Carie Jones
It was completely unexpected. As the BC wine industry prepared for another successful BC summer - bringing warmer temperatures, experience seekers and wine enthusiasts alike - the unimaginable happened. BC wineries were forced to close their restaurants and tasting rooms in an attempt to help flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic. It could have signalled the end. Many could have given up. But in the true spirit of BC winemaking, resilience and heart won out, and the great pivot began.
Wineries across the province were quick to respond to the new reality by taking to social media, online delivery and curbside pickup to keep their brands strong and ensure wine lovers across the country could still enjoy BC wine at home. The tasting rooms may have been closed, but it didn’t stop wineries from finding new and innovative ways to reach wine lovers across the country.
With warmer temperatures and the usual flood of visitors flocking to the province, Ex Nihilo Vineyards in Lake Country, BC would typically start hosting outdoor concerts for its guests to enjoy along with great food, a great view and of course great wine. But after having to close its doors to the public for the foreseeable future, the winery had to come up with a new plan to continue connecting with their customers. On April 25th Ex Nihilo Vineyards hosted a virtual concert with Andrew Allen, local artist and one of the regular musicians in their annual outdoor concert series lineup.
“We had to react very quickly and continue to connect with our customers,” said Jeff Harder, Proprietor and Managing Director of Ex Nihilo Vineyards. “We have a loyal following, and we wanted to still be able to keep in touch with them, give something back and say we know you’re at home, we wanted to reach out and say we’re still here.”
Due to the intimate nature of the in-person, live shows, only 100 tickets are typically sold. But in the new reality, fans from across the country could tune in, enjoy the wine, listen to Andrew Allen perform and also have the option to stay after the show for a special zoom call with Andrew to ask questions and get up close and personal.
“Seventy people joined us on the Zoom call following the concert with people from Saskatchewan, Ontario and even Nova Scotia. It allowed the customer to talk to the artist directly and provided the opportunity to ask me about the wine and the vineyard,” said Harder.
The overall virtual concert saw 1100 people tune in, with many purchasing specially curated wine packages in advance of the show to pair with the songs.
With tasting rooms closed across the province, many wineries switched to virtual tastings to help promote their wines and entertain customers who were staying safe and staying home.
In the Similkameen Valley, Clos du Soleil winemaker Michael Clark hosted a virtual tasting with Il Caminetto, Whistler Wine Director and acclaimed Canadian sommelier, Leagh Barkley to taste and discuss four of Clos Du Soleil's top-selling wines and discuss wine in general. Collaborating with local sommeliers provided an educational aspect to the virtual tastings while also offering an opportunity to collaborate with industry partners.
“To me, the important thing about all of this is how we’re all part of the same family in a sense,” says Clark. “To be successful as a winery we need to be there to fulfill the needs of our customers of course, but also retailers, restaurants and hotels that sell our wine - especially during a crisis – but all the time. We need to help each other to be successful in what we’re doing. A key component of these virtual tastings with sommeliers is to collaborate with other members of the broader industry.”
In Oliver, Le Vieux Pin’s Managing Partner, Winemaker and Viticulturalist, Severine Pinte hosted regular wine tastings and winemaking educational videos on social media starting March 20, only two days after their tasting room closed.
“We were planning to open our tasting room on March 15, so we felt the need to connect with our customers and give them a similar experience as they would have in the tasting room; to give them a little bit of us while they were stuck at home,” said Pinte.
Being able to stay connected with their customers, and continue delivering a similar experience to what they would expect from an in-person visit, was the main goal of the virtual tastings with the bonus of promoting and selling the wine.
“There has been a lot of good feedback from people saying they’ve learned a lot, and we’ve had much higher online sales than previous years,” said Pinte. “I think we’d continue virtual tastings in the future, particularly the educational part of it. Not everyone is coming to the vineyard, so I think it’s a good way to keep in touch even if it is via social media. It keeps us connected even if it’s not in person.”
While many BC wineries took new approaches to events and tastings, others also chose innovative ways to give back to their communities.
In Langley, Backyard Vineyards produced and donated 2000 bottles of hand sanitizer for the Fraser Valley Health region.
"We've seen such strong local support for our business we thought this would be a unique way to donate right back to our community,” says Colin Campbell, General Manager of Backyard Vineyards.
The hand sanitizer was donated to Fraser Valley Health Region hospitals, Royal Columbian and Langley Memorial, as well as to the Langley Doctor’s Association and other General Practitioners in the area.
“All of the hand sanitizer was 100% donated. We saw a need, and this is something tangible to support frontline workers in the Fraser Valley and residents of our community,” said Campbell.
In the Cowichan Valley, Blue Grouse Estate Winery on Vancouver Island helped feed children in their community through donations from online wine sales. Through April, in honour of BC Wine Month, the winery committed to donating $1 for every bottle sold to Nourish Cowichan Society, a charitable organization helping feed families in need, which was matched by another dollar from the Brunner family, owners of the winery.
Thanks to the support of wine lovers across the country and restaurant and retail partners, the winery was able to sell 4,000 bottles by April 30, making a total $8,000 donation to the charity. The Brunner Family decided to round the amount up to $10,000, reaching the original goal set by the winery team. The money contributed by Blue Grouse Estate Winery will provide 2,500 meals to families in need.
"We found in our research that the Cowichan Valley has the highest rate of child poverty on Vancouver Island (30 per cent) and the second-largest in BC. We really wanted to focus locally and give back to help make a difference where we live,” said Blue Grouse general manager Jenny Garlini.
After speaking with the head chef at Nourish Cowichan Society, Garlini says the organization increased their capacity from 200 to 400 kids fed a week and with the donation, they will be able to continue helping children and their families through the end of June.
Tantalus Vineyards in Kelowna also donated $1 per bottle in honour of BC Wine Month, raising $7,380 for Food Banks Canada.
With more than 350 wineries in British Columbia, these examples only scratch the surface of the incredible ways the BC wine industry pivoted during an uncertain time to ensure BC wine stayed top of mind while giving back to the community in a time of need. The sheer grit, heart and tenacity of the BC wine industry has never been more apparent than now. Despite an incredibly scary time, the industry as a whole stepped up in a big way to change course and continue providing wine lovers with incredible BC wine.
To help connect wine lovers with BC wineries and experiences, the BC Wine Institute launched the new Wines of BC Explorer app. The app allows wine lovers to input their wine preferences to create a personalized experience for exploring BC wine country, even from a distance. It also provides an easy channel for wine lovers to purchase their favourite BC wines, providing a streamlined way to discover what they love in BC wine country.
To continue supporting local and #DiscoverWhatYouLove, visit WineBC.com.