New Smoke Exposure Research Act Aims to Clear the Air for Wine Grape Growers

A group of U.S. senators have introduced the Smoke Exposure Research Act, legislation to better protect wine grape growers against wildfire smoke damage by strengthening research and risk management efforts at West Coast land grant universities. The bill would authorize $32.5 million annually over the next five-year Farm Bill cycle to better understand the impacts of prolonged wildfire smoke exposure on vines and wineries and provide fair insurance products for growers.

California, Oregon, and Washington are leading states in wine grape production, but increased wildfires have cost the industry billions. Smoke from wildfires can damage wine grapes through prolonged exposure, which can be absorbed through thin grape skins and create an ashy taste known as “smoke taint,” potentially compromising the health, quality, and value of wine produced.

The impact has been particularly acute for California’s 4,800 wineries and nearly 6,000 wine grape growers, who have seen significant property loss, loss of tourism, and loss of production due to smoke-exposed grapes. For example, the 2020 wildfires alone are estimated to have cost wineries and wine grape growers $3.7 billion both from immediate fire-caused losses as well as losses in future sales due to unharvested grapes exposed to wildfire smoke.

The Smoke Exposure Research Act directs USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) to conduct research to:

• Identify the compounds responsible for smoke taint;
• Establish standard methodologies for sampling and testing smoke-exposed wine grapes and smoke-affected wines, including fast and inexpensive screening methods;
• Establish a reliable database of background levels of smoke taint compounds that occur naturally in wine grapes;
• Develop risk assessment tools or mitigation methods to reduce or eliminate smoke taint.

The legislation, introduced by Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), along with Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA.-04) and Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-01) comes after President Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) briefly fired USDA ARS workers conducting critical research efforts on the harmful impact of wildfire smoke taint on wine grapes, including two researchers at University of California (UC), Davis and four other researchers. The researchers returned to work after USDA succumbed to significant public pressure to rescind these harmful cuts.

The Smoke Exposure Research Act is supported by the West Coast Smoke Exposure Task Force, including Allied Grape Growers, California Association of Winegrape Growers, Family Winemakers of California, Washington Winegrowers Association, Washington Wine Institute, and the Wine Institute, as well as Napa Valley Vintners, and UC Davis.

Click here to read the full bill.