Orchard & Vine Year End 2017

Year-End Fruit Wrap-up Ag Minister Interview Maverick Winemaker Year-End Wine, Grape, Berry & Tree Fruit Report

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Photo by Leo Gebert

Snow at St. Hubertus Vineyard and Estate Winery.

Regulars 6 Publisher's View – Lisa Olson 8 Calendar 10 News & Events

49 Seeds of Growth – Fred Steele 51 Word on Wine – Ashley Spilak

Photo by Gary Symons

47 Safety Tips – WorkSafe BC

Apples ready to harvest in Kelowna.

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Features 18 O&V Interviews BC Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham 21 Maverick Winemakers Achieve Elegance with Simplicity 24 2017: The Year in Fruit 27 Annual Fruit Growers' Survey 34 2017: The Year in Wine 37 Annual Wine Survey 43 Province to Examine Increase to Craft Spirit Production Limits 52 Photo Credits

Photo by Aura Rose

54 Winery Wildlife & Pet Photos

2017 Grape Stomp at the House of Rose Winery.

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 PUBLISHER’S VIEW | LISA OLSON

Stories to Remember

T

Vol. 58, No 6 Year End 2017

elling stories from the past and taking a trip down memory lane are opportunities to remember and share what happened in our childhood, last season, yesterday or even just ten minutes ago.

Established in 1959 Publisher Lisa Olson Editor

Why is it that we like to tell stories or inject tidbits of information of what happened in the past? Is it a chance to relive those past experiences, be they good or bad? Or perhaps to connect us with others who help us bring these tales to life just by listening?

Inside this issue we’re helping tell those stories from this past year and growing season. What happened with the weather, your crops, wine growth, sales, taxes and how you were affected by the extreme weather of 2017. We’ve interviewed growers and asked some very

Graphic Design Stephanie Symons Contributors Photo by Kim Kanduth

When a friend shares a beautiful photo from their trip and others find the need to say, ‘Oh I was there a few years back and swam with the sharks or had the best chocolate cake ever!’ Did your picture remind them of their trip? Or, tales of a more recent account might be something funny that happened a few minutes ago such as, how you drove way past your destination, missing your turn or finding ten dollars on the ground as you stepped out of your car door. I’m sure you have much funnier tales that have kept you laughing so hard you can hardly get the words out. Other stories are so interesting and entertaining that they have a certain longevity that they get passed down from generation to generation and told over and over again.

Gary Symons

tough questions that made you think.

Read the exclusive interview we had with the new agricultural minister who shares her ideas, opinions and focused projects relating to agriculture.

Along with telling important stories, we have some great photos to go along with this account of the year. And, best of all, they are from you, our readers! For the Year End edition we asked you to send us photos from the year and we are so glad many of you did. They are excellent!

Look for them throughout the magazine. If you didn’t get a chance to send in yours… there is always spring and summer.

All the best to you for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year Enjoy the Magazine!

Michael Botner, Kim Kanduth, Ronda Payne, Ashley Spilak, Fred Steele, Gary Symons, WorkSafe BC Circulation info@orchardandvine.net Orchard & Vine Magazine Ltd. 1576 West Kelowna Road West Kelowna, B.C., V1Z 3H5 E-mail: info@orchardandvine.net www.orchardandvine.net Phone: 250-769-2123 Fax: 1-866-433-3349 Orchard & Vine Magazine is published six times a year and distributed by addressed mail to growers, suppliers and wineries in the Okanagan, Kootenays, Fraser Valley, Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, Washington State and across Canada. Orchard & Vine is also available online.

Publications Mail Agreement No. 40838008 Undeliverable copies should be sent to:

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 YEAR END | NEWS & EVENTS

Canada’s Supreme Court to Hear from Small BC Wineries Shea Coulson, counsel for the five winery owners, explains, “The Supreme Court of Canada will hear from the two parties to the appeal (the New Brunswick Crown and Mr. Comeau) as well as a couple dozen other “interveners” at the hearing on December 6 and 7, 2017. After the hearing, the Court could take up to a year to make its decision.”

Five small BC wineries have been granted permission to bring their concerns to the Supreme Court of Canada in the interprovincial shipping of liquor case R. v. Comeau. The Supreme Court will hear the case in early December 2017.

R. v. Comeau is the first court case in which any winery in Canada has had an opportunity to address the legal barriers to interprovincial shipping of wine made from Canadian grown grapes.

Curtis Krouzel (50th Parallel Estate), Ian MacDonald (Liquidity Wines), Jim D’Andrea (Noble Ridge Vineyard and Winery), Christine Coletta (Okanagan Crush Pad Winery), and John Skinner (Painted Rock Estate Winery) each own and operate vineyards and wineries that produce wine exclusively using 100% BC grown grapes. These five producers head a coalition of more than 100 small wineries from British Columbia who seek to

change the law governing interprovincial shipping of wine and liquor across Canada. These barriers pose an existential threat to wineries, who need national distribution direct to consumers to build a sufficient business for long-term survival. As such, the Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. Comeau will determine the fate of the BC wine industry for decades to come.

Coulson’s aim is to inform the Court about the significant negative impact on small BC wineries created by interprovincial barriers that prohibit shipment of wine to Canadians across the country.

He notes, “The Court has to balance many complex interests, but my clients will argue that it is possible to incrementally change the law to permit interprovincial shipments of Canadian wine, and why it is of fundamental importance to the future survival of the industry to remove these barriers.”

Constellation Goes from Wine to Weed Over the past year liquor giant Constellation Brands sold its interests in the Canadian wine industry … and this year has invested heavily in the Canadian weed industry.

The alcohol multinational bought 9.9 per cent of Canopy Growth Corp., the largest of Canada’s medical marijuana companies, in a deal announced in October.

Fortunately for Constellation, it had a lot

of money lying about after selling its Canadian wine business to a pension fund in Ontario.

Canopy’s shares, trading under the obvious ticker symbol ‘Weed’ surged 23 per cent in a single day.

The company is among several in Canada to see their shares rising as the federal government prepares for the legalization of medical marijuana.

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 YEAR END | NEWS & EVENTS

BC Grower Named Champion in National Apple Competition BC apples captured several of the top spots at this year’s National Apple Competition at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (RAWF) held in Toronto, Ontario.

Highlights of this year’s competition for BC apple growers are the Grand Champion and Reserve Champion of the New Varieties Category, for Ambrosia and Salish varieties.

“I congratulate the orchardists from across Canada who participated in the National Apple Competition,” said Glen Lucas, General Manager, BC Fruit Growers’ Association. “We express our special thanks to Ontario Fruit Growers’ Association, who went above and beyond the call of duty to recover our lost delivery of apples, enabling BC to participate this year. The help that Ontario Apple Growers’ Association provided shows the camaraderie and team approach that we have in the Canadian Apple Industry.”

Steve Brown of Happy Valley Harvest, Summerland, received the Canadian Horticultural Council Trophy for Grand Champion of new varieties with his Ambrosia variety entry. Denise and Richard McDonald, of McDonald Farm, Summerland, was awarded Reserve Champion for the Salish entry in New Varieties.

BC placed top the Commercial categories of Red Delicious and Red Delicious, with BCFGA President Fred Steele’s entry. David Bullach of Kelowna placed first in SPartan. Spartan is a variety bred and developed at the Summerand Research and Development Centre in 1936.

BC did especially well placing first in the New Varieties categories of Salish, Ambrosia, and Aurora Golden Gala, and in Other Named New Varieties for the Nicola variety. All the New Varieties BC placed first in were either discovered or bred in BC. “It was great to win first place for the Salish variety, but even more important that Ontario growers placed second and third for Salish - it proves that our national apple breeding program is making discoveries for all regions of the federation,” said Glen Lucas.

Finally, the Summerland Research and Development Centre placed second in the novelty category “Most Unusual Shaped Apple”.

The BCFGA is an agriculture association with a membership of 470 commercial tree fruit growers in BC. It celebrates its 130th anniversary in 2018.

Steve Brown of Happy Valley Harvest, with his award winning apples.

Strong Growth in BC Fruit Industry The tree fruit industry is going strong in BC, according to the latest reports from the provincial government.

BC fruit growers produced more than 128,000 tonnes of apples, cherries, peaches, pears, plums/prunes, nectarines and apricots. Put another way, that’s 128 million kilograms of fruit, which generated an impressive $116 million directly for BC farmers!

BC is also maintaining its leadership role in the tree fruit industry, as this one province produces almost onethird of all the tree fruit grown in Canada. Cherries in particular have seen a surge in demand over the past few years, driven partly by increased demand from China after that country opened its doors to unrestricted exports from BC.

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 YEAR END | NEWS & EVENTS

New Test Developed for Smoke Taint Comes at the Right Time Zandberg and his PhD student Matthew Noestheden, working in collaboration with several local vineyards and Kelownabased Supra Research and Development, have developed their test after a thorough review of all scientific literature on how Vitis vinifera–the plant that produces wine grapes–absorbs and metabolizes the smoky-flavoured compounds. They then used a series of chemical techniques to isolate the metabolized volatile phenols and measure them to a high degree of accuracy.

Given the “Big Smoke” in the Okanagan and Thompson Valleys this year from forest fires, a new test for smoke taint couldn’t come at a better time.

Wine producers now have a new tool at their disposal to help manage the impact of grapes exposed to smoke from forest fires.

Researchers from UBC’s Okanagan campus have devised a new analytical test to precisely and accurately measure the amount of volatile phenols–compounds absorbed by grapes when exposed to smoke that can impact wine flavour–that are present in the fruit prior to wine production.

“Until now, detecting these smoky compounds in grapes required fermenting a small sample over at least ten days and relying on subjective measures like taste and odour,” says Wesley Zandberg, assistant professor of chemistry at UBC’s Okanagan campus.

“We’ve developed a test that detects the exact amount of volatile phenols present in the grape. There’s no need to ferment them first and we get results within a matter of hours.”

Wine grapes that are exposed to smoke from wildfires absorb and metabolize volatile phenols in their skin, which may

affect the taste of the wine later on.

Zandberg says wine producers and grape growers utilizing subjective measures currently have to wait one or two weeks to find out if their grapes are suitable for wine-making. Meanwhile, costs and risk mount as their crops sit on the vine.

