KELOWNA, B.C. – The B.C. grape harvest was smaller than average this year, but wine makers are optimistic the wine will be much better than average.
And they’re toasting the fact that one of the latest harvests on record is finally finished.
The first pickers didn’t get into the vineyards until Sept. 15, two weeks behind last year. In the central and north Okanagan, some didn’t start until Thanksgiving.
Grape growers were expecting a bad year and those fears were heightened with a rainy September but three weeks of sun in October saved their grapes.
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“Overall, it’s going to be a great year, especially for white wine,” said Lindsay Anders, communications manager of the B.C. Wine Institute.
“Some of the reds have been stellar. Sandra Oldfield, a wine maker at Osoyoos, said their merlot is going to be fantastic, but they will have less of it to sell than in the past.”
The problem started a year ago with a killer frost during Thanksgiving that damaged grape vines.
“Crops were down because of that, and due to the cooler temperatures and more rain, people had to drop a bit of fruit to get optimum ripeness.”
While the Thanksgiving frost only hit the Okanagan, the four other B.C. wine regions of Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, the Fraser Valley, and the Similkameen Valley also had smaller crops.
B.C. growers push the geographic limits for wine grapes, but the hot days and cool nights produce grapes with high acid levels that produce fresh, vibrant wines.
Although the crop at West Kelowna award-winning Quail’s Gate Winery is down about 30 percent, wine maker Grant Stanley is happy with the grapes.
“2010 gave us some great challenges, which put pressure on us. We’ve had about two months of go, go, go. It’s almost like a bit of a battle.”
Stanley and his team scoured the vineyards, counting shoots and bunches and decided to prune back to one bunch per shoot.
“We dropped a lot of the crop in June and July when fruit set occurred,” he said.
“We’re carrying the lowest grape crop ever, but we’re dealing with ripe fruit and good looking grapes. We don’t make lower end wines, so for us, it’s all about having good quality.”
South Okanagan wine makers were equally enthusiastic.
“Our whites are harvested and we were lucky enough to have no rot in our vineyards,” said Oldfield.
Manfred Freese, president of the B.C. Grapegrowers Association, thinks the industry got lucky.
“Most growers were able to make their numbers,” said the Osoyoos grower. “In farming, you have to be lucky.”
