After a disastrous vintage from a summer of bushfires and smoke-tainted grapes, a South Australian winemaker has something to celebrate.

Key points: Winemakers are attempting to salvage their vintage after bushfires tainted their grapes

Winemakers are attempting to salvage their vintage after bushfires tainted their grapes New harvesting techniques allow small batches of wine to be produced without smoke taint

New harvesting techniques allow small batches of wine to be produced without smoke taint A Sydney distillery is using tainted grapes to make smoky spirits

He has experimented with a technique that has allowed him to produce a clean sauvignon blanc.

Adelaide Hills producer Mark Kozned lost 15,000 vines to flames in mid-December and the large wine company he sells to would not take most of his remaining grapes because of smoke absorption.

Smoke-affected wine can taste, as one grower put it, "like an ashtray".

Despite being treated for traumatic stress, Mr Kozned was determined to salvage what he could to earn an income.

"It's not all roses, but I think there are ways of getting around smoke taint," he said.

Despite enduring a tragic season, Mark Kozned is hopeful for the future. ( ABC Landline: Prue Adams )

New technique a 'spectacular success'

With his own wine brand sold here and overseas, he was able to experiment with different techniques.

In small batches of a few kilograms, he trialled three methods of harvesting.

The first was hand-picking, chilling and whole-bunch pressing, which quickly removes the smoke-infused skins.

Winemaker Peter Leske helps producers determine whether their grapes are tainted. ( ABC Landline: Prue Adams )

The second option was pressing, leaving the skins on for a long time; it is a method Mr Kozned called "the worst-case scenario".

He also tried a third option, which involved machine harvesting.

Samples were sent to nearby Revenir Winery, where winemaker Peter Leske has been helping Adelaide Hills wine producers turn their grape juice into small batches of wine.

The samples were then tested by a sensory panel to detect smoke taint.

Mr Leske said he and the panel met weekly and had sniffed more than 300 samples, marking the wines on a scale of one to 10.

"The main aim of this is to help people determine whether the fruit is tainted and if it should be picked," he said.

The tests have been done in conjunction with the Australian Wine Research Institute, the industry's main body testing grapes across bushfire-affected Australia.

Mr Leske said the first samples last month had a higher incidence of smoke taint, but more recent tests have shown lower levels.

Mr Kozned said he had found "spectacular success" from his method hand-picking and chilling grapes, with the skins removed.

"We will have a low-risk product I am happy to sell," he said.

Mark Kozned has been able to salvage some of his vintage through refining his harvesting technique. ( Unsplash: Matthieu Joanno )

He is now hand-harvesting grapes for white wine and while production will be down about 50 per cent, he said it was better than nothing.

Red wine, however, is a different ball game, as the skins must stay on the fermenting grapes.

"I'm not going to take risks with the reds, but a bottle of sauvignon blanc made today, drunk tomorrow, [is] happy days," he said.

Turning smoky grapes into smoky spirits

Grape grower Will Capper managed to sell some of his tainted grapes. ( ABC Landline: Prue Adams )

In New South Wales, a different method is giving hope to growers whose grapes were rejected by wineries due to smoke taint.

A Sydney distillery has agreed to buy around 50 tonnes of tainted grapes from several growers and turn it into new spirits, including a smoky brandy.

Up to 80 per cent of the Hunter Valley grape crop was assessed as smoke-affected.

"No-one else in the world has done this so far," senior distiller at Archie Rose Distilling Co Trynt Xavier said.

"I don't really understand why; every other spirit category does it, there's been smoke-infused rum and obviously you have peated whiskeys."

For Hunter Valley grape grower Will Capper, who contracts his service to other vignerons, the distilling option provides a market for some local product.

"It's put a good ending to what would have been a very bad season for us," he said.

"To come and pay what they did, that helped with some of the costs of growing the grapes."

It will be at least two years before the smoky brandy hits the shelves.

Senior distiller Trynt Xavier is excited to try smoky spirits from tainted grapes. ( ABC Landline: Prue Adams )

Watch this story on ABC TV's Landline on Sunday at 12:30pm or on iview.