BC Wine News: How BC Wine Country Is Preparing for a Strong Comeback
October 2024
It has been a roller coaster ride over the last few vintages for the BC wine industry. There have been some thrilling highs, with exceptional wines being released now from vintages 2020-2022, and some harrowing lows, full of nauseating dips, death defying turns, lots of scares and plenty of adrenaline. It feels like this particularly tumultuous ride is finally coming to an end, and with feet back on terra firma, winegrowers can now go about resetting and moving on with the future. They have lots of wine to sell, many British Columbia vineyards were not hit as badly as feared, and lots of great ideas are circulating to make even better BC wine in the coming years.
Cold snaps, small crops
The realities of the challenges faced by BC farmers and winegrowers have been well documented. Severe freeze incidents in late 2022 and early 2024 caused significant crop loss in both the 2023 and 2024 vintage. A few interior vineyards dodged the cold and will produce a small, quality crop from the 2024 vintage, but most vineyards in the interior were affected and as a result won’t produce a crop at all in 2024. Luckily, the maritime climate at the coast meant Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands and the Fraser Valley went unharmed and will produce a healthy crop.
Lots of wine to sell!
Luckily wineries still have lots of wine to sell! Rumours were abound that there was no BC wine for sale, even before the 2024 grapes would have been harvested. The truth is that there is plenty of wine from vintages 2018-2023 still out there and still to be released over the next few years. Most wines take 1-2 years to make and then many will be aged in bottle for a couple of years before being released so there is no need to panic. British Columbia Wineries still have lots of wine.
Now is the time to buy local
In fact, now is the time to support BC winegrowers by visiting a winery or picking up a bottle of BC wine. Even without a crop to harvest this year, winegrowers still have all the expenses of managing their vineyards, paying their staff and keeping their wine shops open, so buying local is more important than ever.
Topping up with replacement wines for 2024
No grapes in 2024 means no wine and therefore no income from that vintage for many wineries. In order to help bridge the gap until production kicks back in in 2025, an interim solution for one year that allows wineries to bring in grapes or juice from other places outside of British Columbia – Washington, Oregon, Ontario for example – has been reached. This is a one-off, with just enough wine being made to keep the doors open and employees employed until we get the vines back on track for 2025. Winemakers are excited to have this one-time challenge and a chance to work with grapes from a different climate and terroir, and will be committed to crafting the same high quality wine they are known for. The replacement wines will be clearly labelled as to where they are from and will not be blended with or labelled as being BC wine.
Back on track for 2025
Back in the spring of 2024, fears were that not only was the crop lost but that the vines were all dead as well. Fortunately, it proved to be not nearly as bad as feared, with many resilient vines growing strongly and pushing new trunks or shoots and setting themselves up to be ready to produce a crop again in 2025. Of course, some vines did die and will need to be replaced, and this has presented the opportunity to rethink, reset and make sure British Columbia vineyards are even more durable for the future. So, while yields will be down for a few years until new plantings come into production over the next 2-3 years, there will be a good quantity of BC wine made in 2025 and beyond.
Reset Opportunity
Sometimes being forced to reset is a good thing. Those growers that were unfortunate and did lose their vines have been given the opportunity to rethink everything. What to plant, where and how to farm are all being re-evaluated as growers reestablish their vineyards to be even more resilient for the future. Techniques such as switching to own-rooted plants that can grow back more readily after a freeze, changing varieties to those better suited to the site, new trellis systems that allow vines or backup trunks to be buried or using geotextiles to blanket the vines through the winter are all being discussed, trialled and considered, and will make vines stronger for whatever challenges Mother Nature throws at them in the coming years.
Supporting our British Columbia wineries into the future
With plenty of wine to sell, wine supplies sorted out to keep our talented wine people employed here in BC, and a renewed positive outlook for the 2025 vintage and beyond, BC winegrowers are back in a good place, ready to leave the roller coaster behind. By continuing to support local wineries by visiting or purchasing their wines, BC wine lovers can support local agriculture, dedicated farmers and winegrowers and help see them into a bright future filled with exciting, delicious BC wine.
Rhys Pender, MW – Rhys is a Master of Wine who combines his time writing, judging, teaching, presenting, consulting and dirtying his boots at his 4 acre vineyard and winery – Little Farm Winery – in the Similkameen Valley of BC, Canada. He runs a wine school, Wine Plus+, and judges wine competitions nationally and internationally such as the Decanter World Wine Awards, TexSomm as well as the National Wine Awards of Canada for WineAlign. In 2018, Rhys’s contribution to the industry was acknowledged as one of just five global nominees for the WSET Outstanding Alumni Award. To make sure he eats well he has also completed a Professional Culinary Diploma and has been named by Western Living magazine as one of the “Top 40 Foodies Under 40” in Western Canada. He is a regular contributor to publications such as SIP, Vitis, Macleans, Montecristo and Taste. Follow Rhys @rhyspendermw
