B.C. wine industry projecting 50% fewer wine grapes this year because of winter vine damage

British Columbia's wine industry is projecting a significant reduction in wine grape production this year because of a prolonged cold snap over the winter that damaged vineyards right across the Okanagan Valley, the province's main wine producing region. 

Initial projections by Wine Growers B.C. forecast a 39 to 56 per cent drop in wine and grape production this year as a result of a two day-long dip in temperatures below minus 20 C across the region in late December last year, according to CEO Miles Prodan.

"Up to over half of the grapes will not bear fruit this year and that is obviously a huge concern," Prodan said.

"It's quite extensive in terms of its range throughout the valley."

Researchers have been examining the tiny buds on grape vines that remain dormant over the winter by dissecting them to and looking for signs of cold damage. 

In some less hardy varieties or in areas of the valley where temperatures dipped closer to minus 30 C, up to 100 per cent of the buds are damaged, said grapevine physiologist Ben-Min Chang with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

"When the temperature dropped [the cold] will kill the cells. Ice formed in those cells and actually burst those cells," Chang said. 

"We are seeing a brown colour and that pretty much means the bud is now dead."

Much of the damage is in the South Okanagan region, which is known for growing the vast majority of red wine varieties that require a lot of heat and sunlight to fully develop. 

For Balwinder Dhaliwal, co-owner of Kismet Estate Winery, the cold damage is more severe and widespread than he's ever seen in his three decades of growing wine grapes in the region.

"It looks really bad. Some varieties are pretty much toast," Dhaliwal said.

"Some varieties are a little bit more winter hardy, like Cabernet Franc or the Pinot Gris, we are a still finding a little bit of live buds, but some varieties like Merlot are dead."

It will take another four to six weeks until the full extent of the damage is known, Dhaliwal said.

The worst case scenario is severe winter damage where the entire plots of vines need to be replaced.