JoieFarm in the Okanagan’s Naramata region, is monitoring the wines produced this year for smoke exposure from the Bald Range wildfire in August.Tegan Kiomi Elder/JoieFarm/Supplied
Richard Charnock, the winemaker at JoieFarm in the Okanagan, relies on laboratory analysis to determine the sugar, acidity and pH levels of the grapes he uses to produce wine. After the Bald Range wildfire in August, this is the first time he is also consulting data to identify potential risks to the fruit from smoke exposure.
Exposure to smoke is a significant issue for vineyards, especially fresh smoke, as it contains high concentrations of volatile compounds that grapes absorb quickly through their skin. Vineyards located farther away from the burn are seen to have reduced risk, however.
Charnock explains that severe risk of smoke taint, which can give wine an undesirable smoky or ashy taste, begins when concentrations of smoke-derived compounds exceed 20 parts per billion (ppb). One of their chardonnay samples from a vineyard in northern Oliver measured 189 ppb.
“We are going to make wine from the grapes we grow. We’ve already spent the money so we will use this as an opportunity to benchmark smoke exposure and see how it shows up in the bottle,” Charnock says. JoieFarm will be sharing its data with other British Columbia wineries as the industry works toward creating a predictive system for the future.
After a summer of fire, ‘Smokanagan’ mourns for a paradise lost
Richard Charnock says the team at JoieFarm will share the data collected with other British Columbia wineries.Yinet Gomez/JoieFarm/Supplied
Wineries in the Okanagan are working with local labs to measure the various chemical markers of smoke taint in their grapes. Charnock says JoieFarm sent between 15 and 20 samples to Frind Lab Services at a cost of $170 a sample. In the past, the winery relied on ETS Laboratories in California for smoke taint monitoring, but their samples cannot be sent to the United States for testing because of the current trade war.
“They were denied at the border and sent back,” he says.
Meanwhile, JoieFarm and many other wineries working with grapes grown near Summerland, B.C., have adjusted their winemaking practices as a precaution. White and rosé wines are at less risk than red wine because smoke-derived phenols are more concentrated in the skin of the grapes. Reducing or eliminating contact between the pressed juice and the grape skins minimizes the risk of smoke taint in the finished wine.
Charnock explains that the majority of JoieFarm’s production is centred on its popular rosé and an aromatic white wine called a Noble Blend. The 2026 vintage will also see an increase in pinot gris production, from 200 to 1,300 cases. He intends to bottle these 2026 white wines in January and release them quickly. Smoke taint can take time to emerge in the bottle. Ideally, JoieFarm’s 2026 inventory will be sold for immediate consumption.
“The good thing so far is that all of our ferments smell amazing,” he says. “We are obsessively looking for off aromatics, and there’s nothing right now.”
Some wineries have rejected grapes or decided not to produce certain varieties or styles of wine this year. The bumper wine harvest of 2025 will help wineries to meet demand, particularly for red wines, until next year’s harvest.
Changing tastes help Poplar Grove expand its view of the Okanagan
According to Gavin Miller, owner of Upper Bench Estate Winery in Naramata, who has been making wine in the Okanagan since 2004, the overall effect of the smoke will vary case by case, vineyard by vineyard. He wonders if having the lab results has made some winemakers too risk averse.
“We have tasted a lot of the grapes. We have done trial ferments and we’re not finding anything,” he says. “We have been through this so many times and have never had to dump grapes before.”
Miller worries that mixed messages can cause confusion for consumers who are left with questions when some wineries announce they won’t make wine because of a wildfire, while others will. “There are different motives and different reasoning at work for each winery,” he says. “Smoke shouldn’t define this year.”
Ruby Blues Winery in B.C. isn’t picking syrah, riesling or viognier from its vineyards out of concern that the wine will be tainted by wildfire smoke.Ruby Blues Winery/Supplied
Researchers around the world are working to improve their understanding of smoke taint, including how different factors affect its presence and perception, and how growers and wineries can reduce its impact.
Unfortunately, there’s not always a remedy available.
At Ruby Blues Winery, one of the few British Columbia wineries that doesn’t charge a tasting fee, owner Prudence Mahrer says most of their harvest has been deemed unsuitable for winemaking because of prolonged exposure to smoke and ash. The decision to drop the fruit means that winemaker Graham Pierce will harvest less than 10 per cent of the anticipated crop from the property. “It’s not a nice story, but it’s our choice,” explains Mahrer, who founded Ruby Blues in 2007 after selling Red Rooster, which was one of the first Naramata-based wineries to open in 1997.
Harvest continues in many regions in the Okanagan with many red wine varieties still hanging in southern vineyards. A complete assessment of the 2026 harvest will become clearer in the weeks ahead.