“By accurately and quickly measuring the presence of volatile phenols, we’re offering a much better tool to help vineyards and wineries manage the risk from smoke exposure,” says Zandberg. “By knowing precisely whether and by how much each crop has been impacted by smoke exposure, growers and winemakers alike can make informed decisions about whether the grapes should be used or abandoned altogether.”

Zandberg is quick to point out that many wines are aged in smoked oak barrels that contain volatile phenols, so their presence is not necessarily a bad thing.

“We can also apply our technique after the grapes have been fermented and aged to measure phenol levels in the wine itself. This could be hugely beneficial in helping winemakers determine whether wines have enough smoky compounds to match their desired flavour profile after aging in smoked barrels.”

The study was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry and was supported by funding from Mitacs, the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council and the British Columbia Grape Council.

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 YEAR END | NEWS & EVENTS

BC Tree Fruits Elects New Leaders Growers with the BC Tree Fruits Co-Op have elected four new directors to the board as members met at the Annual General Meeting in Peachland.

Four positions were open at the AGM this year, two in the south and two in the north, while two incumbents are coming back for another term. Elected in the north region are Steve Day, Sam DiMaria and Amarjit Lalli, while Steve Brown, Harbhajan Sidhu and Mohinder Dhaliwal will represent growers in the south region. The board will next meet to appoint a new president and two vice-presidents. The BC Tree Fruits Co-op is owned by 430 local farm families and is based in Kelowna, BC. The organization markets and distributes BC-grown tree fruits on behalf of its members.

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BELGO 20+ acre orchard with 2 farm houses, located just minutes from amenities in the Belgo. Ready for you to take over in 2018, this well managed older orchard consistently produces significant income. Fully planted to apples with about 2+ acres of cherries.

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 YEAR END | NEWS & EVENTS

Europe Hard Hit in Disastrous Year for Global Wine Production The International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) is predicting the worst year for wine production in half a century.

The OIV says extreme weather events in Western Europe are the primary cause of the drastic decline, with disastrous numbers seen in the world’s three largest wine producers.

Italy’s wine production will fall by a shocking 23 per cent this year. Production in France will decline by an estimated 19 per cent, and Spain by 15 per cent.

Those three countries typically produce up to one-half of all the wine in the world market.

Germany also suffered from poor weather and its production is down by 10 per cent.

The United States was expected to bring in another very large crop this year, but the OIV says the recent fires in Napa and Sonoma may drive down global production figures even further.

There was some good news; Argentina recovered after a couple of terrible years with production up by a full 25 per cent, and Australia had another bumper crop.

But, combined with the fires in California, the overall production globally looks grim, with declines of between eight to 10 per cent.

Some analysts have said changes in climate due to global warming may benefit producers in areas like Canada, but at the expense of the producers in tradi-

14 Year End 2017

tional European countries.

Cornell University’s Justine Vanden Heuvel told CTV News Channel that climate change is causing heat spikes that push alcohol levels too high, while also causing hail and droughts.

She adds that French wines like Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne have been particularly hard hit by recent climatic changes.

But the climate may have improved for winemakers in other regions, particularly those in cooler climates like Canada.

“I think there are people who would argue that Ontario and British Columbia have probably benefited from some of the increased heat spikes in the last few years,” Vanden Heuvel said.

Fruit Symposium in February The Okanagan Packinghouse Fieldman’s Group in collaboration with the BC Fruit Growers Association, Summerland Varieties and Growers Supply will be hosting the BC Tree Fruit Horticultural Symposium.

The event will be held on February 8, 2018 at Trinity Baptist Church in Kelowna, BC. There will be many opportunities to learn from speakers, workshops and industry suppliers and network with fellow growers.

For more information please contact your Field Service Rep. or: Ron Patterman at 250-308-1481 Tony DiMaria at 250-550-4827 or your Field Service Rep.

 YEAR END | NEWS & EVENTS

Local Berry Business Receives Funds

Growth is Natural.

Quality is Intentional.

In the neighbourhood community of Pitt Meadows, local company Pacific Canadian Fruit Packers is giving British Columbians an unforgettable flavour experience found in B.C. blueberries and cranberries.

Pitt Meadows-based Pacific Canadian Fruit Packers has been farming and processing berries in the Vancouver area for over 21 years. All berries are washed, dried, packed and frozen on-site; their sweet and dried fruit is also done inhouse.

The B.C. government is providing Pacific Canadian Fruit Packers with funding up to $75,000 to help the company’s retail brand, Wild Coast Fruit Company, promote their new line of dried blueberries and cranberries. The funding will be used for online campaigns, traditional print materials, demos and radio advertising. Supporting local businesses helps boost the agricultural industry in B.C., while contributing to the local economy and improving food security for all British Columbians.

“Choosing to buy locally grown and processed blueberries and cranberries supports the efforts of hard-working individuals in the B.C. agricultural industry,” said Agriculture Minister Lana Popham.

“I encourage consumers to look for local products when grocery shopping to get the freshest flavours and help keep local companies thriving.”

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 YEAR END | NEWS & EVENTS

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The Pacific Agricultural Show The ‘Big Show’ for BC farmers is back this year with another gigantic expo in host city Abbotsford.

The Pacific Agricultural Show is BC’s largest agricultural show attracting over 9,500 farmers and producers with more than 300 exhibiting companies. Held from January 25-January 27 at the Tradex in Abbotsford, BC, this is the 20th year for the PAC and it sells out every year. If you want a booth at this show you better call and book it right away!

The show offers an opportunity to learn from industry leaders during workshops and suppliers in the trade show area on everything from horticulture to livestock.

The Horticultural Growers Short Course is organized by The Lower Mainland Horticultural Improvement Association and is celebrating its 60th Anniversary.

Thursday, January 25 is the Opening Reception. Workshops begin on Thursday as well and include information on raspberries, strawberries, vegetable, greenhouse, agro-forestry and floriculture.

Friday its, farm business management, ball berries, direct farm market, hops, potatoes, hazelnuts and agricultural water management plus the Keynote Address.

On the final day, Saturday, it’s all about blueberries, organics and UAV/Robotics.

This is one show that is educational and fun for the whole family.

More information: www.agricultureshow.net

 YEAR END | NEWS & EVENTS

New Study Says BC Leads the Nation in Organic Farming Did you know BC is considered the national leader for organic farming?

The State of Organics: Federal-Provincial-Territorial Performance Report 2017 analyzes the existing organic policy frameworks among Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments.

As the first of its kind, the report is a benchmark, demonstrating the current state of affairs.

create a level playing field for organic businesses to thrive and increase consumer confidence. We have been encouraged by the positive conversations with government leading up to this report.”

The Canada Organic Trade Association has three recommendations for government.

1. Ensure that all provinces and territories adopt organic regulations.

2. Invest in expanded and improved organic data collection systems.

3. Increase organic policies and programs across jurisdictions.

The report highlights that: • With one of the longer histories of organic production and consumption, B.C. has strong market supports and production supports for organic.

• The establishment of the B.C. organic logo has been a successful marketing campaign, having gained recognition province-wide.

• The B.C. Ministry of Agriculture has announced that the provincial organic standards will become mandatory in 2018, making B.C. the 5th province in the country to have provincial regulations.

• Organic data collection systems across the country are limited and inconsistently available; B.C. is currently developing a high functioning database to provide more accurate data on the B.C. organic sector thanks to Growing Forward 2 funding.

The report is available for download from: www.ota.com/canada-ota/whatcota- does/government-relations-regulatory-affairs.

“B.C. is the strongest organic market in Canada, with 66% of consumers buying organic weekly,” said Jen Gamble, executive director of operations for the Certified Organic Assocations of BC. “We are excited to continue working with the Ministry of Agriculture to build a strong organic sector that promotes consumer confidence and supports farmers and food producers.”

“Canadian consumers and businesses need to see more government support of the organic sector in Canada,” said Tia Loftsgard, executive director of the Canada Organic Trade Association. “A consistent framework across Canada would

Year End 2017 17

Year-end Interview with BC’s New Minister of Agriculture There are big changes coming for agriculture in BC, thanks to the election of the NDP and the appointment of grape grower Lana Popham as the new Minister of Agriculture.

Popham co-founded and operated Barking Dog Vineyard, the first certified organic vineyard on Vancouver Island. Popham is a long-time advocate of sustainable farming, and after eight years in opposition she is pushing hard for major changes to agricultural policies in BC.

Photo by BC Government

We caught up to Honourable Lana Popham between her many tours of the province. The new Minister says her team is now pushing out major policy changes intended to put more land into production, and make farming more profitable.

By Gary Symons

O&V What is your Top Priority as the new Minister of Agriculture?

I believe agriculture has the ability to unlock prosperity throughout our entire province.

Lana Popham

Honourable Lana Popham One of the things I’ve been tasked with doing is revitalizing the Agricultural Land Reserve. And that’s a big task but I think we are generally headed in the direction of making it stronger in terms of its regulations and legislation than it’s ever been and taking a look at what I believe have been quite detrimental changes done under the Liberals, like moving it into two zones. So we are going to be starting a consultation process that hopefully will land us in the Fall with legislation.

I know from the work I’ve done as critic for eight years that when the Agricultural Land Reserve was put in it was difficult for the people who were in that reserve to accept that, but over the years people who may have been against it in the beginning they absolutely see the value in it and i think it’s the best land use tool we’ve ever seen in BC. When the Liberals created that legisla18 Year End 2017

tion (weakening the ALR) it was devastating to watch. The day that legislation passed I would say was one of the worst days in the Chamber I’ve had in my elected career.

that, looking at co-op models, a leasing system, anything that allows people to get on the land and put it into production.

One is Grow BC, which is the policies that grow farming and support farming, programs to help young people get on to the land and start farming.

You can do that but it doesn’t help if you don’t have a good market to sell into.

The former government, they looked really closely and spent a lot of money on the international scene, and I’m not saying I disagree with working internationally, but I think they missed the mark on the market here in British Columbia. So, we will have a more domestic focus, and that’s part of our Feed BC policy, which is a procurement policy where hospitals, long-term care facilities, or anywhere that’s spending a lot of money on food, we’re going to be increasing the amount … moving it up to about 30 per cent of food grown and processed in BC.

One of the biggest barriers to farming is the cost of the land in BC so it’s about trying to figure out how we grapple with

Right now if we made that a policy we couldn’t do it. We don’t have enough production or processing here in British

O&V What do you hope to have accomplished by the end of your first term?

