Photo by Wines of BC
Vineyards in Oliver BC
The BC wine industry is making a habit of winning out over adversity, and in 2021 it appears that despite the impact of the worst pandemic in a century, out of control wildfires, and a deadly heat wave, BC is reporting yet another stellar year for local wine.
That doesn’t mean the year was not a struggle, as wineries had to contend with COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, and a precipitous drop in tourism during the height of the wildfires in July and August.
But despite the tribulations of this strangest of years, wineries throughout the province are reporting another fine vintage, and for many, record sales.
Miles Prodan, the CEO of Wine Growers BC, says his group does an annual study of the wine harvest throughout the province. This year, with around 90 per cent of wineries already reporting, Prodan says he is expecting to see a smaller than average harvest, but much higher than average quality.
“it's looking a lot better again than we thought it was going to be,” Prodan said. “In this short period (in June) we had this Spring cold event that happened right around flower set, and then right after we had the heat dome that set temperature records, so yeah, there was a lot of concern.
“However, generally what it’s done in the Okanagan where most of our production happens is that we had a lot of growers reporting smaller berry sizes, but that also means much more concentrated flavors,” Prodan explained. “So, at this point it looks like the quality is up, but the quantity over all is going to be down for the third year in a row.”
With the majority of wineries in the Okanagan reporting in, Prodan said overall tonnage could be down by 15 to 30 per cent in a region that produces roughly 85 per cent of BC’s total crop.On the other hand, other regions like the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island were reporting very high quality berries and also very large harvests, thanks to high temperatures and much drier than normal weather.
Even in the Okanagan, some wineries saw a marked decline in tonnage, while others did not.
“We did not find our tonnage was down, but we certainly found the quality is definitely there this year,” said Jennifer Molgat, founder and President of The View Winery in Kelowna. “I mean, we stemmed aggressively earlier in the year, and toward the end of the season we dropped even more fruit, because our yields were just crazy! If I was a bear, I would have moved into our vineyard because we had so much fruit on the ground!”
Photo by Sunnybrae Vineyards and Winery
Sunnybrae harvest
Harvesting Siegerrebe at Sunnybrae Vineyards and Winery in Tappen BC.
Down south along the Golden Mile in Oliver, however, Balwinder Dhaliwal of Kismet Estate Winery says his experience was very different, particularly for white varietals.
Dhaliwal agrees this year will be an exceptional vintage in terms of quality, but says the yield for white varietals is definitely lower. “Most of the white varietals we showed a drop of 25 to 30 per cent,” said Dhaliwal. “The reason is that it was too dry, especially when we didn’t have overhead irrigation in all of our vineyards.
“Normally you never see that kind of heat for a prolonged period,” he added. “I mean, we usually get a heat wave for a week or so, but this year it stayed steady at 38, 39, even 40 degrees!”
The unprecedented heat in British Columbia may have reduced yields for many growers, but Dhaliwal agrees that the improvement in wine quality will be worth it.
“This isn’t going to hurt us, in my opinion, because our valley is about quality, not quantity,” he said. “We are not in competition with other local wineries; we are in competition with other wine regions like Napa or Sonoma, so I think this is what we need. Mother Nature helped us this year with the quality.”
Dhaliwal grows grapes for his own winery and for other wineries as well, and says the drop in yields is compensated for by higher prices this year. “I think the growers will be doing pretty well, because when you compare the prices to the last 10 years, usually we get 2000 to 2200 dollars a ton, but now we’re up to 2600 or 2800 dollars a ton for whites, and reds it’s more like 3400 to 4000 a ton.”
The other great challenge facing wineries this year was the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic due to the more virulent Delta variant, but once again, BC wineries found a way to make it work.
“Honestly, the last couple of years our sales are up,” said Dhaliwal. “Seriously, they are up by 25 to 30 per cent. We don’t get as many people visiting the winery due to COVID, but a lot more people are ordering online.”
Molgat agrees with that assessment, but adds that for her winery the numbers of visitors was actually very high.
“We had an amazing year. we were definitely up,” she said. “Our biggest challenge was just having enough staff, but sales were up and visits were up. There were a lot more locals from BC and a lot of Albertans coming in, but over all a very good year.”
Photo by Balwinder Dhaliwal
Balwinder Dhaliwal
Balwinder Dhaliwal of Kismet Estate Winery.
One difference between wineries in Kelowna and farther south in Oliver and Osoyoos was the impact of wildfires. While Kelowna was impacted by nearby wildfires in West Kelowna and along the west side of Okanagan Lake, many visitors to the southern Okanagan were evacuated due to the Nk’Mip Creek wildfire. For that reason, visitors in the south dropped off sharply through July and August. The situation was so bad, provincial officials even went on record telling tourists to stay away from the region until the fires were back under control.
Nevertheless, wineries throughout the province have generally reported a very successful year thus far, which Prodan puts down to preparation and the flexibility to shift their business model as needed.
“One of the big issues we dealt with was the COVID restrictions, so it meant wineries created a much more curated tasting experience,” Prodan explained. “It meant there was a lot fewer people there, but those that came were getting a much more in-depth experience, and they responded by buying more wine. So, fewer visitors, but those fewer visitors bought more wine overall.”
Photo by Wines of BC
Miles Prodan
Miles Prodan, President & CEO at Wine Growers British Columbia
As well, Prodan said wineries learned to promote online wine sales and their Wine Clubs, both of which were incredibly successful.
So, despite the worst nature could throw at the Okanagan, it appears this fiscal year and the coming vintage will both be a runaway success, which Prodan attributes to the industry’s ability to adapt.
“You know, there’s always something going on with Mother Nature, so if it’s not too hot, it’s going to be too cold, or it’s going to be too much rain, or hey, we’ll just throw a pandemic on top, and wildfires on top of that!,” Prodan said. “When it comes to what’s been thrown at us with COVID and with climate change, I think we can just say we’ve learned to adapt to it.”
Wine Report 2020 - The Wine Industry in a Challenging Year