It’s the height of harvest season across the nine wine regions of British Columbia with many winegrowers reporting their earliest start on record due to a hot, sunny summer. “Harvest commenced an impressive three weeks ahead of our usual schedule,” said Adam Woodward, Production Manager, Privato Vineyard and Winery in the Thompson Valley. This year’s harvest is not just early, but history-making for one of the pioneering families of the BC wine industry. “We’ve been farming this valley for more than 60 years and 2023 marks our 35th grape harvest here at Quails’ Gate Winery. It’s an excellent opportunity to reflect on the spirit of our people, our commitment to excellence, and the journey that has brought us to this milestone. We’ve shared successes, weathered challenges, and grown together. Every vintage encapsulates our passion and showcases the quality of wine here in the Okanagan Valley,” said Tony Stewart, CEO, Quails’ Gate Estate Winery.
Going into the summer season BC wineries knew they were facing the challenge of a reduced wine grape crop. “A devastating extreme cold event in December 2022 impacted vineyards throughout the Okanagan Valley and Similkameen Valley,” said Miles Prodan, President and CEO, Wine Growers British Columbia. “While each vineyard and winery had a singular experience depending on location, vineyard aspect, and other factors, we were able to quantify the damage overall as a 34 to 56 percent loss in yield for the 2023 vintage. The full picture will become clear once we are able to review final tonnage numbers this December,” said Prodan.
Despite the impacts on quantity wine growers are reporting outstanding quality. This includes Jak Meyer of Meyer Family Vineyards in Okanagan Falls, who witnessed this exact occurrence in his Chardonnay: “we will get only 20 to 30 per cent of normal volumes but excellent quality and ripeness,” he said. BC wineries contending with these lowered yields will be advising consumers to build a collection of their favourites through visiting the winery, ordering direct, or best of all becoming wine club members.
Vancouver Island vineyards often experience a different set of weather conditions than their interior counterparts. “We expect good volumes to be picked locally,” said Mark Holford, Rocky Creek Winery. “The extra warm summer is resulting in very high quality, and an early harvest which is always welcome on the island where we are wanting to pick all our grapes before the October rains begin.”
Logistical complexities often arrive with the onset of harvest, and 2023 proved to be no exception in the Okangan Valley with the closure (due to landslide) of Highway 97 in between Summerland and Peachland early September. “With an early start to harvest this year, the closure of the highway was definitely a challenge, not only for the transportation of fruit from one end of the valley to the other, but also for the winemakers and harvest staff that commute,” said Sandy Leier, Winemaker, Laughing Stock Vineyards, who arranged for commuting staff to stay on-site.
BC wineries are no stranger to creative harvest time maneuvering, at Black Market Wine Co in Kaleden tasting room staff were pulling double duty harvesting grapes in between serving guests, “when you have a small staff, you need to get creative when harvest overlaps with tasting room hours. Our guests love the authenticity of it!” said Rob Hammersley, Owner and Winemaker. A similar collision of harvest and hospitality occurred at Bartier Bros. Vineyard and Winery when it came time for wine club shipments. “When Lindsey asked me a few months ago if they could use the winery space in the first week of September for this, I thought no problem, there’s no way we’ll be harvesting by then. It turns out we were halfway through harvest that week. Bins of grapes were being processed just a few metres from the packing, hoses were running everywhere, and Loam (our mascot dog) slept in the middle of it all. Somehow the cellar staff and the wine shop staff kept it organized and it went without a hitch,” said Michael Bartier, Winemaker. BC wineries always find a way!
Communities and businesses in British Columbia were challenged by an extreme wildfire season this year. It’s too early to know how the fires we experienced in some parts of BC will impact producers in the affected regions. Right now is the time to celebrate the hard work and passion that goes into the BC wine grape harvest, which began under clear skies across the province. In Lillooet “we were fortunate to have had dry, clear, cooling winds from up the Duffey Lake Pass,” said Alessandro Nel, Winemaker, Fort Berens Estate Winery, who noted that “despite wildfires that burned around us, these cooling winds helped keep the vineyard and air relatively clear with little smoke. Overall, this is looking to be an elegant vintage.”
In the region of Shuswap, “the proximity of the Bush Creek East Fire added pressure toward the end of the growing season. Thankfully things settled down a bit at the end of August and we jumped straight into harvest on September 1st with some clear skies. Small yields this year but some beautiful fruit,” said James Clark, Winemaker, Sunnybrae Vineyards and Winery. The same can be said in the Similkameen Valley where “the smoke has cleared and harvest is underway,” according to Charlie Baessler, Corcelettes Estate Winery.
Harvest is especially exciting for producers in the Kootenays and Gulf Islands regions: growers there have more wine grape acreage to cultivate than ever before – both regions registered an increase of 40 per cent from 2019 to 2022. “We are thrilled to see other producers seeing the potential in the Kootenays as a winegrowing region. Our hot days and cold nights allow the grapes to develop complexity and depth of flavour,” said Myran Hagenfeldt, Owner, Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery.
Witness the excitement of harvest firsthand and plan a visit to BC wine country, or raise a glass of BC wine and cheers to another great vintage.
BC Wine Harvest Images
BC Wine Grape Acreage Report 2022
BC Wine Quick Facts on WineBC.com
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Media release provided by Wine Growers British Columbia. Image courtesy of Wine BC.