Honourable Lana Popham The mandate is in three parts, and I now look at the Ministry of Agriculture as three different areas.

Columbia right now to get there so it’s really an incentive for farmers to get more land into production because they’ll have a domestic market to sell into and a reason to process products that are specifically around institutional buying.

Once that domestic market is there the possibilities are endless as to how far that will go.

That works in conjunction with the third part of our program which is Buy BC, a marketing program for consumers which was very successful in the nineties but was cut years ago. So we are rolling that out again and people are super excited about it.

So, we are really trying to support farmers, make sure we have a strong domestic market, and make sure we are marketing to consumers, and remember, we have four million people here in BC. The bigger our domestic market, the more stable will be our international market.

I believe agriculture has the ability to unlock prosperity throughout our entire province, and I’m going to keep saying that every day I’m Agriculture Minister.

O&V

same time we want to be cheerleaders for our products.

What are your thoughts on the US challenge to our wine industry under NAFTA?

O&V

Honourable Lana Popham

What is the Ministry of Agriculture doing to help farmers and ranchers impacted by the devastating fires last summer?

We really want to make sure our products have the most opportunities for sales as possible, and when you think of how things have been handled in the past I’m not sure we’ve really been at the table to make sure our interests (in NAFTA) our represented, and the Premier has committed to making sure we’re there.

The wine industry is such an important contributor to our economy; the jobs that come with it, the economic benefits, the agritourism, it’s all extremely important, so we are going to be working closely with Global Affairs Canada to make sure there’s consistency in our liquor policies with respect to our trade obligations, and that’s the work that needs to be done. it’s causing a lot of stress in our BC wine industry and hopefully it gets hashed out soon.

We have to respect trade agreements, and we will do that for sure, but at the

Honourable Lana Popham I had a chance to go up to Quesnel (in October) and I got to do a helicopter tour of areas that were so badly hit by the fires.

I know a lot of the ranchers up in the area and I’ve built a relationship with many of them over the past decade, and I thought when I first went up there that I had a pretty good understanding of what had happened …. but being up in the air and seeing a 360-degree view where all you can see is charred forest and barren land … it hits you really hard.

Though I thought I had an understanding of what happened, I’m really glad I did that trip because it is absolutely horrendous what happened up there. I went by a lodge, where the owners were able to save the actual buildings but everything around it was charred.

What attracted people to their lodge was the beauty of the natural area around it being in the middle of nowhere, the access to our wild animals in that area, but now everything is gone. The building is standing but everything is gone.

So you start to put your heads together, y’know, we have insurance programs that can kick in through Agri-Recovery that will help people in some of those areas, but I think there has to be a bigger recovery plan. I think Agriculture has a big role to play in that, probably more of a leader than we’ve been in the past.

Photo by BC Government

Speaking to the Mayor of Quesnel one of the opportunities we flagged is the opportunity for Buy BC to entice people in BC to go up there and see what happened and support their tourism industry by staying and traveling in the area. We can identify areas and routes identified by the region where they’d like people to Lana Popham with BC Premier John Horgan.

Year End 2017 19

travel and spend their money at operations where currently it is looking pretty bleak for them right now.

So there is so much opportunity for us to participate in the recovery process in that way. We are also going to launch another Eat - Drink - Local program up in the Cariboo to highlight restaurants up in that area.

In terms of long term recovery we have a huge role to play. The processing opportunities we are trying to incentivize is really about renewal in rural BC. We are going to have a huge focus on making sure agriculture is an economic driver throughout those areas.

O&V What are you currently planning that will help the fruit and wine grape growers in BC?

They (winemakers and growers) have been trying to pass a plebiscite to strengthen the BC Wine Institute, and the day I got elected I started seeing tweets from them saying, just pass the plebiscite and we’ll give you all the credit!

I don’t want the credit, but we have started discussions on that. I met them right after becoming minister, but we’ll meet again before Christmas to decide what we’re going to do on that issue.

The big thing for the tree fruit industry is of course the replant programs. They

Photo by Gary Symons

Honourable Lana Popham

Miles Prodan of the BC Wine Institute and Lana Popham at Sandhill Winery in Kelowna.

are counting on support for the replant process, and we are just entering into the budget process on that, but I can tell you I know how important that is. I don’t have any numbers to report until we finish that budget process, but i have a great relationship with the tree fruit in-

dustry, and I can say their concerns have absolutely been heard by me, but they’re also very keen on the Buy BC part of our mandate and the Feed BC (program) because, y’know, wouldn’t it be great to have BC apple sauce in our BC hospitals?

We spend a lot of money on hospital food in this province, most of it from outside of BC, and it just makes sense to try to shift that so we can put some money in the farmer’s pockets.

O&V Any last words?

Honourable Lana Popham

Photo by BC Government

I never want to miss the chance to thank the farmers and ranchers who have trained me over the last eight years.

They’ve spent a lot of time with me helping me understand the agricultural communities of this province. Now I’m Minister our communications will continue, but I will never take for granted this opportunity I have. ■ Lana Popham at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Plant Health Laboratory.

20 Year End 2017

Photo by Michael Botner

Maverick Winemakers Achieve Elegance with Simplicity

Bertus Albertyn of Maverick Estate Winery.

By Michael Botner

Small wineries are the heart and soul of the BC wine industry. The story of Maverick Estate demonstrates how one such winery navigates the gauntlet of challenges to establish a rising reputation for unique, distinctive wines.

Year End 2017 21

Intervene as little as possible… use no more irrigation, fertilizers and chemicals than is necessary to keep the plant system in balance with the environment.

Bertus Albertyn The origin of Maverick dates back to 1990 when Schalk de Witt, a medical graduate from the University of Stellenbosch, immigrated from South Africa. Driving through the Okanagan to his first posting in the Kootenays, he found the semiarid climate and sage brush of the South Okanagan reminded him of home in the Eastern Cape. The next chapter plays out in South Africa where de Witt’s daughter, Elzaan, reconnected with and then married Bertus Albertyn, a childhood friend.

Coincidentally, they both studied at the University of Stellenbosch. While Elzaan followed in her father’s footsteps earning a medical degree, Albertyn obtained a degree in viticulture and enology. After working at a giant wine co-operative in South Africa, he joined family-owned Avondale in Paarl.

Fast forward to 2009 when De Witt, nearing retirement, and his wife Lynn Safroniuk, purchased a former organic farm on the western slope of the South Okanagan Valley beside Highway 97, later to become Maverick. It was his second acquisition, the first being a 48-acre parcel of raw land neighbouring the Osoyoos Larose vineyard in 2005. It was also the year Bertus and Elzaan moved to the South Okanagan, where Elzaan opened a medical practice and Bertus took on the winemaking duties at Burrowing Owl. After clearing the farm, the family planted 7½ acres of vines in 2011. Using his training and work as a vineyard manager, Albertyn selected a limited number of varieties including Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah. By 2014, Maverick opened its new cellar door, a clean, modern version of an old Cape Dutch farmhouse designed by architect Robert Mackenzie. Leaving Burrowing Owl in 2013 enabled Albertyn to concentrate on grape growing and winemaking at Maverick.

Technically just south of the “three ter22 Year End 2017

races associated alluvial fans on the slopes of Mount Kobau between Tinhorn and Testalinden Creeks” that delineates the limits of the Golden Mile Bench, Maverick’s vineyard is ideal for growing cooler climate varieties, such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as well as sinewy reds like Syrah. Split into one-acre lots, soils consist of well-drained, brown, stony, gravelly, glacio-fluvial deposits, with the lower section having a higher concentration of finely-textured sediment and silt.

The southeast-facing vineyard catches good early morning and afternoon sun.

Cool evenings slow ripening, encouraging the development of complexity and intense flavours.

How important is Maverick’s site and specific soils therein? “These factors are critical to the making of good wine,” Albertyn says. “My job is to grow grapes with good flavour concentration and then to preserve the quality of the berries in the bottle. Without good fruit, you cannot make good wine, although it is possible to make bad wine from good grapes.”

Keeping soils alive through manuring and covering crops in the vineyard are key practices Albertyn uses to optimize both production and quality. Adding nutrients and beneficial microbes to the soil results in a bigger root system for vines and more interaction with the soil. “It allows the plants to pull out more minerals from the soil while achieving our production goal of 100 kilograms per vine,” he explains.

“Intervene as little as possible,” Albertyn says about his grape growing style.

“Use no more irrigation, fertilizers and chemicals than is necessary to keep the plant system in balance with the environment.“ Look at the vigour of the plant and make adjustments,” he says. “It gets to the point where colouring stops and plants ripen naturally – concentrating everything in the bunches – on their own.”

The vineyard at Maverick Estate Winery.

The time of picking is “unbelievably important,” he says. “I taste the berries and visualize the end-product before deciding when to pick the grapes,” he says. “If you are mentally trying to make a wine and pick a week late, you can’t make that wine.”

The operation gets easier after a few harvests. “When you get to know the vineyard, you start picking up flavour components associated with the wine you want to make.”

Albertyn is even less interventionist when it comes to the winemaking operation.

Photo by Michael Botner

“My aim is to make wines that have a more graceful, Old World structure,” he says. Bunches are harvested into small, 30 pound trays, gently hand-sorted and cooled to preserve fruit and purity before processing. Fermentation of wine is strictly wild and natural from start to finish.

In Albertyn’s experience, white wine is more difficult to make than reds. With whites, “shelf life is limited and you have to sell it within 6 months,” he says. “Not only do you have to know what you want to do, but you have to make it correctly the first time. With reds, you have more leeway to rectify small mistakes.”

“As difficult as this is, the best way for a winemaker with a science background to learn is to just not do anything,” he says. “Then you do not have to do anything unless something goes wrong. The emphasis is on doing more to make sure nothing goes wrong.”

Production is small at Maverick, no more than 6,000 cases, and includes a small but varied line-up of handcrafted wines that combine concentrated, boldly assertive fruit with elegant, nuanced flavour complexity. ■

Year End 2017 23

Photo by Gary Symons

2017 Mother Nature’s Curve Ball

The year weather and disaster took too much of a leading role in the province’s fruit production

By Ronda Payne Fire, flood, and drought. This year had all the makings of a Hollywood disaster movie, but B.C. growers faced all these challenges and more in 2017. It was a year of close calls, fearful moments and destruction, with history being written less about the fruit and more about the work of Mother Nature compounded by perhaps a few careless humans.

