The heart of British Columbia's wine industry is reeling after suffering a litany of climate-related hits, resulting in two years of crop losses in the southern Interior.
Chan says all signs suggest only a limited selection of B.C. wine will hit retail shelves in coming years while vineyards and wineries recover. "For a small wine region, and very young wine region, what we're producing is world class. But it's hard to compare to prices from France or even if we're talking about Argentina or Chile — they produce really high-quality wine at a very competitive price."
A recent newsletter from the winery says they're scaling back promotional activities to focus on replanting while conserving wine for members and direct sales. A February report from Wine Growers BC estimates a harvest of only one to three per cent of normal levels, meaning "an almost complete writeoff of the 2024 vintage" and revenue losses of up to $346 million for vineyards and wineries.
"Our experience is like a Rubik's cube of challenges that we're constantly navigating," he says. "We haven't exactly been high on the hog to have made bank in order to weather these last two winter events." But many vineyards, like Corcelettes, have been working to adapt to climate challenges, making sure they've got "the right grape in the right place," he says."It's not as though we can't grow grapes and make wine in B.C. It's just that with climate change, there needs to be adjustments."
Elizabeth Wolkovich, an ecologist specializing in climate change and plants, says winemaking regions worldwide have been feeling the pinch. In some ways, global heating could improve the climate for wine grapes in Canada, she adds.
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