SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Even if the vines aren't damaged in a wildfire, the fruit sitting on them can be ruined by the smoke in the air.
Something that vintners in the North Bay know all too well after years of fire.
Now one California lawmaker says the state could be helping the situation.
If we knew more about the science behind smoke taint in wine grapes, vintners could be saving time and money in determining if their grapes are salvageable after a wildfire.
"We want to measure the smoke compounds and how to mitigate the damage for the farmers," said Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters.
"We're trying to figure this out – UC Davis has been doing some studies on it – but we need continuous funding for this particular issue," she said.
Aguiar-Curry has introduced a bill, AB 54, that would create that funding source and look at ways to better protect the grapes from this type of damage.
AB 54 is asking for about $5 million in the state’s budget to go towards this research.
The bill has been introduced and didn't pass in the past, but Aguiar-Curry is hopeful that this time will be different.
She is trying to change perspectives that might consider this a frivolous bill concerned just with how wine tastes.
"It's a multimillion-dollar industry that we have here," she said. "In fact, it's about 73 billion dollars of economic activity that comes through the state."
"And it employs a lot of people, and it is a vital part of our agricultural product," she said.
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