Despite these challenges, the season was far from complete doom and gloom. Some unlikely benefits came out of this year of difficulties and in the end, growers of all stripes shone bright. There is no doubt that when the going gets tough, the farmers get going!

THE YE

The fires this year did not impact orchards, vineyards (unlike in 2002), but growers everywhere felt the angst of ranchers and others in the livestock industries where losses were devastating. That said, the year’s extreme weather had varying effects on most BC crops.

ed irrigation was a necessary aspect in 2017.

Here’s a look at how that extreme weather, and other factors, contributed to the fruit-growing season. One common theme of note was great fruit quality but reduced fruit size.

“The weather definitely affected production, without question,” she says. “It [the season] started later. Perhaps you could argue that it was early the last couple of years.”

Small but flavourful apples and pears

Fred Steele, president of the BC Fruit Growers Association (BCFGA), agrees, saying the last couple of seasons were early in the interior regions.

Apples and pears are taking more acreage in the Lower Mainland, but these crops were no more immune to the weather challenges than their interior counterparts. Summer Dhillon, marketing manager with Abbotsford’s Taves Family Farms not24 Year End 2017

“We’re running about an average year from what I can tell,” he says. “There is a bit of sizing issue depending on soil types…

EAR IN FRUIT

spectrum to the other in a very short period of time.

but overall, depending on the type of irrigation you had, you’re probably going to be okay. I had a lot of smaller fruit.”

“You go from ‘the lake is too high’ to the district saying there may be water restrictions,” he says. “There’s some challenges out there with the hot weather for sure. We’re going to have to watch our fruit all the way through storage.”

Hank Markgraf, grower services manager with BC Tree Fruits, confirmed sizing was down.

“One box size down in apples and pears,” he says. “It was a hot, hot season. Nutrients are always challenged in that [weather]. I don’t think we mucked up too badly but we had to really watch and work on that.”

At the Taves’ U-pick farm, storage isn’t a concern. Apples undesired by the picking public end up in Applebarn-brand coldpressed cider. Yet Dhillon notes apple size is down at Taves’.

“They were all delayed a bit. A week to three weeks, with an

Markgraf explained that growers went from one end of the

Year End 2017 25

We went from monsoon to desert in a week… from flooding to ‘I don’t think my irrigation system can keep up.’

Hank Markgraf Fortunately, in this year of extremes, pests were also not much of an issue. Spotted wing drosophila (SWD) and clearwing weren’t excessive challenges, though new pests are on the radar with the brown marmorated stinkbug and apple maggot.

Markgraf notes stinkbugs were found in urban areas in both Penticton and Kelowna, but fortunately not in an orchard. Yet. Apple maggot also made an appearance though it’s hard to say if the discovery of the dead apple maggot fly raises a flag at this point.

“It’s not a question of if, but when. We’re the only market in North America that doesn’t have apple maggot,” Steele explains.

With a lot of fruit in the pipeline, both Markgraf and Steele see prices being slightly lower than last year and they are not expected to increase. It’s not so much a byproduct of the modest increase in apple acreage, but the condensed harvest timing.

Pears, per usual, faced similar challenges to apples. Size is down but quality is good. There is no growth in pear acreage and while there are new varieties expected, they take a considerable length of time compared to other fruit varieties.

Apple maggot and the brown marmorated stink bug will impact pears in the future if the bugs make their way into orchards as these are equal opportunity pests. average of two weeks,” she explains. “The weather did definitely affect size.”

She adds that irrigation made a difference as irrigated orchards produced apples of a more traditional size. The taste and quality however, was not impacted, according to Dhillon.

“They were sweet, so there’s nothing wrong with the quality,” she notes.

Markgraf sees how the good weather created a crush in terms of picking.

“It has been a fairly nice harvest, very little rain, very little interruptions,” he explains. “But… we need more pickers and they don’t magically appear.”

An obvious concern was the record-setting smoke from BC’s worst forest fire in history. This is where the story takes an interesting turn, adding benefits for different crops.

“They [the fires] didn’t damage apples and pear at all,” says Steele. “In fact they actually benefited apples and pears because the cloud cover was enough to mitigate some of the intense sun and to prevent sun burn.”

26 Year End 2017

“It was not an impact,” Markgraf says of the stink bug and this year’s fruit crops. “We are mindful of it, starting to worry about it. Starting to wonder what to do with it in seasons to come.”

Stone Fruits: Forecast for small with a chance of mildew Mildew is generally thought of as a moisture lover, but powdery mildew loves the heat. It made more of a nuisance of itself than in previous years in a wide range of crops including stone fruits.

“It loves dry heat,” notes Markgraf. “All the other diseases like warm and wet, but not this one. It reared its head in the peaches at the end and nectarines at the end so we just had to be mindful of it at the end of the season. We just stayed on top of it as best as we could but it was a challenge.”

Fortunately, the standard pests – SWD and cherry fruit fly – weren’t the issues they have been in past years.

“As far as soft fruits are concerned, the peak of SWD happened much later than harvest,” Markgraf says. “It really didn’t impact those crops too much.”

The start of the season was late due to cold and wet conditions and growers who asked for a break in the rain got their wish in spades.

ORCHARD & VINE FRUIT SURVEY 2017 – WE ASKED & YOU ANSWERED Each year Orchard & Vine Magazine does a survey of our readers to find out how the year in fruit and berry farming went.

What types of fruit do you grow Cherries 20%

If you are interested in taking part send an email to info@orchardandvine.net and we will inlcude you in our next years survey.

Blueberries 17% Raspberries 13% Strawberries 15%

What type of crop produced the best for you this year?

Niche Berries 5% Vegetables 5%

CHERRIES

Pears 5%

BLUEBERRIES

Plums 5%

APPLES

Other 5%

STRAWBERRIES

Table Grapes 2.5%

GRAPES

Wine Grapes 2.5%

RASPBERRIES

Peaches 2.5%

GARLIC

Apricots 2.5%

DID THIS YEARS WEATHER HAVE A POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE EFFECT ON YOUR BUSINESS?

If you were affected, what happened?

Low crop production.

Too dry.

Lower crop volume.

Wildfire smoke provided a valuable cover in what would have been a serious sunburn season.

Prolonged wet cold spring = root damage on heavy poorly drained soils = overset and smaller cherries + hot weather did not help.

Positive 36.5%

Negative 45.5%

Neutral 18%

94%

Responded that their tourism and farm gate visits & sales were not negatively impacted by the weather

Fruit size issues.

Long wet spring quickly followed by a heat spike, inconsistent temps at the start of the season caused shock and was hard to respond to.

Too hot in early April so pollen tube was too advanced led to poor set. Too hot in summer meant small cherries.

Cold, long, wet spring caused pollination problems and crop loss in strawberries.

Severe mummy berry infestation due to the cold winter and wet spring which didn’t allow application of fungicide.

Too much smoke.

The lowest SWD population and issues since it showed up.

Year End 2017 27

The good news about the smoke was that it helped moderate the temperature.

Greg Norton “The joke that I’ve kind of been telling people is that we went from monsoon to desert in a week,” says Markgraf. “From flooding to ‘I don’t know that my irrigation system can keep up’.”

The late start and extreme heat had growers anticipating small fruit at harvest. Like apples and pears, stone fruits were one box size smaller and also like apples and pears, the harvest came hot and heavy with no breaks.

“Harvest maturity was coming fairly rapidly,” Markgraf explains. “Not that we’re not used to that but the… harvest windows were shortening. That put pressure on the early variety in that commodity group all the way to the end variety. It snowballed upon itself. Most of the growers managed it.”

The yield volumes for stone fruits were slightly higher and quality was good according to Markgraf – about the same as last year. The acreage for stone fruits has, as Markgraf puts it, “flatlined.”

Cheering on cherries to grow Cherries too had great flavour, high brix, but were assaulted by powdery mildew. With SWD and cherry fruit fly managed for the most part, the problem was the heat – similar for most other crops. This excessive heat after the wet spring drove reduced fruit size in cherries and a harvest that wouldn’t quit.

“We went from commodity to commodity to commodity,” explains Markgraf. “It just didn’t stop. It was much more intense for everybody. There was a packing overlap as well.”

The reduction in size and need to control mildew presented another challenge: ensuring cherries could be shipped internationally.

“The challenge for us is that we always hope that we can sell to everyone in the world and not everyone agrees with the traces of chemical that we have. Some countries have more restrictive entrance requirements than others.”

Greg Norton, third generation cherry farmer with Okanagan Harvest, adds that while the fires didn’t claim any orchards, they may have contributed to the mildew issue.

“Lots of people were caught with a lot of mildew on their cherries,” he says. “I would say the mildew, part of the problem was caused by the smoke. The good news about the smoke was that it helped moderate the temperature.”

Norton’s positive observation was echoed by those in other commodities. The smoke cover helped provide slight relief from extreme heat, yet couldn’t help the lack of moisture.

28 Year End 2017

“From the point when they could split to harvest – that’s usually a six-week period – we didn’t have one drop of rain,” he notes.

“I’ve never seen that. The market was pretty depressed this year. There was an oversupply of cherries. I don’t know what the pricing overall is going to be but I know it’s going to be a low price year.”

The price for cherries did not jump up in August as has been the case in previous years. The glut of smaller sized fruit was less attractive to consumers although the flavour and quality was good.

“It was a pretty tumultuous marketing season,” notes Norton.

“It started out pretty good, pretty optimistic, but it didn’t take long before we saw lots of panic going on.”

Despite this year’s over-supply and reduced pricing, cherries are still increasing in acreage.

Berries battled cold but had relief from SWD A cold, wet spring pushed pollination and bud-set later than usual in berries. This turned to extreme heat most don’t handle well, but for some strawberries at least, the results were good.

Alf Krause, co-owner of Krause Berry Farms and Estate Winery as well as vice-president with the BC Strawberry Growers Association, says it was a very different season. While there were issues with SWD, thrips, mites, weevils and aphids, they weren’t as aggressive as past seasons.

ORCHARD & VINE FRUIT SURVEY 2017 WE ASKED & YOU ANSWERED

FIRE 5%

FLOODS 9%

Did your crops suffer from the fires and/or floods this year?

