By admin 
CORNVILLE, AZ (AZFamily) — Smoke from the Pocket Fire burning near Sedona is drifting across the Verde Valley, raising concerns for at least one of Arizona’s most prominent vineyards as it approaches harvest season.
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Page Springs Cellars sits on a four-acre vineyard where grapes are currently on the vine. The smoke is visible from the property.
Manager Brandi Corley said the timing of the fire is particularly difficult for the vineyard.
“We’re heading into our harvest season really, so all of our vines have grapes,” Corley said.
She noted that the grapes have not yet reached veraison — a key stage in the ripening process. There is a specific reason why the vineyard is situated in the Page Springs neighborhood.
“It’s called a diurnal shift. So when it’s hot during the day but then there’s a big gap in temperature between the low temperature at night,” she said.
The warm air ripens the grapes, and the cool air from the high country the grapes retain acidity and freshness. Now, that same nighttime air is carrying smoke toward the vineyard.
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“There’s some tests that you can do before you harvest. It’s not always super reliable. Really those compounds don’t show up until you have fermented those grapes,” Corley said.
If smoke compounds bond to the sugars inside the grapes during the ripening process, it can result in what the industry calls smoke taint — described as an ashtray-like flavor in the finished wine. The outcome would not be known until after fermentation, potentially affecting what the vineyard is able to bottle next year. Fermentation begins after harvest, which runs from August to October.
“We really value putting into that bottle being something that you wanna enjoy,” Corley said.
U.S. Forest Service officials have recently said they believe the Pocket Fire is far from being over. Corley said the vineyard will continue to monitor conditions.
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