Canada: B.C. wineries plan survival strategies following deep freeze

Published 2024년 3월 21일

Tridge summary

A severe cold snap in mid-January has severely damaged grape buds and vines in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley, leading to fears of a near total loss of the 2024 grape harvest. This has prompted wineries in British Columbia to seek regulatory changes to allow the import of grapes or juice from other regions to keep their operations running. Current regulations require at least 50% of the wine produced on Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) land to come from grapes grown in B.C. The B.C. government has promised up to $70 million to help replant vineyards and orchards, but wineries are still struggling due to the shortage of B.C. grapes.

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Original content

Business owners in B.C.’s wine sector are plowing new ground in an effort to survive the consequences of a severe cold snap in mid-January that devastated Okanagan Valley grape buds and vines. Some expect the Okanagan’s 2024 grape harvest to be a near total write-off, while other winery principals in the Fraser Valley and on Vancouver Island told BIV that they should be able to grow grapes as usual. Even Fraser Valley wineries could suffer a hit, however, as some buy Okanagan grapes to make their wines. “I buy about 500 tonnes of grapes from the Okanagan each year,” Brian Ensor, general manager at south Langley’s Chaberton Estate Winery, told BIV. “This deep freeze is affecting everybody.” Ensor said he grows about 200 tonnes of grapes at his 50-acre vineyard, which his website touts as being the Fraser Valley’s oldest. That production should be enough for Ensor to make about 130,000 litres of wine – far more than the 4,500 litres that he is required to make each year from his own ...

Source: Timescolonist