DROUGHT 14%

NONE OF THE ABOVE 73%

APPLES: Fruit size issues - if anything the smoke kept the sunburn down with the high heat.

Wildfire smoke provided a valuable solar in what would have been a serious sunburn season.

BLUEBERRIES: Severe mummy berry infestation due to cold winter and wet spring which didn’t allow application of fungicide.

Low crop production, to much rain in spring caused fields to flood.

With the late start, Krause notes the quality was exceptional for June berries. The size was bigger than previous years and pricing is thought to be up by 10 or 15 per cent.

Blueberry size was down due to no rain.

Lower crop volume.

“The June season, I think the yields were down, I know they were down for us, so there was less crop around, so the demand was good,” he explains. “It was a slow start, but then it took off and didn’t last that long. Rain, rain, rain and then it changed and the weather was beautiful.”

STRAWBERRIES: Cold, long, wet spring, pollination problems, crop loss in strawberries.

Some growers in the Fraser Valley experienced winter kill of plants which contributed to the lower volume of June berries in the market. This is the opposite of ever-bearing, or day-neutral, berries which saw an over-supply.

Our u-pick strawberries were down significantly due to crop loss.

“Firm berries but a little bit on the smaller side,” he says of the ever-bearing varieties (Albion being the most dominant). “The yield was good. The supply was in the surplus situation which in turn created a lower price.”

Smoky in the valley for many weeks.

GRAPES:

RASPBERRY: Lowest SWD population/issues since it showed up. Was so wet we got a late start in spring

He anticipates up to a 20 per cent drop in pricing.

“The problem is that we know with fresh product oversupply, it doesn’t take much for the price to go down, which in the end doesn’t move any more product,” he explains. “Farmers need to reevaluate. A lot of them have been switching over to dayneutrals, but the market can only hold so much.”

CHERRIES: Prolonged wet cold spring = root damage on heavy poorly drained soils = overset and smaller cherries + hot weather did not help.

With strawberries, Krause validates Norton’s point about the smoke creating a heat barrier of sorts.

Year End 2017 29

The yield was good for raspberries.

The supply was in the surplus situation which in turn created a lower price.

Alf Krause “The smoke coming in during that hottest spell that was going to happen was probably a positive just to keep them from getting too hot,” he says. “[The heat] just didn’t materialize to the extent that it could have because we had the haze the whole time.”

Arvin Neger, chair of the Raspberry Industry Development Council echoed Krause’s comments on SWD stating that the pest was not as great a concern.

“This year, actually, the pressure was not as high,” he says.

“There were low trap numbers. Weekly monitoring. We started a little bit earlier this year because we had a cold winter. When it’s that cold, the SWD population drops down significantly and that’s why I think we had lower populations this year.”

With that reward however, came a price. The cold winter caused damage to raspberry fields.

“The tonnage is down overall,” he notes. “Usually we have a very strong peak for raspberries, but this year it seemed pretty uniform. We didn’t really get that big spike that we usually get in our harvest.”

Both growers and packers have seen the decline in overall yields. Despite the drop, raspberry growers had excellent quality, some of the best that Neger has seen in a long time. Also like other fruit growers, the berries did not have the opportunity to grow to significant sizes.

“The sugar levels were definitely high this year,” he says. “The size was good at the beginning, but at the end the berries

ORCHARD & VINE FRUIT SURVEY 2017 – WE ASKED & YOU ANSWERED Do you think there should be more monitoring of the employment standards for temporary foreign workers?

YES 46%

NO 36% NO OPINION 14%

DO YOU HAVE FOREIGN WORKERS?

Yes 33% 30 Year End 2017

The monitoring absolutely needs to be implemented. I fear these folks are exploited and vulnerable and do not have access to.proper recourse if a violation occurs.

The monitoring needs to be done by Canadians and not the Mexican consulate!

Rumors suggest the workers are sometimes not treated very well with the accommodation shown to the inspectors vs what they actually lived in.

I do not agree with the treatment of foreign workers and do not condone the program as it exists. These workers are vulnerable.

A few bad apples are bringing all of the industry down The rules are set out and there is oversight in the SA program. There is a myth out there workers don’t know their rights and that is not true. Before coming to Canada workers are informed of their rights and given the information they need to bring issues forward.

We had two young Mexican workers who were great.

Decline in blueberry yields In her notes to blueberry growers, Karina Sakalauskas of the BC Ministry of Agriculture, says the harsh winter, rainy spring and dry summer resulted in lower yields in general. This is confirmed by Anju Gill, acting executive director with the BC Blueberry Council.

“The yields are estimated to be lower this year,” she says. “From approximately 164 million pounds to approximately 135 million.”

Here too, SWD was not as big a problem as in previous years.

Jack Bates of Tecarte Farms and chair of the BC Blueberry Council said he’s chalking up the reduced numbers of SWD up to the weather and the possibility that it could be levelling out.

“Sometimes some of these invasive species seem to take off the first few years, then they maybe level out a bit,” he says. “Probably too soon to make that observation. It may have had more to do with the weather we had last year.”

Gill adds, “After nearly a decade, growers are adapting to managing SWD, however continued research and development is vital for a better handle on it in the future.”

While yields are down, fruit quality is excellent according to Bates. He also feels later varieties like blue crop and dew drop did better than earlier ripening varieties.

didn’t get a chance to size up because it was so hot and so dry.”

“Early and mid-season crops, I’d say, were down. Late season, I’d say they did all right. We had lots of sunlight, a dry summer and I think all that adds to fruit quality,” he notes. “People had to pick on time. That all comes back to fruit management.”

Sadly, this hot dry weather also created pressure from mites.

Some fields are being replanted while others are being ripped out. It’s hard to say if raspberries are undergoing a decline in acreage but this seems to be the trend from what Neger can determine.

It was the weather, yet again, that made things more challenging for growers, with late pollination and some frost damage

What do you think of the proposed tax changes for small business?

FOR 42%

AGAINST 33%

NO OPINION 25%

Are you for or against the proposed tax changes for small business?

Yes these are positive! Taxes should be fair to all Canadians.

We can deduct expenses that many folks can’t and get other advantages.

Income sharing does not feel fair.

I think this is now a non-event with liberals running around putting out fires caused by Morneau’s questionable tax ethics.

There needs to be something positive in tax reform for it to take place Whoever came up with the proposed program knows NOTHING about agriculture or even who the middle class is.

Craptastic. Doesn’t affect us personally but I know of several families it will affect. Hope people are happy they voted for that idiot.

How quick can we get rid of Liberals?

Year End 2017 31

We anticipate no problems from the smoke taint in grapes and early testing shows negligible amounts of the smoke taint molecule.

Val Tait from the prior winter. Though Bates adds that with the various micro-climates throughout the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley it’s hard to say that weather was the same for any two fields, however, one theme was dominant overall.

“The weather was against us in the springtime definitely,” Bates says. “It pushed everything back.”

He feels that fresh market pricing was up from last year and adds that the frozen market is showing early signs of having an increased price.

Bates doesn’t see a lot of new acreage of blueberries being planted, but does see farms replanting with different varieties.

Cranberries: Red is the new black Of all the berry crops, cranberries appear to have come out the most stable in this difficult year. While overall yield is expected to be down and the weather definitely came off as a serious antagonist, Heather Carrier, general manager with the BC Cranberry Marketing Commission described the year as a positive one.

“There were no new pests this year and no problematic existing ones,” she says. “While there may have been a late start due to weather this spring, the growers caught up throughout the season with all that great sunshine they saw.”

Grant Keefer of Yellow Point Cranberries and chair of the BC Cranberry Growers’ Association describes harvest timing as fairly typical, running from late September to mid-November.

Keefer noted there were no new pests, though “very low levels of cranberry fire worm,” were found in early generations. Cranberry tip worms behaved as expected, though the cycle of the worm did seem to extend longer than usual.

While previous years brought cranberries (and other fruit) to market earlier, this was a “normal” year according to Keefer.

This also extends to a “normal” yield, though the lack of moisture was a problem for some growers’ harvests.

“The overall crop will probably be down a bit, there are many fields under different stages of renovation, some just getting ready to replant in 2018 and some being one or two years old but not in production yet,” he says.

Some growers did have the challenge of waiting for rain (which fortunately came) to keep frost at bay while allowing late berries to ripen and providing water to assist in bog flooding.

Keefer notes pricing has been fairly stable, but with a downward trend due to a high inventory of cranberry concentrate in the entire North American market.

32 Year End 2017

Grapes: The curious case of smoke and mildew Grapes too saw a later than normal start with the cold rains in spring. This moisture was present when the temperatures started to heat up and contributed to what Val Tait, general manager and winemaker with Bench 1775 and vice president with the British Columbia Grape Growers’ Association, called “tremendous green growth.”

The excess growth also contributed to a higher risk for mildew.

“Timing of sprays and coverage of the vines was critical,” Tait says. “We used an organic spray of sulphur which is a mechanical barrier to mildew growth, but it had to be reapplied often to work. Although we had good control of mildew, I do know of vineyards that were wiped out from mildew infections.”

Forest fires were a great concern in the Okanagan region especially, but fortunately no vineyards were lost. The second concern, once the risk of fire had passed, was whether smoke might impact the crops.

“Very luckily for us, the smoke in the valley was early in the ripening cycle before veraison and before the grapes formed their waxy bloom or waxy coating on the berries which binds the volatile phenolic oil, which is the cause of smoke taint,” she says.

“We anticipate no problems from smoke taint and early testing shows negligible amounts of the smoke taint molecule.”

Obviously location and timing are key and time will tell which vineyards escape smoke taint and which do not. White and rosé wines are not at risk, only reds where the skin is used in fermentation.

ORCHARD & VINE FRUIT SURVEY 2017 WE ASKED & YOU ANSWERED What do you want to see from the new government in BC? ALR Ease the ALR restrictions... we have one of the shortest growing seasons around. We should have more freedom during the off-season with our land.

More ALR enforcement.

Protect the ALR. LEGISLATION Continue with the changes to the organic legislation making it so you can only use the word organic if you are actually certified.

Photo by Michael Audet

More interest in the environment and less on business. control. Return to more inspection of logging practices not self regulation!!

