“I believe that the treatments provided benefits, and likely work better when grapes have lower levels of smoke exposure. In sensory evaluations of resulting wines done by internal winery personnel in addition to external evaluators, the treated wines were preferred over the untreated wines. The wines were produced for a custom crush client and will be used for the same markets and price points as past vintages. This was my first go-round with this process, so it was a learning process in a difficult year to fully discern what was happening. However, I can't argue with the results, and I would use it again. Ozonation could also provide benefits for non-smoke impacted grapes as a tool for fermentation in general to address volatile acidity (VA) issues and eliminate unwanted microflora for winemakers that want a more pure effect from inoculation with added yeast strains. The containers can also provide clean storage and refrigeration of grapes for an extended time period if the winery does not have capacity to crush and ferment loads soon after delivery."

"‘We did not initially notice significant differences between the treated and untreated wines right after fermentation, although after post-malolactic fermentation (MLF) in January and February there was a noticeable difference between the wines. The treated wines in barrel were fresher and more fruit forward, and they had a lesser degree of smoky notes than the untreated wines. The Pinot Noir from this vineyard traditionally has a good phenolic profile and this was better expressed in the treated wines. The untreated wines were sold on the bulk market. The treated wines are still in the cellar, and may go through some additional mitigation processing, such as reverse osmosis (RO), but the treated wines are on track to go into the winery's estate blend that is bottled and sold for each vintage. I'm pleasantly surprised how the wines have responded to the treatments and how well they are showing given the degree of smoke exposure. As a winemaker, I would personally use the technology again if needed. I think there are a number of variables we could have addressed to improve and fine-tune the process to improve results in the future, but I think it's a very promising technology.“

"If we have another smoke event, I will surely use Purfresh Clean again. From what I am tasting in the cellar, there's some blocks that seem affected by smoke, some don’t, and it is not as logical as when you picked, so that tells me that there’s still a lot more to figure out. But from what I am seeing so far, [now 11 months after harvest], the treated wines seem a bit fruitier."

“Different finished wines will obviously have many different characteristics. Those that tend toward dry or more angular tannins appear to benefit from pre-crush ozone treatment shifting toward softer and more fruit forward characteristics. While dependent on stylistic goals, this can nudge the wines toward a more appealing and approachable style.”