New bill introduced in Congress to fund research on effects of wildfire smoke on winegrapes

A new bill in Congress proposes to use federal funds to research the impacts of wildfire smoke exposure on grapevines and vineyards, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said when the bill was introduced earlier this month. 

The Smoke Exposure Research Act requests $32.5 million to fund the U.S. Department of Agriculture to work with University of California, Davis, Oregon State University and Washington State University to research the effects of smoke exposure on viticulture and winemaking practices.