Mango Parker

Dr Mango Parker

ARC Externally-Funded Postdoctorate Research Fellow

School of Agriculture, Food and Wine

College of Science

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, which led me to 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 ongoing 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 combination of my scientific knowledge and hands-on industry experience has driven my contributions to innovation in wine research and production. I thrive on the challenge of merging scientific excellence with tangible outcomes. Ultimately, my goal is to contribute to the advancement of wine research and production by bridging the gap between theory and practice.

I recently collaborated with local musician Max Savage to bring my research to life through music for Songs from the Grapevine.

Listen here to learn about smoke taint In The Burning Night, rotundone, and other stories of wine science celebrating 70 years of research at the AWRI. Fruit From The Vine!, Closure Trials, Band-Aid! A song about brettanomyces, Autonomous Tractors.

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. Grape growers and wine producers were 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 ruining 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.

Our recent work on smoke taint has led to nine 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. Smoke taint - The Australian Wine Research Institute (awri.com.au) 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, and Prevalence of Wildfire Smoke Exposure Markers in Oaked Commercial Wine | American Journal of Enology and Viticulture received the American Society of Enoloy And Viticulture 2025 Enology paper of the year award 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 flavour profiles and improved quality.

Developing Flavour in Wine
My recent PhD focused established flavour release from glycosides (sugar-bound aroma compounds) can occur in the human mouth during tasting, and revealed grape-derived glycosides as a previously overlooked source of flavour in wines and potentially other fruits and foods. My research in this area involved volatile aroma chemistry, non-volatiles, sensory analysis, and practical winemaking experiments. This comprehensive methodology allowed me to unravel the secrets of flavour development and create a bridge between scientific knowledge and practical applications in the winemaking process. This work earned me the prestigious Manfred Rothe Gold prize for Excellence in Flavour Science in 2019. 

You can hear about this work in the AWRI decanted podcast: https://shows.acast.com/6473fe30064cb10011b5033b/6473fe35064cb10011b503bf?utm_source=listen+later&utm_medium=email

Science Communication
I regularly enjoy communicating science to grape growers, winemakers, local high school students and the general public. I was featured in an episode of the BBC's Infinite Monkey Cage podcast alongside luminaries Professor Brian Cox, Professor Brian Schmidt, Robin Ince, Dr. Patricia Williamson, and Tim Minchin The Infinite Monkey Cage - Series 25 - Why does wine taste good? - BBC Sounds. I have participated in Pint of Science, featured in Fleurieu Living Magazine, and presented to audiences including high school students, winemakers, wine scientists and entrepreneurs at _Southstart festival. I have also collaborated with artists such as Liz Willing and Max Savage to bring science to life through the arts.

 