The smoke helped to reduce temperatures on grapes as with other crops, so some vineyards are expecting a very different vintage than previous years.

The re-creation of a Ministry of Agriculture.

MORE GRANTS More farm grants for farms not the associations.

The industry does need some assistance but it must be an investment partnership.

Fund extension for people and programs.

“Heavy rains and a late start to the season meant growth of the vines was directed towards green leafy growth and late development of fruit,” Tait notes. “The good thing about late fruit ripening is that much better quality results when fruit ripens in cooler conditions. The bad thing is fruit needs to hang longer into the season. So far, frost has been low, but we are at risk.”

Subsidies for small and organic agriculture.

NO GRANTS More financial partnerships and no grants. Industry cannot go back to the old days.

Tait sees yields in the South Okanagan as being higher due to larger fruit size, where central Okanagan vineyards are likely to be at the historical average for yield. Overall, yields will be about the same as new plantings are slowing down.

URBAN RURAL DIVIDE Feel new NDP provincial government is more interested in the urban areas that voted them in based on the promises they made. Sure the rest of the province will just get lip service.

“The land available for grape planting is becoming more and more marginal and less suited to premium wine production,” she says. “Grapes are now in short supply because of all the new wineries that have sprung up. There are a few replants going on as wineries identify areas or sites being better suited to certain varietals. Expect that to increase over time as greater competition and consumer expectation for quality wines force poor quality fruit off the market.”

They are really focused on Vancouver.

NEW GOVERNMENT We need a new government.

Grapes are in the prime of their life in the interior regions of the province. As Tait notes, competition for premium fruit is driving prices upwards as supply tightens. She adds that the prices being paid for wineries recently sold is reminiscent of other prestigious wine-making regions like Sonoma and Napa Valleys. ■

Improve transportation. Smart spending.

Another new government, please, soon.

The Minister of Agriculture seems to be digging herself some holes lately.

Year End 2017 33

Photo by Bradley Cooper

2017

By Gary Symons

This has been a momentous year for BC wines, not because of the wines produced, but due to the business related developments that are shaking up the entire industry.

Big sales and new developments are seeing the BC wine industry changing rapidly from a collection of small estate wineries to being an industry in which most of the production is owned by a few large companies.

But that wasn’t the only major change. We’ve seen one of BC’s best known and most celebrated winemakers retiring, another iconic winemaker enjoying a comeback, and BC wines adapting to changing trends.

Here then is the year as we saw it in BC wine.

CONSOLIDATION The headline that really rocked the industry was the purchase of three of BC’s best wineries in a single deal, by Andrew Peller Ltd. The deal was announced in September, as Peller confirmed it had signed a definitive agreement to buy Black Hills Estate Winery and Gray Monk Estate Winery, and had also entered into a Letter of Intent to acquire Tinhorn Creek Vineyards. The price tag at $95 million is obviously great news for the owners who worked long and hard to build up their businesses, and also increases Peller’s growing dominance over the entire Canadian wine industry.

Peller earlier bought out Calona Vineyards and its offshoot Sandhill, the Red Rooster in Naramata, and owns three big brands in Ontario, including Trius, Thirty Bench and the Wayne Gretzy brand.

The recent acquisitions make for the largest consolidation since Don Triggs started Vincor and acquired Inniskillin, Sumac Ridge, Hawthorne and others almost 20 years ago.

Gray Monk is one of the original wineries that paved the way for others in the Okanagan, and remains one of the strongest wineries in the country. Tinhorn Creek is also a long-operating 34 Year End 2017

THE YE Martin’s Lane in Kelowna is among the Okanagan’s new wineries this year..

and excellent winery whose owners have become true leaders in the BC wine industry. Black Hills may be smaller, but has built up a reputation as one of the top producers of high quality wines in the country, with their Nota Bene being arguably among the top three ultra premium wines produced in Canada.

The deal means these three wineries will enjoy increased investment and spending on marketing, but not everyone is as happy.

Some, like noted wine writer Anthony Gismondi, points out that with this sale most of the wine production in BC is actually owned by interests based elsewhere.

“Do I think it’s a good deal for the culture of BC wine?” Gismondi asked in his blog Gismondi On Wine. “No, not a chance, if only because it means Ontario, via Peller and Arterra, now controls 75 per cent of the BC wine business, 5,000 kilometres from BC vineyards.”

But despite the tales of disaster coming from many regions of the province, most producers are expecting a year of solid wines and high production.

Gismondi prefers a world where great estate wineries are passed down through the family from generation to generation, but the reality in BC right now is that the success of the wine industry has made the wineries prime acquisition targets.

Miles Prodan, president and CEO of the BC Wine Institute says the fire and smoke played a surprisingly positive role in this year’s vintage.

In addition to this purchase in 2017, don’t forget the purchase of Cedar Creek - one of the largest wineries in Canada - to Mission Hill’s Anthony Von Mandl.

“It’s an ill wind that doesn’t blow anyone any good, and it appears the smoke that blew in this summer helped moderate what would have been a disastrously hot summer,” Prodan explains.

The BC entrepreneur now owns Mission Hill, Cedar Creek, the new Martin Lane Winery just behind Cedar Creek, the Checkmate Artisanal Winery, and other brands that were previously under the Artisan Wine Co. marquee.

“The vines shut down at over 30-degrees Celsius, but that insulating blanket of smoke we had over the hottest summer months had a moderating effect.

WEIRD WEATHER Record setting heat, the worst forest fires in history, and smoky skies for most of the summer; it’s been a year of extremes for the wine industry in British Columbia.

Photo by Nic Lehoux

EAR IN WINE “This let things progress, and prevented the grapes from potentially getting stunted on the vine.”

Year End 2017 35

Photo by Gillian Stohler, SummerGate Winery

Wildfire burning out of control near SummerGate Vineyards in Summerland.

While it’s far too early to say with certainty how the vintages of 2017 will play out, Prodan says early reports from around the province shows production on par with recent years, and most winemakers are expecting the quality of this year’s wines to be as good as usual.

“It was a strange year that ended up giving us what we needed,” says Prodan. “It was incredibly warm at the beginning of the season, which was a concern, but then it cooled off, and later when it started getting very hot the smoke that was such a bother for others provided that mitigating factor.

“We took a strange route to get here, but I think we are looking at a solid year for wine in BC.” There are some lingering concerns, however, particularly for wineries in the regions like Kamloops that were the most affected by smoke.

Prodan agrees, smoke taint could be an issue for red wines this year, but unfortunately it’s not possible yet to say how serious a problem it could be.

Photo by Blasted Church.

“With smoke taint you just can’t tell if it’s going to be an issue until it’s in the bottle, and by then it’s too late,” he says. “In the meantime, if you think smoke taint is going to be a problem there are ways to deal with it in the winemaking process, and I know a lot of winemakers are thinking in that direction.

“So, we’ll just have to see what happens when those wines get opened!” ■ The harvest at Blasted Church.

36 Year End 2017

WE ASKED & YOU ANSWERED

Photo by Michael Audet

ORCHARD & VINE WINE SURVEY 2017

What do you think was the most popular varietal?

We always look forward to our annual survey of winemakers and grape growers. It’s a chance for us to hear directly from our readers about what’s happening in the industry.

But this year we were a little nervous about what we’d hear. It has been a year of fire, floods and general catastrophe… but we were relieved to hear growers and winemakers coming through with more tales of triumph than tribulation.

The weird weather certainly created some issues, but on balance it appears wineries have found ways to make the weather work for them, and BC is on its way to another solid vintage.

But there were more changes in the offing than climate change alone; a BC election ushered in new leadership in the Ministry of Agriculture, and the federal government brought in controversial tax proposals that had many farmers fuming.

Pinot Gris

Pinot Blanc

Pinot Noir

Pinot Grigio

Rosé

Red Blends

Blends

Reds

Foch

Reisling

Gamay Noir

Sauvignon Blanc

Gruner Veltliner

Syrah

Merlot

White Blend

Pinot

Also in the realm of politics, threats and a NAFTA challenge from the United States has BC winemakers worried for the future.

What are people looking for in wine this year?

In this issue we take the temperature of an industry bursting with success ... but with concerns for the future.

Quality for a good price.

Approachable Reds

Balance

Smooth Whites

Fruit Forward

Complicated Reds

Crisp

Rosé

Low Sugar

Something Different

Low Tannins

Year End 2017 37

ORCHARD & VINE WINE SURVEY 2017

WE ASKED & YOU ANSWERED What was your best producing varietal grown this year?

17% Pinot Gris 12% Chardonnay 12% Gewurztraminer 12% Pinot Noir 8% Pinot Blanc 8% Reisling 8% Marechal Foch 2% Baco Noir 2% Cabernet Sauvignon 2% Franc 2% Gamay Noir 2% Gruner Veltliner 2% Ortega 25% NEUTRAL

2% Merlot 2% Viognier

55% NEGATIVE

20% POSITIVE

Did this year’s weather have a positive or negative effect on your business?

DROUGHT 3%

FLOOD + SMOKE + DROUGHT 6% Did your grapes suffer from the fires and/or floods in BC?

FLOOD 9%

SMOKE 23% NONE OF THE ABOVE 60%

38 Year End 2017

Did your grapes suffer from the fires and/or floods in BC? The forest fires smoke did impact us in June and July but before veraison so we were not heavily impacted. Dry weather for June, July, August with no rain for 10 weeks was great for us.

A few samples showed traces of smoke it was worrying, the flooding caused mildew problems.

We have a clay subsurface and lots of moisture to sustain the grapes without irrigation.

We were negatively impacted in June with rain and flooding of shuswap lake and in July because of heavy smoke coverage.

Excess water in the vineyard.

A landslide wiped out 9 rows of vines and hundreds of metres of deer fence. During three heat waves the vines shutdown.

Extremely wet, cool spring. Flowering was delayed.

Loss of sales due to poor fruit set.

Because of the wet spring there was more mildew evident in grapes.

Increased powdery mildew pressure.

Decreased UV, increased disease pressure.

Haze in the valley interrupted the normal maturity process.

Smoke in the valley kept temperatures under control and provided a more stable growing season. Very few +35 degree days.

Smoke blanket stopped the cool evenings so grapes stayed warm all night.

Heat allowed the grapes to ripen at the last minute.

Because we had a late spring the hotter summer helped boost the ripening.

