PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Warren, Ezekiel R.
AU  - Kwasniewski, Misha T.
TI  - Microvinification Versus Hydrolysis: A Comparative GC-MS/MS Study for Predicting Smoke Taint Severity in Winegrapes
AID  - 10.5344/ajev.2026.25028
DP  - 2026 Jun 01
TA  - American Journal of Enology and Viticulture
PG  - 0770011
VI  - 77
IP  - 1
4099  - http://www.ajevonline.org/content/77/1/0770011.short
4100  - http://www.ajevonline.org/content/77/1/0770011.full
SO  - Am J Enol Vitic.2026 Jun 01; 77
AB  - Background and goals Accurate, fast, and cost-effective methods to assess smoke taint severity are essential for wineries to make processing decisions. Levels of volatile phenols related to smoke taint may increase during winemaking via limited cleavage of conjugated precursors, though phenolic glycosides have been demonstrated to be stable during bottle aging. Release of nonvolatile precursors can occur during consumption via in-mouth enzymatic hydrolysis. Estimating the potential of smoke taint in wine requires measurement in grapes either by directly analyzing these precursors or by converting them into free forms through hydrolysis or other methods. Small-scale fermentations are also used to evaluate potential off-aromas postfermentation. This study assessed three sample-preparation methods for the release of volatile aroma compounds related to smoke taint.Methods and key findings Microvinification was compared to acid hydrolysis and enzymatic hydrolysis in an evaluation of smoke taint risk by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Microvinification and enzymatic hydrolysis produced similar concentrations of volatile phenols. In contrast, acid hydrolysis released higher concentrations of free volatile phenols but showed greater variability and limited predictive accuracy.Conclusions and significance Microvinification closely mimics real winemaking conditions by incorporating yeast activity, alcohol extraction, and maceration, making it a realistic predictor of smoke taint severity. It also provides wineries with an in-house option for sample preparation before sending samples to external labs for volatile analysis, which may help minimize losses related to smoke taint.