Year Citation
2025 Parker, M., Bilogrevic, E., Jiang, W., Wilkes, E., Francis, I. L., & Herderich, M. J. (2025). Bottle Aging of Smoke-Affected Wines: Changes in Smoke Flavor and Chemical Composition.. J Agric Food Chem, 73(3), 2114-2123.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1
2025 Khaikin, E., Pisaniello, L., Langone, D., Parker, M., & Watson, F. T. (2025). Quantification of Thiophenols at Nanogram-per-Liter Levels in Wine by UHPLC-MS/MS after Derivatization with <i>N</i>-Ethylmaleimide.. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 73(28), 18003-18012.
DOI
2024 Parker, M., Jiang, W. W., Siebert, T. E., & Herderich, M. J. (2024). Smoky Characters in Wine: Distinctive Flavor or Taint?. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 72(17), 9581-9586.
DOI Scopus6 WoS6 Europe PMC4
2024 Parker, M., Jiang, W., Coulter, A. D., Siebert, T. E., Bilogrevic, E., Francis, I. L., & Herderich, M. J. (2024). Prevalence of Wildfire Smoke Exposure Markers in Oaked Commercial Wine. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 75(1), 0750017.
DOI Scopus4 WoS3
2023 Parker, M., Maddy Jiang, W., Bilogrevic, E., Likos, D., Gledhill, J., Coulter, A. D., . . . Herderich, M. J. (2023). Modelling Smoke Flavour in Wine from Chemical Composition of Smoke-Exposed Grapes and Wine. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, 2023, 4964850-1-4964850-14.
DOI Scopus14 WoS14
2023 Bilogrevic, E., Jiang, W., Culbert, J., Francis, L., Herderich, M., & Parker, M. (2023). Consumer response to wine made from smoke-affected grapes. OENO One, 57(2), 417-430.
DOI Scopus12 WoS10
2023 Bilogrevic, E., Jiang, W., Culbert, J., Francis, L., Herderich, M., Robinson, E., & Parker, M. (2023). Understanding consumers’ perceptions of smoke-affected wines. IVES Technical Reviews, vine and wine, 2023.
DOI
2022 Coulter, A., Baldock, G., Parker, M., Hayasaka, Y., Francis, I. L., & Herderich, M. (2022). Concentration of smoke marker compounds in non-smoke-exposed grapes and wine in Australia. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, 28(3), 459-474.
DOI Scopus26 WoS22
2022 Jiang, W. W., Bilogrevic, E., Parker, M., Francis, I. L., Leske, P., Hayasaka, Y., . . . Herderich, M. (2022). The Effect of Pre-Veraison Smoke Exposure of Grapes on Phenolic Compounds and Smoky Flavour in Wine. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, 2022, 9820204-1-9820204-15.
DOI Scopus13 WoS11
2021 Jiang, W., Parker, M., Hayasaka, Y., Simos, C., & Herderich, M. (2021). Compositional Changes in Grapes and Leaves as a Consequence of Smoke Exposure of Vineyards from Multiple Bushfires across a Ripening Season.. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 26(11), 3187-1-3187-14.
DOI Scopus17 WoS15 Europe PMC10
2020 Parker, M., Onetto, C., Hixson, J., Bilogrevic, E., Schueth, L., Pisaniello, L., . . . Francis, L. (2020). Factors Contributing to Interindividual Variation in Retronasal Odor Perception from Aroma Glycosides: The Role of Odorant Sensory Detection Threshold, Oral Microbiota, and Hydrolysis in Saliva. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 68(38), 10299-10309.
DOI Scopus38 WoS33 Europe PMC25
2020 Delgado, L., Parker, M., Fisk, I., & Paradisi, F. (2020). Performance of the extremophilic enzyme BglA in the hydrolysis of two aroma glucosides in a range of model and real wines and juices. Food Chemistry, 323, 9 pages.
DOI Scopus14 WoS14 Europe PMC9
2019 Parker, M., Barker, A., Black, C. A., Hixson, J., Williamson, P., & Francis, I. L. (2019). Don't miss the marc: phenolic-free glycosides from white grape marc increase flavour of wine. Australian journal of grape and wine research, 25(2), 212-223.
DOI Scopus11 WoS10
2018 Parker, M., Capone, D., Francis, I., & Herderich, M. (2018). Aroma precursors in grapes and wine: flavor release during wine production and consumption. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 66(10), 2281-2286.
DOI Scopus115 WoS106 Europe PMC66
2017 Parker, M., Black, C. A., Barker, A., Pearson, W., Hayasaka, Y., & Francis, I. L. (2017). The contribution of wine-derived monoterpene glycosides to retronasal odour during tasting. Food chemistry, 232, 413-424.
DOI Scopus20 WoS17 Europe PMC14
2015 Black, C., Parker, M., Siebert, T., Capone, D., & Francis, I. (2015). Terpenoids and their role in wine flavour: recent advances. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, 21, 582-600.
DOI Scopus160 WoS148
2014 Mayr, C., Parker, M., Baldock, G., Black, C., Pardon, K., Williamson, P., . . . Francis, I. (2014). Determination of the importance of in-mouth release of volatile phenol glycoconjugates to the flavor of smoke-tainted wines. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 62(11), 2327-2336.
DOI Scopus103 WoS90 Europe PMC63
2013 Hayasaka, Y., Parker, M., Baldock, G., Pardon, K., Black, C., Jeffery, D., & Herderich, M. (2013). Assessing the impact of smoke exposure in grapes: Development and validation of a HPLC-MS/MS method for the quantitative analysis of smoke-derived phenolic glycosides in grapes and wine. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 61(1), 25-33.
DOI Scopus81 WoS76 Europe PMC52
2012 McRae, J., Dambergs, R., Kassara, S., Parker, M., Jeffery, D., Herderich, M., & Smith, P. (2012). Phenolic compositions of 50 and 30 year sequences of Australian red wines: the impact of wine age. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 60(40), 10093-10102.
DOI Scopus82 WoS68 Europe PMC32
2012 Parker, M., Osidacz, P., Baldock, G., Hayasaka, Y., Black, C., Pardon, K., . . . Francis, I. (2012). Contribution of several volatile phenols and their glycoconjugates to smoke-related sensory properties of red wine. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 60(10), 2629-2637.
DOI Scopus151 WoS131 Europe PMC82
2011 Wilkinson, K., Ristic, R., Pinchbeck, K., Fudge, A., Singh, D., Pitt, K., . . . Herderich, M. (2011). Comparison of methods for the analysis of smoke related phenols and their conjugates in grapes and wine. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, 17(2), S22-S28.
DOI Scopus50 WoS46
2010 Hayasaka, Y., Baldock, G., Parker, M., Pardon, K., Herderich, M., & Jeffery, D. (2010). Glycosylation of smoke-derived volatile phenols in grapes as a consequence of grapevine exposure to bushfire smoke. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 58(20), 10989-10998.
DOI Scopus123 WoS110 Europe PMC69
2008 Wood, C., Siebert, T., Parker, M., Capone, D., Elsey, G., Pollnitz, A., . . . Herderich, M. (2008). From Wine to Pepper: Rotundone, an Obscure Sesquiterpene, Is a Potent Spicy Aroma Compound. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 56(10), 3738-3744.
DOI Scopus205 WoS179 Europe PMC86
2008 Jeffery, D., Parker, M., & Smith, P. (2008). Flavonol composition of Australian red and white wines determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, 14(3), 153-161.
DOI Scopus62 WoS60
2007 Parker, M., Smith, P. A., Birse, M., Francis, I. L., Kwiatkowski, M. J., Lattey, K. A., . . . Herderich, M. J. (2007). The effect of pre- and post-ferment additions of grape derived tannin on Shiraz wine sensory properties and phenolic composition. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, 13(1), 30-37.
DOI Scopus59 WoS58
2007 Parker, M., Pollnitz, A. P., Cozzolino, D., Francis, I. L., & Herderich, M. J. (2007). Identification and quantification of a marker compound for 'pepper' aroma and flavor in Shiraz grape berries by combination of chemometrics and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 55(15), 5948-5955.
DOI Scopus59 WoS55 Europe PMC29
2006 Cozzolino, D., Parker, M., Dambergs, B., Herderich, M., & Gishen, M. (2006). Chemometrics and visible-near infrared spectroscopic monitoring of red wine fermentation in a pilot scale. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 95(6), 1101-1107.
DOI Scopus108 WoS93 Europe PMC36

