Oct 2, 2025 02:29 AM
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1099579
INTRO: New laboratory experiments show that a bacterium that lives on grape plants can break down guaiacol—an unpleasant-tasting substance which ruins wines made from grapes exposed to wildfire smoke. Claudia Castro of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on October 1, 2025.
Wildfires are occurring increasingly often in wine-producing regions of the U.S. West Coast. Wine grapes can absorb substances from wildfire smoke that ultimately make their way into the bottle, resulting in a smoky, ashy-tasting pour. Prior research has shown that one such substance, guaiacol, can be broken down by certain species of bacteria living in soil, raising the possibility that bacterial metabolic processes could be harnessed to help fix the taste of smoke-tainted wines.
However, few studies have explored whether the ability to degrade guaiacol is also possessed by bacteria found naturally on grapevines as part of the plants’ microbiome. To explore that possibility, Castro and colleagues collected leaves from two varieties of grape plants, chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon, and tested them in a lab for the presence of guaiacol-eating bacteria... (MORE - details, no ads)
INTRO: New laboratory experiments show that a bacterium that lives on grape plants can break down guaiacol—an unpleasant-tasting substance which ruins wines made from grapes exposed to wildfire smoke. Claudia Castro of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on October 1, 2025.
Wildfires are occurring increasingly often in wine-producing regions of the U.S. West Coast. Wine grapes can absorb substances from wildfire smoke that ultimately make their way into the bottle, resulting in a smoky, ashy-tasting pour. Prior research has shown that one such substance, guaiacol, can be broken down by certain species of bacteria living in soil, raising the possibility that bacterial metabolic processes could be harnessed to help fix the taste of smoke-tainted wines.
However, few studies have explored whether the ability to degrade guaiacol is also possessed by bacteria found naturally on grapevines as part of the plants’ microbiome. To explore that possibility, Castro and colleagues collected leaves from two varieties of grape plants, chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon, and tested them in a lab for the presence of guaiacol-eating bacteria... (MORE - details, no ads)
