Smoke from Black Saturday taints reds: Yarra Glen bushfires

SMOKE from the Black Saturday bushfires may have ruined more than three-quarters of the Yarra Valley's wine production for last year.

Coldstream Hills chief winemaker Andrew Fleming said white grapes were easier to salvage because smoke compounds were concentrated in the skin of the grape.

By using expensive hand-picking and pressing the grapes as whole bunches rather than using rougher techniques such as machine harvesting and de-stemming, winemakers can minimise skin contact with the juice.

"The upside of that is we have some pretty smart wines," he said.

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