Year Citation
2018 Parker, M., Barker, A., Pearson, W., Hayasaka, Y., Hixson, J., & Francis, L. (2018). Flavour release from wine glycosides during tasting. In B. Siegmund, & E. Leitner (Eds.), Flavour Science: Proceedings of the XV Weurman Flavour Research Symposium (pp. 31-36). Austria: Graz University of Technology.
DOI
2012 Herderich, M., Siebert, T., Parker, M., Capone, D., Jeffery, D., Osidacz, P., & Francis, I. (2012). Spice up your life: analysis of key aroma compounds in Shiraz. In M. Qian, & T. Shellhammer (Eds.), Flavor Chemistry of Wine and Other Alcoholic Beverages, as published in ACS Symposium Series Vol. 1104 (pp. 3-13). Boston, MA: American Chemical Society.
DOI Scopus51
2012 Mayr, C., Parker, M., Osidacz, P., Herderich, M., & Francis, L. (2012). Glycoconjugates of volatile phenols: Their contribution to smoke off-flavours in wines and interaction with human saliva. In ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY Vol. 244 (pp. 1 page). PA, Philadelphia: AMER CHEMICAL SOC.
2012 Herderich, M. J., Siebert, T. E., Parker, M., Hayasaka, Y., Curtin, C., & Mercurio, M. (2012). Metabolomics and the quest for understanding quality in flavor chemistry and wine research. In ACS Symposium Series Vol. 1098 (pp. 1-11). American Chemical Society.
DOI Scopus5
2004 Cozzolino, D., Kwiatkowski, M. J., Parker, M., Cynkar, W. U., Dambergs, R. G., Gishen, M., & Herderich, M. J. (2004). Prediction of phenolic compounds in red wine fermentations by visible and near infrared spectroscopy. In Analytica Chimica Acta Vol. 513 (pp. 73-80). PORTUGAL, Aveiro: ELSEVIER.
DOI Scopus339 WoS304
2004 Eglinton, J., Griesser, M., Henschke, P., Kwiatkowski, M., Parker, M., & Herderich, M. (2004). Yeast-mediated formation of pigmented polymers in red wine. In A. L. Waterhouse, & J. A. Kennedy (Eds.), ACS Symposium Series Vol. 886 (pp. 7-21). LA, NEW ORLEANS: AMER CHEMICAL SOC.
DOI Scopus42 WoS35

