An historic Peachland vineyard has been destroyed in the Trepanier wildfire.
The Hainle vineyard was among the first in the Okanagan where European viniferous grapes were planted to produce quality wines.
Grapes from the vines, planted in 1972, were used to create the Okanagan’s very first ice wines.
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Now the vineyard is a wasteland.
“The fire moved very quickly, it was so hot, it burned all the vines” said Walter Huber who bought the vineyard from the Hainle family.
“This vineyard is 40 years old. Losing 40 year old plants is not good, it takes 3 years to reproduce, I don’t know how to make it through this.”
The cost to replace the vineyard is expected to top one million dollars, and much of that is not covered by insurance.
The agriculture ministry is hoping to salvage grafts from the less damaged vines to retain their valuable genetic qualities.
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