Higher yield.

Photo by Leo Gebert

The air pressure changed our decision not to pick at all, to scrambling and losing about 70% to the birds & other animals

Year End 2017 39

ORCHARD & VINE WINE SURVEY 2017

Smoke, fire & floods how did this impact your business?

WE ASKED & YOU ANSWERED

ROAD CLOSURES - SALES DOWN Fires caused road closure and loss of revenue.

The early season flooding and the summer smoke from BC wildfires hindered tourism.

This ultimately resulted in less wine sales at the winery.

Fires as a result of hot season kept people away.

WAS IT THE MEDIA’S FAULT? Negative attention in the media about flooding.

Tourism was down due to media attention for floods and fires. This slowed tourism traffic during spring flooding and later during forest fire season.

The “alarmist” coverage of the flooding and the fires kept the tourists away.

Media reports on smoke and flooding reduced number of visitors. The towns were less full than usual.

Tourism was down as they stayed away because of reports of flooding, fires, and smoke.

Tourism was down, media’s generic determination of the town is flooded and then on fire didn’t help. We were not near the flood or fire.

N/A 12%

SOME GOOD NEWS! Tourism picked up as the summer moved along.

SAME 12%

Wine touring was up in Cowichan Valley.

Possibly more people chose touring Vancouver Island rather than the interior due to the fires in the interior BC.

NO 9% YES 63%

Photo by Leo Gebert

On the bright side, the sunsets were awesome.

40 Year End 2017

Did the weather and natural disasters this year affect your tourism?

What are your thoughts on the importance of shipping Canadian wines directly to Canadian consumers? (In reference to Supreme Court granting intervenor status at Comeau case to a group of 5 small wineries seeking to change the law governing inter-provincial shipping.)

92

%

ANSWERED VERY IMPORTANT & ABOUT TIME

How concerned are you about the US government launching a challenge at the World Trade Organization about allegedly unfair practices in the BC wine industry?

NOT WORRIED AT ALL 25%

VERY CONCERNED 31%

SOMEWHAT CONCERNED 44%

What do you think of the proposed tax changes for small business?

THE GOOD A reduction in tax is always good.

It won’t affect us. I think it is a sham that a doctor can split income with inactive partner to reduce tax.

THE BAD I think the government is looking at small business to solve our tax problems, yet small businesses are the ones with the greatest need for tax breaks. Meanwhile big business continues to reap the benefits of being in bed with the government.

Not exactly sure but it will discourage future young farmers.

Growing weary of tax changes. They create uncertainty and undermine planning.

Unhappy. The tax changes do not seem to have been thought through. & THE UGLY It is horrible and I pray to God and our Prime Minister that it does not get passed without significant changes.

Another tax grab to fill the coffers‌very little to do with fairness.

Bad, Terrible, Horrific, It Sucks

Year End 2017 41

ORCHARD & VINE WINE SURVEY 2017 • WE ASKED YOU ANSWERED What are your hopes, dreams or greatest accomplishment for your business or the industry as a whole?

Photo by Leo Gebert

That we continue to flourish and can share our passion with our guests.

That we continue to raise the bar on the guest experience and the quality of wines offered throughout the valley.

Hope: That consumers normalize the idea of buying local wines as a first choice. Dream: That growing a vineyard without a winery could be profitable.

Sustained net profit...that is the only issue to the long term survival of this industry. We must work together to achieve this.

Surviving. It is our 35/50 Anniversary this year - 35 as a winery and 50 years of planting grapes.

Growing world-class quality fruit to craft world-class wines!

Capture a loyal local following and produce consistent wine.

It would eventually be nice to break even.

My hope, as I’m sure is the same for other wineries of BC, is for the world take a closer look at the quality of wine we produce and begin to take us more seriously.

YOUR PACKAGE MATTERS.

Sales increase when your product looks great.

Branding | Packaging | Product Shots @TOWNHALLBRANDS TOWNHALLBRANDS.COM

42 Year End 2017

Photo by Gillian Stohler, SummerGate Winery

We can start to focus on producing even better wines instead of having to focus on the political bureaucracy that governs our industry.

Popham Willing to Examine Increase to Craft Spirit Production Limits

By Gary Symons BC’s Minister of Agriculture says the provincial government is willing to look at changes to liquor laws to help grow the emerging craft spirits industry.

“Tyler has sent me information around their ask already,” said Popham. “I know they want to be able to increase their production, and this would be tied to local sourcing and local production for all of their products.

“I’m willing to take a hard look at that because I’m quite interested to see how that could increase production around the province for different products that they need. For example, any of the grain that is needed in distilling, or in the various processing opportunities for neutral spirits.”

That is music to the ears of the Craft Distilleries Guild, which has been trying since 2013 to

Photo contributed.

Lana Popham says she has already spoken to Craft Distilleries Guild president Tyler Dyck, and plans to meet with him soon to discuss specific changes to BC liquor laws.

Okanagan Spirits family, Jeremie, Melissa, Tyler, Patricia and Tony.

not sold through BC Liquor Distribution channels.

convince the BC government to raise their production limits.

Dyck decided to take a risk that the government would liberalize the regulations around craft spirits, and launched Okanagan Spirits; the first craft distillery in the province.

Dyck explains that craft distillers won an important victory that year when the BC government agreed to eliminate the 167 per cent markup charged by the BC Liquor Distribution Branch for most alcohol products.

“Under the old model, if we sold a bottle for $40 the LDB would take off three-quarters of that, and Okanagan Spirits would get $9.44,” Dyck explained. “But the cost to make that bottle is actually

As is the case for wineries, the government no longer charges that markup for craft spirits that are locally sourced, locally produced, and that are

about $20, so we would be losing money. There was no business model.

“Under the regulations passed in 2013 we could figure on making five or 10 dollars a bottle, and the model works.”

The only drawback? Unlike wineries, which can produce as much wine as they want, the craft distilleries can only produce 50,000 litres of finished product before they have to pay the higher markups, and the full markup kicks in at 100,000 litres.

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“So, what that does is say, ‘you can never scale up your business’,” Dyck explains.

“If those limits were applied to the BC wine industry, we wouldn’t have a BC wine industry. You wouldn’t have a Mission Hill, you wouldn’t have a Quail’s Gate or a Red Rooster, because 50,000 litres just isn’t enough to build a serious business.”

The CDG has been working without success to win a change to the regulations that Dyck sums up as “adding another 0 to the limits;” or, in other words, increasing the limit for non-taxed craft spirits to 500,000 litres of finished product.

“I mean, ideally, we’d like to be treated just like the wineries and not have any limits, but increasing that number by a factor of 10 would put us in a similar position to the craft breweries in BC, and that would be enough to build a profitable business that can scale,” Dyck says.

Craft breweries can produce 30 million litres of finished product, which equates to about 600,000 litres of pure alcohol.

The craft distilleries would like to produce at least 500,000 litres of finished product, which equates to roughly 180,000 litres of pure alcohol.

“Obviously we’d like more, but this would be at least workable,” Dyck says.

Dyck hopes he finds a more receptive ear with Popham, who in her non-political life is an organic grape grower on Vancouver Island.

And in fact, Popham says she is already making moves to change BC liquor laws, and is open to discussing higher production limits.

“We’ve been working hard already at trying to level the playing field for the breweries in this province, the meaderies and the distilleries as far as being able to process products on farms,” Popham says.

“So, we have a committee we are forming between myself and the Attorney General … about liquor policy. Normally this would be done under his ministry, but we know there are so many agricultural opportunities through changes to liquor laws, so we thought we’d have a lot more fun doing that together.”

“We will definitely be bringing Tyler Dyck in to speak with us about what their ask is for the Craft Distilleries Guild … and 44 Year End 2017

I am interested to hear their proposals for sure.”

Both Popham and Dyck agree the key incentive for reform will be the impact on agricultural production in BC. Popham’s mandate as Minister is to create a larger domestic market for BCgrown products under the newly announced Grow BC program.

Dyck says that fits in with helping the craft spirits industry grow as well.

“Everything we make is produced using BC-grown products,” Dyck says. “That includes the grains we get from the Peace River Valley, and the fruits we get from the Okanagan.

“We used 1.2 million pounds of apples for our family reserve gin, and a half million pounds of berries and other fruits for other products. If the BC government helps us build this industry it will be very positive for BC’s agriculture industry and our tourism industry as well.”

In fact, the rapid growth of BC’s craft spirits industry after 2013 is already being felt, even though the producers are currently limited in the amount they can produce.

According to South Peace Grain Cleaning Co-Op assistant manager Jocelyn Shuman, sales to spirits manufacturers was close to zero in 2012, but is now closing in on 10 per cent of all sales.

“We only had five steady customers in this industry just two years ago,” Shuman says, “But we have about 20 customers now, and it’s growing very quickly, so all that effort has definitely paid off.”

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Dyck says he’s hopeful the NDP will approve the higher production limits, as it will help both the agriculture and the tourism industries, and show voters the NDP is, in fact, supportive of business.

Scott Shields Account Manager Abbotsford & Fraser Valley 604-870-2222 Scott.Shields@td.com

“I think this would be a great boost for them, because we tried and failed to get this done with the Liberals for years, and I could see the public would really see it as very positive that the NDP moved quickly to help a growing industry,” he said. “So, yes, we’re hopeful.” ■

Dave Gill Account Manager Abbotsford & Fraser Valley 604-870-2222 Scott.Shields@td.com

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Extenda Pack Gases For the winemaking industry

AgSafe WISHES EVERYONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS & SAFE, HAPPY NEW YEAR

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 SAFETY TIPS | WORKSAFE BC

Planning For Health And Safety In Orchard and Vineyard Operations

W

ith fall upon us and winter fast approaching, it’s a good time to reflect on the health and safety of our workers. Do you have a plan in place when workers are working alone? What about for confined spaces?

How do you deal with chemical spills?

Are your workers wearing the correct personal protective equipment?

Protecting workers is vital to the success of orchard and vineyard operations. Following a good health and safety plan is the backbone of any well-run operation and results in increased morale and productivity throughout the year. No matter how large or small your company is, it’s your responsibility as an employer to have a health and safety program in place.

Every workplace is different, and your program may be more or less formal depending on the size of your business.

The following are components of an effective health and safety program.

