Bushfire smoke has cost the Victorian grape and wine industries around $300 million over the past five years in lost stock and quality reductions.

Minister for Agriculture and Food Security Peter Walsh said in a media release today there are two main experiments taking place to measure smoke exposure impact.

“More than 2.5 tonnes of smoked and unsmoked fruit have been processed through [an] experimental winery as part of the Centre’s activities this year, producing over 100 wines for smoke taint research,” Mr Walsh said.

“The wines produced are the focus of two main experiments by its researchers. One is looking at the shelf life of smoke tainted wine under various conditions, and the other involves exposing grapes to smoke for different amounts of time to determine how much smoke causes taint.”

Centre for Expertise Director Dr Mark Downey said smoke detectors could help growers determine smoke exposure risk levels.