It is West Kelowna’s wine-touring route but the so-called wine trail is more like a dust trail these days.
One-and-a-half kilometres of Boucherie Road, between Hudson and Ogden Roads, is completely dug up for upgrades and beautification work and a detour has been put in place.
“I think the Westside Wine Trail is going to be a stunning place to visit and this is just a little pain before the gain,” Jesse Harnden, spokesperson for Mt. Boucherie Winery, told Global News.
While winery operators are looking forward to the end result, they say the construction work will no doubt have an impact on the 2018 wine-touring season.
“There’s no doubt there will be a pretty big dip in visitation,’ Harnden said.
Mt. Boucherie Winery relies heavily on passers-by but with the road being closed, there won’t be anyone driving by.
“It’s not a visual thing,” Harnden said. “You really have to be a destination in the tourist’s mind as opposed to something you would just pop into.”
At the nearby Volcanic Hills Winery, plans are being put in place to minimize the impact.
“What we are working on is our outside sales,” owner Bobby Gidda said. “We are working on the Vancouver market, the Calgary market, just outside sales because the impact is going to be here, so we just have to work at other sales channels.”
At the adjacent Blu Saffron Bistro, the owner and chef said he’s worried about the upcoming season.
The construction work began only a couple of weeks ago but its impact is already being felt, he said.
“It’s definitely slower than we were last year and the previous years. I would say we are at least 40 per cent below.”
Beaumont Winery is also being impacted. The small, family-owned winery is situated right along Boucherie Road. It has already significantly reduced its hours as a response to the construction work.
The City of West Kelowna is doing what it can to help. It has posted highway signs letting tourists know that the wineries remain open despite the construction. It has also clearly outlined the detour now in place.
The $8.75-million road construction work includes new underground utilities, sidewalks, a cycling path and new landscaping.
The project is expected to be complete in November.
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