•O ccupational Health and Safety (OHS) policy – Protect the health and safety of your workers and outline goals and responsibilities of employers, supervisors, and workers. Your OHS policy is as important as any other part of your business. Write it simply so that it’s easy to understand. Post it in a common area so that all workers are aware of it.

• Orientation and training – Orient new workers before they begin a new job..

Workers, especially young workers, need hands-on, job-specific instruction.

Training requires demonstration and supervision to ensure workers understand safe work procedures and the health and safety guidelines are clear.

• Regular inspections – Designed to identify workplace hazards, an inspection should include location, tools and machinery, and work methods.

Schedule them often enough to prevent unsafe working conditions from developing. Use a checklist to ensure your inspections are thorough and consistent.

• Incident investigations – Investigate incidents and correct any issues to ensure that they don’t reoccur. Employers should take the time to analyze “near misses” to identify what could be done to prevent future events.

• Written work procedures – Let your workers know how to safely carry out specific tasks. Procedures are especially important for young workers and ensure consistent work habits. Highrisk procedures like lockout, confined space entry, and working alone, are required in writing.

An effective health and safety plan involves everyone.

The planning decisions you make today can affect the health and safety of workers tomorrow.

Find resources to prevent injuries at worksafebc.com/agriculture

Year End 2017 47

• Health and safety meetings – Good communication demonstrates that health and safety is a priority in your workplace.

Hold regular meetings with your workers and supervisors to discuss any safety concerns. Keep a record of each meeting, including who attended and what was discussed.

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• First aid – Effective treatment can reduce the severity of work-related injuries. First aid requirements vary depending on the hazards and risks of each workplace, the travel time to the nearest hospital, and the number of workers.

• Record keeping – Written records help employers identify trends for unsafe work conditions or practices and provide material for education and training. Some records are required by Regulation and can act as supporting documentation if an incident occurs.

• Emergency response plan – Create a plan for workplace emergencies such as fires, explosions, chemical spills, or natural disasters to ensure employees understand how to respond effectively in an emergency.

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – Make sure the appropriate PPE is available to all workers and that workers are trained in its use.

The following resources help employers meet the requirements of an effective health and safety plan:

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• Health and Safety for Wineries and Vineyards • How to Implement a Formal Occupational Health and Safety Program • Small Business Health & Safety Log Book • Small Business Primer ■ Find these resources and more details regarding the OHS regulation at worksafebc.com/health-safety.

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 SEEDS OF GROWTH | FRED STEELE

Fred Steele Leaving BCFGA with Legacy of Success sues I believe in. Many believe four years is not enough. The truth is I have been involved for nearly a decade. I was first elected in 2007 as Joe Sardhina’s Vice President. It is now time to turn the BCFGA over to the next generation.

A

nother year is making its way to the exit, a time when the harvest is done and we reflect on what was and wasn’t accomplished. In this case it is the last column I will write as the President of the BCFGA. Yes, it’s true; I am not running again for re-election and I will be stepping away from the political arena. That doesn’t mean I won’t be active on is-

I thought it might be interesting to look at some of the positive changes over the past four years, and to keep a balance I would like to revisit some of the important goals we have accomplished.

We defended the cherry insurance program, to protect the small growers of early varieties while making it worth while for growers of later varieties.

The long-term replant program has seen an uptake in

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planting throughout the valley. Optimism is to the point where many of the hay fields are coming back into tree fruit production as well. We have been engaged nationally in research programs to find better ways to grow, and preserve apples in storage.

We had many divisions and fractures in our organization when I took office and we have improved the atmosphere. There is no doubt some division still, however with progress in other areas there appears to be some willingness to improve our lot.

The BCFGA has improved relations with various levels of government. Locally we seem to have more meaningful discussions on local issues such as foreign worker housing. Provincially we have a long term replant program with several years left. At the national level we were able to start a national discussion on bare ground planting of tree fruits.

It was a welcome change after twenty years of ‘No’.

This brings me to some of the things I wish we were further ahead on. As someone who looks ahead with the positive in view, I see the recent changes at BC Tree Fruits with potential, as some of the progressive programs might be possible now. The Industry Strategy we have worked on has roamed around the waste baskets, never quite falling in. I believe we can bring the industry groups together and find common ground. Such a

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strategy would put us all on the same page by consensus and would allow us to put work on a number of projects together for the good of the industry.

One of my pet projects is still alive and grinding its way to some conclusion down the road. The national initiative “Growing the Tree Fruit Sector in Canada,” also known as Bare Ground Planting is now being pursued by the Canadian Horticulture Council, through the Apple Working Group. It would see hundreds of millions of dollars invested in tree fruits across Canada allowing farmers to plant now and pay later with five years of interest forgiven. This national approach was initiated by BCFGA, and is now handled through our national voice. I had hoped we could do it in two years or less. I believe in the program but it might not happen for another year.

This program would see an infrastructure component that would assist packing houses to modernize. Again it is slow going and we need the different industry organizations to come back together and build an industry strategy.

One of my goals was to bring people of like minds together internationally to provide a year-round fresh supply of apples for the Canadian market and the people of New Zealand (or other Southern Hemisphere partners). We referred to it as the NorthSouth Initiative. This program would see our Co-op import New Zealand apples in our off season and export BC apples to New Zealand in their off season. This program was not of interest to some in the industry in the past and it was deemed unworkable. Even so, should we embark on such a plan it could assist in reshaping our industry and that of our New Zealand partners.

There would be a sharing of product, and modern growing technology that would benefit both countries.

Another project I hope to finish before my tenure ends in February is change to the system of governance within the BCFGA. I would like to see half the Executive elected annually. President and half the Executive one year, and their term in office would be elevated to a two year term. The second year would see the Vice President and half the Executive elected the second year. I also would like to increase the participation by young people in the industry. This would be done by allowing sons and daughters or grand sons and grand daughters to represent the farm at meetings. There is a special meeting in November to deal with these issues and hopefully we can make some progress here.

Last but not least I would like to see BC sign on to the national apple levy program. It would inject hundreds of thousands of dollars into research and promotion of apples and their benefits.

Yes, we made substantial changes in our four years in office but more needs to be done. There is one ingredient I think I provided: “An air of optimism and a can do attitude”. Being positive encouraged many to go and do what they dreamt of doing for years and we changed the mindset. The new leadership has to step up and keep the dream of a better future alive. So the question becomes, how good a job did I do? That depends on where the new leadership goes. Mark Twain once said “Leadership is not about how many followers you have, it’s about how many leaders you create.” If the new leadership is successful I did a good job. ■ Fred Steele is President of the BCFGA

 THE WORD ON WINE | ASHLEY SPILAK

Chefs Meet BC Grapes and the Result is Magic

A

Naturally one starts speculating on what the dominant themes will be in wine, what the possibilities are, and what lies ahead in 2018. Certainly, a focus for the BC Wine Institute (BCWI) will be combining BC award-winning wines with Canada’s top culinary talents.

Expanding opportunities within wine and culinary tourism to attract a new audience to this growing niche industry is a priority for 2018.

“In 2017 visitors took serious notice of culinary tourism in BC and I’m encouraged to see a natural partnership developing with the Wines of British Columbia,” said Miles Prodan, CEO and President of the BCWI. “It’s not everyday someone gets to experience all-star celebrity Chefs and wineries all in one place. I am so pleased we were able to accomplish this in the Okanagan and I look forward to future collaboration targeting other regions of our Province in 2018.”

Case in point, August 2017 witnessed four BCWI Chef Meets BC Grape Taste of the Okanagan events. The quartet ensemble delivered unique visitor experiences

that earned positive reviews and exponentially increased discussion within social and traditional media circles.

More than 375 consumers wined and dined. Each event catered to a different level of wine lover, ranging from the most sophisticated wine academic to the new explorer seeking to learn more about wine and food pairings.

Photos by BC Wine Institute

s we move through fall harvest, we begin to reflect on the special moments of 2017 and the year ahead.

Consumers were kept captivated with professional Chef demonstrations, wine seminars on popular and emerging wine topics, and creative wine and food pairings. The four events presented a rare experience for visitors to the Okanagan and our participating BCWI wineries agreed the Chef Meets BC Grape partnership offered valuable exposure, optimizing the talents of top Canadian Chefs from different cities and provinces.

The quality and diversity of the Wines of British Columbia was evident and a truly unique wine and culinary experience was enjoyed by all.

an impressive line-up of international speakers to share their knowledge.

undoubtedly in wine and culinary tourism, promises to be a bright one. ■

The participation of twelve countries sets the stage for the next chapter in BC which,

Ashley Spilak is the Content Marketing Manager at the BC Wine Institute.

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Thank you to all our Readers who Submitted Photos

Photo by Leo Gebert, St. Hubertus Vineyard and Estate Winery, page 4

Photo by Aura Rose House of Rose Winery, page 5

We asked our readers to send in harvest photos. The following are some of the beautiful images we received along with the page they appear on in the magazine.

We werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t able to include all the images that were submitted, but a big thank you to everyone who responded to our request.

Photo by Leo Gebert, St. Hubertus Vineyard, page 42

Photo by Michael Audet Okanagan Crush Pad, page 32

Photo by Gillian Stohler SummerGate Winery, page 36

Photo by Leo Gebert, St. Hubertus Vineyard, page 40

Photo by Leo Gebert St. Hubertus Vineyard, page 39

Photo by Michael Audet Okanagan Crush Pad, page 37

Photo by Nic Lehoux Martinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lane in Kelowna, page 34

Photo by the BC Wine Institute, page 51

52 Year End 2017

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Year End 2017 53

Winery Wildlife & Pets

Photo by Leo Gebert

Photo by Leo Gebert

This issue we asked our readers to send in photos from the harvest.

Along with photos of grapes, harvesting and beautiful scenery we received some extra special photos of wildlife and pets.

Saving your spot in the tractor.

Photo by Leo Gebert

Photo by Michael Audet

St. Hubertus Vineyard and Estate Winery.

Dog in the vineyard at Okanagan Crush Pad, Switchback Vineyard.

Photo by Lionel Trudel

Photo by Stags Hllow Winery

Cat perched on a worker at St. Hubertus.

Christine Coletta, Bizou, Yukon and Matt Dumayne of Okanagan Crush Pad. 54 Year End 2017

The dogs are at the door at Stags Hollow Winery.

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