A remediation technique designed to selectively remove smoke marker compounds from wine and preserve its quality and value is a step closer to being rolled out in Australia. Developed by New Zealand company amaea, the method utilises molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs).
“Our MIPs are embedded with billions of binding sites that selectively capture the volatile phenols and glycosides responsible for the ashy, acrid aromas and flavours associated with smoke taint,” explained Jonathan Engle, wine industry lead at amaea. “The treatment preserves the key characteristics of the wine, often restoring it to a quality level where it can be returned to its intended program.”
Earlier this month, Jonathan and Matthew Hooper, the managing director of VAF Memstar which has partnered with amaea to be its local service provider, met with wineries in the Barossa Valley to understand the specific needs of the Australian wine industry and explore opportunities for implementation of the MIPs, known commercially as amaea VPx.
amaea’s technical team will return to Australia in June to conduct bench-top trials on local wines. Jonathan said the trials will support further analysis and will culminate in a tasting roadshow later in the year.
“It’s no longer a question of if but when the next bushfire will occur,” said Matthew Hooper. “Winemakers need confidence in their response protocols. With amaea VPx, they see a solution that not only helps recover value but provides a forward-looking pathway should the worst happen.”
This is not the first time that amaea has had connection to Australia.
“Early in our development journey, we partnered with the University of Adelaide to help validate our technology,” Jonathan said. “Now, we're excited to return — this time in collaboration with Wine Australia — to officially launch our solution.”
amaea VPx is being validated in the Australian marketplace as part of a 12-month collaborative project between Wine Australia, VAF Memstar and amaea.
The filtration media technology is already approved for use in the United States, Canada and New Zealand.