Winery owner Rolf de Bruin was well aware of the stakes as temperatures plunged to -24 C in Lillooet, B.C., in mid-January.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really painful because thereB次元官网网址檚 nothing that you can do,B次元官网网址� said de Bruin, founder and co-owner of the 15-hectare Fort Berens Estate Winery, 250 kilometres north of Vancouver.

B次元官网网址淵ou can just watch it go down. You can only feel the hardship and the pain as you realize that the temperatures are really going to put 2024 in a different light.B次元官网网址�

After the cold snap, a survey of his vines confirmed de BruinB次元官网网址檚 worst fears. Out of about 70,000 plants, only B次元官网网址渁 handfulB次元官网网址� of productive buds were found, essentially eliminating the harvest.

Across B.C., the 2024 vintage is facing a near-total wipeout, according to a report into the January cold snap commissioned by industry group Wine Growers British Columbia.

It says the province faces B次元官网网址渃atastrophic crop lossesB次元官网网址� of 97 to 99 per cent of typical grape production.

The report by consulting firm Cascadia Partners says preliminary industry estimates foresee one-to-three per cent of typical yields for wine grapes, with most of that coming from the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island, where temperatures were milder.

Wine Growers B.C. president and CEO Miles Prodan said vineyard and winery operators were B次元官网网址渟tunnedB次元官网网址� at the devastating level of damage.

B次元官网网址淚 think the report speaks for itself,B次元官网网址� Prodan said. B次元官网网址淎nd it unfortunately paints a very dire picture of the current state of the B.C. grape farm industry.

B次元官网网址淚t is actually almost incomprehensible. And I think thatB次元官网网址檚 the reaction a lot of us in the industry are having.B次元官网网址�

Environment Canada data show KelownaB次元官网网址檚 daily low temperature breached -20 C from Jan. 12 to 14, hitting -26.9 C on Jan. 13.

Daily lows were around -20 C on Jan. 11 and Jan. 15, and did not return above -10 C until Jan. 20.

Wine growers say the loss in grape and wine production triggered by the deep freeze B次元官网网址� described by the report as B次元官网网址渁n almost complete writeoff of the 2024 vintageB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� is expected to result in revenue losses of up to $346 million for vineyards and wineries in B.C.

The industry is also anticipating an additional revenue loss for suppliers, logistic providers and distributors of up to $99 million.

The vast majority of B.C.B次元官网网址檚 wine production is located in the Interior, including Kelowna and the surrounding Okanagan Valley where 86 per cent of the provinceB次元官网网址檚 vineyard acreage is located.

Wine grape growers said the January cold snap was especially damaging due to the relatively mild winter leading up to the deep freeze in the B.C. Interior, a sentiment echoed by the producers of other fruits such as cherries and peaches.

The Wine GrowersB次元官网网址� report said experts began assessing the damage of the cold snap quickly after the weather event, and the results B次元官网网址渃onfirmed the industryB次元官网网址檚 worst fearsB次元官网网址� with B次元官网网址渢he vast majorityB次元官网网址� of bud samples showing no signs of life.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淒ue to the extent of damage, appropriate pruning practices will be ineffective at mitigating against severe crop losses,B次元官网网址� the report said.

Prodan said the industry group has asked the provincial government to communicate the dire situation to federal authorities in Ottawa, where programs to help farmers during poor harvests may be available.

He said whatever aid is put in place for grape growers must also include support for wine producers because the fortunes of the two sectors are B次元官网网址渋ntricately tied togetherB次元官网网址� along with the health of other industries such as rural tourism.

Prodan said the wineries may also consider asking for permission to import grapes from places like Ontario and Washington state.

B次元官网网址淲ineries will probably start bringing back some of the wines they have in distant distribution channels so that theyB次元官网网址檒l have wine to sell to visitors who come,B次元官网网址� Prodan said. B次元官网网址淎nd visitors should come (to wineries) because there will be wine.

B次元官网网址淚n many instances, thatB次元官网网址檚 probably going to be one of the only places youB次元官网网址檙e going to find B.C. wine B次元官网网址� directly at the winery.B次元官网网址�

The effects of the cold snap went beyond wine grapes.

The BC Cherry Association has said a dramatic reduction in the crop is feared.

Laurel Van Dam, vice-president of grower relations and corporate affairs at the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative, said while apples and pears are hardier, softer fruits such as peaches and nectarines saw some bud kill during the cold snap.

Van Dam said agricultural scientists are working with orchids to determine the damage, but the full impact may not be clear until the spring bloom.

B次元官网网址淏ecause it had been warm up until that point and then it was anticipated to drop, some of the modelling that (horticulturalists) have done over the last few decades wasnB次元官网网址檛 really telling them a lot about what this was going to do,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淒efinitely, there is some concern for sure. How much concern? ItB次元官网网址檚 a wait-and-see game.B次元官网网址�

B.C.B次元官网网址檚 wineries and vineyards said this is the second straight year where yields have been damaged by severe cold weather.

According to the crop assessment from the BC Wine Grape Council, the cold snap in the previous winter in late 2022 and early 2023 resulted in a 58 per cent reduction of grape and wine production provincewide last year.

The Wine GrowersB次元官网网址� report warns of B次元官网网址渓onger term impacts on grapevine health B次元官网网址� including the need to replant.B次元官网网址�

Prodan said vineyard operators are also waiting for blossoming in the spring to make a final assessment, but the best-case scenario is that the grape vines simply survive.

The worst case, he said, would be widespread vine degradation where massive replanting is needed, meaning it would be another three or four years before some B.C. vineyards can produce grapes again.

B次元官网网址淭here is an ongoing replant program all the time B次元官网网址� but replanting entire vineyards because theyB次元官网网址檝e been destroyed B次元官网网址� because of climate changes B次元官网网址� is something we have never encountered,B次元官网网址� Prodan said.

De Brui said he would try everything in his power to keep his Lillooet business afloat and not lay off any staff, who number 12 to 40 depending on the season. And even if the 2024 vintage is non-existent, the work continues.

B次元官网网址淵ou still have to do all the work,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he vineyardB次元官网网址檚 still there, and you still have to go out and prune, and you have to irrigate, and you have to fertilize.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淎nd even though itB次元官网网址檚 not productive, you have to put in all the work. And I can say that itB次元官网网址檚 a financial burden, (but) itB次元官网网址檚 also a mental health burden. ItB次元官网网址檚 tough to go out there and do all this work, knowing that at the end of this season, thereB次元官网网址檚 no fruit.B次元官网网址�

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