable levels.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Friday March 08 2019, @05:21PM (2 children)
Some years ago one of the better restaurants on Miami Beach, The Forge, burned. The Forge had an extensive, expensive, and insured wine cellar. The insurers made the assertion that even though there was smoke damage apparent on the labels of the bottles, smoke would not pass the cork and therefore did not impact the taste and therefore the restaurant value of the wine. The restaurant owners made the counter-assertion that it did impact the value of the wine and requested a partial settlement. The insurers refused and the thing ended up in some sort of arbitration agreement wherein a professional wine taster evaluated some of the bottles. Based on the professional wine tasters assessment, the flavor of the wine was negatively impacted by the smoke damage and the insurers ended up paying out the full claim.
I forget (if I ever knew) whether the damaged wine was destroyed or sold for salvage.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2, Informative) by nitehawk214 on Friday March 08 2019, @06:32PM (1 child)
If an insurer pays out on a car, they own the car and can sell out any parts that have any value. I suspect the same is true for the wine.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by wisnoskij on Saturday March 09 2019, @02:55PM
When an insurer pays out for a loss at a construction site, all materials must be destroyed.
Insurance companies are in business to attract clients and avoid paying claims. They do not run a random stuff sales business.