Many of the winemakers said they were concerned that even the wines that were already fermented might be affected by the smoky air and soot. However, according to Boulton, wine that has already been fermented should not be affected.

“It’s really a question of physics,” Boulton said. “The surface-to-air ratio of the processed wine should not allow smoke taint to be a factor in wines that are going through — or have finished — fermentation.”

Nevertheless, if surface area is the key variable, then some winemakers worry about their practice of aerating wine through processing, such as pump-overs.

“We are taking precautions to limit the exposure of the wine to air,” Parker said. “No one has ever experienced anything like this before and so we are learning as we go. It might just be some insurance, but we’ll do what we need to do.”

Most wines exposed to smoke this year are likely to be sent off for testing and even filtered to remove off flavors. My personal experience in 2008 with smoke taint suggest this has limited benefits but perhaps the tools and techniques for testing and filtering have improved since then.

Living in chaos