Mango Parker
(She/her)
ARC Externally-Funded Postdoctorate Research Fellow
Organisation unit
College of Sciences
School of Agriculture, Food and Wine
Contact
About me
I
am an ARC Industry Fellow and Senior Research Scientist at the Australian Wine
Research Institute. Over the last 20 years I have been researching wine
chemistry to help the wine industry to overcome challenges and open new
opportunities in wine flavour. My research has included glycosides, smoke
taint, tannins, phenolics in red and white wines, and black pepper in Shiraz. The
focus of my current research is decoding airborne volatiles in environmental
smoke that taint wine. My professional journey in the world
of wine began with working for Southcorp Wines as a graduate wine scientist,
then led me to research at the Australian Wine Research Institute. I have
direct connections to the wine industry through my family businesses, Backbeat
Wines and Vinify contract processing in McLaren Vale. My beginnings in industry
and my own personal connection to the wine industry have shaped my career as a
researcher who works with industry to undertake essential research to develop
practical solutions to the industry’s challenges.
The Fallout from Bushfires and Smoke Taint in Wine
In
the wake of the devastating bushfire season of 2019-2020, I directed my
research focus toward a pressing issue: smoke taint in wines. I was called on
to provide advice to hundreds of queries from grape growers and wine producers seeking
to understand results of smoke exposure testing. It was clear that there was a
lack of reliable data on the concentrations of smoke markers in grapes capable
of negatively impacting wine quality by producing a noticeable smoke flavour in
wine. Our research followed the impact of smoke from grapes, to wines and consumers,
linking the concentrations of smoke markers in grapes to wine consumer
acceptability.
This
line of inquiry yielded eight peer-reviewed publications, as well
as fact sheets and technical notes which provide the basis for winemakers
across Australia, USA, Canada and beyond, to assess smoke-exposed grapes. Our
paper titled ‘The Effect of Pre-Veraison Smoke Exposure of Grapes on Phenolic
Compounds and Smoky Flavour in Wine’ was awarded the Australian Society of
Viticulture and Oenology winemaking paper of the year 2023 in recognition of
the industry impact of this research.
Bringing flavour to low alcohol wines
In
2019 I led a team in the CSIRO OnPrime research commercialization program.
Together, we explored innovative opportunities to extract value from glycoside flavour
precursors found in grape marc, a wine by-product. Our efforts were
acknowledged when our team received a shared award for the best team in Adelaide.
This knowledge is now being explored as a new way to craft no- and low-alcohol
wines that offer enhanced flavor profiles and improved quality.
I am an ARC Industry Fellow and Senior Research Scientist at the Australian Wine Research Institute. Over the last 20 years I have been researching wine chemistry to help the wine industry to overcome challenges and open new opportunities in wine flavour. My research has included glycosides, smoke taint, tannins, phenolics in red and white wines, and black pepper in Shiraz. The focus of my current research is decoding airborne volatiles in environmental smoke that taint wine. My professional journey in the world of wine began with working for Southcorp Wines as a graduate wine scientist, then led me to research at the Australian Wine Research Institute. I have direct connections to the wine industry through my family businesses, Backbeat Wines and Vinify contract processing in McLaren Vale. My beginnings in industry and my own personal connection to the wine industry have shaped my career as a researcher who works with industry to undertake essential research to develop practical solutions to the industry’s challenges. The Fallout from Bushfires and Smoke Taint in Wine In the wake of the devastating bushfire season of 2019-2020, I directed my research focus toward a pressing issue: smoke taint in wines. I was called on to provide advice to hundreds of queries from grape growers and wine producers seeking to understand results of smoke exposure testing. It was clear that there was a lack of reliable data on the concentrations of smoke markers in grapes capable of negatively...
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Last updated
on 05/01/2026
by Mango Parker