How Many Stink Bugs Do You Like in Your Wine? Researchers Found an Answer

In Oregon, researchers know stink bugs are an issue when harvesting grapes for wine making, but how much is too much? After placing different numbers of stink bugs on grapes and measuring their stress compounds, which give an off flavor to wine, they found that most people can tolerate up to three stink bugs per grape cluster before they notice the odd flavor. Pesticides often don’t work well with stinkbugs which easily hide in the grape clusters making it a real issue for winemakers. The problem is when the grapes are pressed, with stink bugs and all, the stink bugs release two stress compounds that give the wine the odd aroma and flavor. Now the issue is how to minimize stink bugs in each grape cluster to less than three bugs in order to preserve the quality of the wine.