Okanagan vineyards welcome early start to 2023’s grape harvest

Grape harvest is well underway across the Okanagan and some wineries are picking better than others.

Okanagan wine growers welcomed an early start to harvest this season and some have already finished for the year.

But it wasn’t an easy season as B.C. vineyards were hit hard by an extreme cold snap last year when temperatures in the Okanagan dipped to – 30 C.

“Earliest in 20 years. I’ll take it, as normally we’re sometimes shovelling snow as we’re making wine. So, this is OK,” said Howling Bluff Estate Winery owner Luke Smith.

“The concern was the extraordinary cold snap that we had and a very weird end of last year where it was really, really warm in October. It was faster than a light switch — went from warm to freezing, which damaged a lot of vineyards in the valley.”

It is expected that a number of wineries will be coming up short this harvest.

Wine Growers British Columbia reported earlier this year that the damage isn’t specific to any variety or area, and it’s hard to pinpoint which grapevines were hit the hardest.

However, so far, wineries along the Naramata Bench have been impacted less than other wineries in the Okanagan in terms of bud damage.

“The harvest this year has been definitely one for the record books. We are nearly 30 days ahead of schedule on some of our vineyards’ plantings. It’s been challenging (on) a number of fronts,” said Da Silva Vineyards owner Richard Da Silva.