Okanagan vineyards welcome early start to 2023’s grape harvest

Okanagan wine growers welcomed an early start to harvest this season and some have already finished for the year.

But it wasn’t an easy season as B.C. vineyards were hit hard by an extreme cold snap last year when temperatures in the Okanagan dipped to – 30 C.

“Earliest in 20 years. I’ll take it, as normally we’re sometimes shovelling snow as we’re making wine. So, this is OK,” said Howling Bluff Estate Winery owner Luke Smith.

“The concern was the extraordinary cold snap that we had and a very weird end of last year where it was really, really warm in October. It was faster than a light switch — went from warm to freezing, which damaged a lot of vineyards in the valley.”

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It is expected that a number of wineries will be coming up short this harvest.

Wine Growers British Columbia reported earlier this year that the damage isn’t specific to any variety or area, and it’s hard to pinpoint which grapevines were hit the hardest.

However, so far, wineries along the Naramata Bench have been impacted less than other wineries in the Okanagan in terms of bud damage.

“The harvest this year has been definitely one for the record books. We are nearly 30 days ahead of schedule on some of our vineyards’ plantings. It’s been challenging (on) a number of fronts,” said Da Silva Vineyards owner Richard Da Silva.

“A really cold spell last winter did a lot of damage and created a lot of loss for us down south in our vineyards down in Oliver and Osoyoos. But where we are situated here, which is kind of the hub of our operations on Naramata Bench, our vineyards did somewhat alright. Damage was very minimal.”

According to Smith, the Naramata Bench did not get as cold as other places which is believed to be what saved local wineries from more extensive crop damage.

“I can’t explain why we didn’t get cold other than to suggest the lake gives us a bit of winter lake effect, which makes us a little warmer in the winter than otherwise we would be,” said Smith.

“And in the summer, of course, we don’t get those super high days because of course the lake is in a heat sink during the summer.”

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Da Silva echoed the very same idea, adding that Okanagan Lake has a profound impact on the vineyards that are close by.

“It has a very moderating effect and so does Skaha Lake,” said Da Silva.

“Because that definitely contributed to some of the softening of the blow that did happen in a couple of very cold areas that didn’t have the lake effect. Like for Osoyoos, and Oliver where it was quite cold, the Similkameen and Northern Okanagan.”

The damage, however, will have an impact on wineries not just this year, but down the road as well.

“If you’re a B.C. wine lover and a consumer and you love some of your favourites, I would definitely encourage you to grab them while you can,” said Da Silva.

“Some of us are not looking at making some of these wines for two or three years. It’s going to take that long. Our cab franc will take nearly two years to start the crop again, and so if you love that kind of wine, you’ll need to find it while you can.”

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Wine experts say that in the spring of 2024, it will be difficult to find some white wines as those will be the first wines that the winter has damaged in terms of production.

In 2025, when some of the early red wines are released, Smith says the same thing could happen.

“The majority of the wineries in the Okanagan are family-owned and the majority of the growers — in fact, most of the growers are all small families. They are going to take it on the chin and they’re going to take a financial hit,” said Smith.

“If you can support British Columbia wineries and British Columbia growers by purchasing a bottle that is going to help us and then we can come up the other end.”

Wine growers say this season served as a learning experience and steps are being taken to adapt to the changing climate.

“I think everybody is still trying to figure out what the cold snap did and why certain varieties acted the way they did. Certain varieties that I personally had intuitively thought would be really damaged didn’t seem to be damaged, and the ones that I thought would be fine seem to take some damage,” said Smith.

“So that’s a learning process we all have to learn in the industry.”

“It’s been a while since we’ve had those cold snaps and hopefully that’s kind of the last one for the next little while, but I think when it does happen, we all learn from it collectively,” said Da Silva.

“We will learn from our vineyard growing practices, what we plant, where we plant, and how we plant and grow. I think there’s a chance there for us to evolve and grow from that experience.”

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