Year Citation
2010 Herderich, M. J., Siebert, T., Parker, M., Capone, D., & Jeffery, D. (2010). Spice up your life: Analysis of key aroma compounds in Shiraz. Poster session presented at the meeting of ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY. AMER CHEMICAL SOC.
WoS40

Year Citation
2025 Pisaniello, D., Nguyen, L., Ramkissoon, C., Jiang, W., Parker, M., Lloyd, N., & Cai, L. (2025). Ventilation and Air Cleaning for the Control of Indoor Body Odors - A Narrative Literature Review and Pilot Experimental Study.
DOI

  • First Investigator 2024-2029 ARC Early Career Industry Fellowship $453,691 Decoding airborne volatiles in environmental smoke that taint wine IE240100040

  • Chief Investigator AWR 1701-3.4.3A 2020-2022, Wine Australia Understanding and mitigating the impact of smoke exposure on grape and wine composition and wine sensory properties

  • Project lead AWRI 3.3.6 Smoke Impact Project, Wine Australia. 2023-2025

  • Co-lead 2023-2024 AWRI/UA Collaborative Research Investment Fund $27,000 Validating the performance of air purification techniques: managing the human health consequences of smoke exposure in buildings. Co-lead

  • Co-lead 2023-2024 AWRI/UA Collaborative Research Investment Fund $15,000 A Metabolomic Approach to Revealing Additional Markers of Smoke Taint. 

  • Co-lead 2024-2025 AWRI/UA Collaborative Research Investment Fund $25,000 Transcriptional profiling of glycosyltransferases following grapevine smoke exposure

  • Partner Investigator 2023-2025 ARC $500,000 Solving smoke taint: Overcoming the impacts of vineyard exposure to smoke LP210300715

  • Inspiring SA 2024 Arts and Science collaboration $5,000 Singing the praises of SA wine science 

  • Inspiring SA 2025 Arts and Science collaboration $5,000 Songs from the Grapevine

  • Inspiring SA 2025 National Science Week community grant $3,000  

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2025 Co-Supervisor Air Quality Forecasting to Assess Risk of Smoke Exposure to Quality of Winegrapes Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Aiko Marie Jackson
2025 Co-Supervisor Air Quality Forecasting to Assess Risk of Smoke Exposure to Quality of Winegrapes Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Aiko Marie Jackson
2023 Co-Supervisor Transcription profiling of glycosyltransferases following grapevine smoke exposure Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Miss Wenwen Jiang
2023 Co-Supervisor Assessment of rapid detection methods for identifying smoke taint in grape juice. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ysadora Ashton Mirabelli-Montan
2023 Co-Supervisor Assessment of rapid detection methods for identifying smoke taint in grape juice. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ysadora Ashton Mirabelli-Montan
2023 Co-Supervisor Transcription profiling of glycosyltransferases following grapevine smoke exposure Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Wenwen Jiang

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