Remediating smoke-impacted wine: new molecular filtration tech allows winemakers to reclaim value

As wildfires once again threaten California’s wine country – with the recent 17-day Pickett Fire burning through nearly 7,000 acres – wine producers face the costly risk of smoke impact, where grapes and finished wines take on an unwanted ashy aroma and taste.

amaea, a New Zealand wine-tech company, has developed amaea VPx, a breakthrough molecular filtration technology that uses smart polymers to selectively remove unwanted smoke marker compounds from wine. The innovation enables winemakers to recover wine value that might otherwise be lost, offering a timely solution as vineyards across the state brace for another challenging harvest season.

amaea’s novel wine filtration technology - a new solution for industry

Since August 2023, amaea VPx smoke remediation technology has been used to treat 368,520 gallons / 1,395,000mil L of smoke-impacted wine for 47+ unique customers in North America. The technology was developed in response to the 2020 US wildfires.

The challenge to mitigate losses from wildfire damage is highlighted by one Oregon-based winery, whose 65,000 gallons of smoke-impacted Pinot Noir meant that downgrading or selling the wine on the bulk market were not viable options. They needed a solution to remediate their wine in a manner that would enable them to market it as intended. Rising to the challenge, Christopher Hudson successfully remediated his client’s smoke-impacted 2023 Oregon Pinot Noir using amaea VPx technology.

“Since 2020, there have been a lot of learnings, especially around smoke markers and the complexity of the compounds relating to smoke,” says consulting winemaker Christopher Hudson.

“At the time, the best available options reduced the smoke initially, but they also stripped a lot from the wine, so when you built it back up, it never became what it was intended to be.

“Experiencing amaea’s system, it was more advanced. The sensory outcomes were good, and I had confidence in the longevity of the treatment. This made it the best solution for treating [my client’s] wine.”

Remediating smoke-impacted wine with amaea VPx

In late 2023, amaea launched amaea VPx, its smoke remediation solution, which uses their innovative molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) in a one-pass filtration system. A 2024 WINnovation Award winner, amaea VPx successfully removes volatile phenols from smoke-impacted wine to levels that restore sensory quality and value. The technology has already been deployed at scale in North America.

amaea’s largest molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) system to date was launched earlier in the year in partnership with Napa-based service provider VA Filtration, a leading provider of wine filtration solutions. This milestone provides Californian winemakers with the control to selectively remove smoke impacts to remediate the wine's sensory profile and return wines to their intended program.

Above: amaea’s largest molecular filtration system, owned and operated by California-based service provider VA Filtration USA. View the system in action in Napa Valley.

Eric Uganecz, Head of Applied Solutions, amaea says, “It’s an incredibly difficult time for winegrowers in California, with the Pickett fire and the ongoing threat of more wildfires. In recent years, the industry has faced the increasing impacts of climate change far too often; yet we’ve also seen remarkable resilience, collaboration, and innovation. As growers move through harvest, we want to highlight new technology that can help remediate smoke impact, enabling producers to recover value from wine that might otherwise be lost.”

Bryan Tudhope, CEO and Founder, VA Filtration USA says, “We have begun seeing berry analysis from vineyards near the Pickett fire and the smoke impacts are very high.  We recommend analysing all fruit and following microferment protocols to gauge the salvageability of the wine where smoke was present in vineyards.”

amaea’s molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs)

Above: amaea’s molecularly imprinted polymers imprinted with billions of binding sites for capturing unwanted smoke marker compounds in wine.

amaea’s proprietary MIP beads are imprinted with billions of binding sites to selectively target and capture unwanted smoke marker compounds – such as volatile phenols. Responsible for ashtray flavors and plastic chemical aromas, their highly selective removal preserves the wine’s essential varietal character, enabling wines to be returned to their intended program.

amaea’s custom-engineered MIP solutions are already changing how winemakers address quality challenges and recover value, and are commercially used in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand.