SMOKE taint has cost Victorian wine grape growers more than $300 million in the past five years. Centre for Expertise in Smoke Taint Research director Dr Mark Downey said the bushfires in Victoria in 2007 and 2009 highlighted the devastating effect smoke could have on the industry. "Many vineyards in northeast Victoria had fruit rejected or the wine was made only to discover it was tainted and had no commercial value," Dr Downey said.