Photo by Lionel Trudel
Harvest
Duncan Billing, director of viticulture at Secrest Mountain Vineyard, during the Pinot noir harvest.
Wine grape growers had to stay on top of their vine management in order to have a solid season according to the experience of Val Tait, general manager and winemaker with Bench 1775 on the Naramata Bench. She knows full well there are no two identical seasons.
“I’ve been doing this for about 28 years and we’ve never had the same thing happen [two years in a row], though the dates we’re picking at are pretty much average,” she says.
With 86 vineyard acres, an excessive amount of manual labour was required on Tait’s site as the heat and moist soil created a “tremendous amount of green growth,” but at least irrigation wasn’t required until summer months. However, this growth brought heightened alertness to the ongoing labour issue which led some growers to struggle.
“It was super challenging to keep up on that canopy growth,” she notes. “We had to be in the vineyards quite a bit. We handle the vines normally about seven times in the vineyard; it was something like 14 times this season. That’s something you can’t anticipate. We’re getting these unpredictable weather things at weird times too. You just have to think about how that’s affecting the vines [now] and how that’s affecting the vines in the long term.”
Then with what Tait calls an increased amount of regulatory red tape with foreign workers, vineyards (and other crops) were scrambling even into June.
“We always try to source and have staff that are local,” she says. “But not that many people want to be involved in farming.”
As the grape canopy grew and grew, even the heat of summer couldn’t help. The sun was filtered by a smoke screen preventing the excess heat from holding the canopy growth back. Fortunately, Tait says, there wasn’t a lot of smoke particulate in her region, but the vines continued their green growth, allowing for big berries.
“Right now, the fruit quality is phenomenal. The aromatic quality is amazing,” she says. "With the cool nights you get phenomenal tannins and flavours and colours.”
Tait notes fruit yield is definitely up for her vineyard, while 2017 was more of a moderate yield.
“It’s going to be more like 2016, which is good, everybody needs fruit,” she says. “If you have adjusted your crop levels and been able to put in the work in the vineyards, the quality is phenomenal. The cooler you can ripen that fruit, the better it’s going to be. You just never know when you’re going to get a killer frost. But no matter what conditions get thrown at us, it seems like we’re able to get everything [harvested].”
The first days of October had Tait worried ripening wouldn’t happen, but as the sun came out for some late 'summer' weather, things improved dramatically making her much more confident.
“You have to be in the vineyard more often and the timing has to be right,” she notes. “It’s a matter of putting in time and labour when you need it. It’s not difficult, it’s just that timing is critical.”
Tait faced few pests this year, though noted powdery mildew was again something to watch and stay on top of. Most vineyards were able to keep it at bay with powdered sulphur or oils.
The demand for grapes is still on the rise with a lot of competition for growing lands. While Tait was able to secure a six-acre Peachland parcel for planting that was previously unfarmed, she notes these opportunities are diminishing dramatically. Wineries are driving up the planting of grapes, but there aren’t many independent farmers involved in the growing and there’s simply not enough land to go around.
Tait feels that vintners will be happy with how the season turned out.