Political Quotes

“I rise to introduce the Smoke Exposure Research Act of 2023. This legislation will bolster research at land- grant universities along the west coast to better understand the impacts of wildfire smoke on wine grapes. Increasingly frequent and catastrophic wildfires in California, Oregon, and Washington are threatening the long-term sustainability of important winegrowing regions. Vineyards, winery operations, and the communities they support are routinely facing the threat of wildfires that can not only destroy vineyards but even those vineyards that escape direct wildfire damage can still suffer from prolonged smoke exposure, which can be absorbed into grapes and create an ashy taste known as smoke taint. The impact has been particularly acute for California's 4,800 wineries and 5,900 winegrape growers, who have seen significant property loss, loss of tourism, and loss of production due to smoke- exposed grapes. The 2020 wildfires alone are estimated to have cost wineries and winegrape 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. Yet, there is a limited understanding of how to measure and identify compounds that cause smoke taint and even less understanding of the mitigation and risk management measures necessary to reduce these impacts.…”