Orchard & Vine Year End 2015

Extreme Weather 2015 Fruit in BC Year End Wine Report Scientific Apple Breeding Agriculture Minister Interview Year End 2015 $6.95

Display Until Feb.15, 2016 Publication Mail Agreement No. 40838008 www.orchardandvine.net

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Dave Gill Account Manager Abbotsford & Fraser Valley 604-870-2224 baldev.gill@td.com

Kuljit K. Mann Analyst Abbotsford & Fraser Valley 604-870-2228 kuljit.mann@td.com

Meagan Beattie Analyst BC Interior 250-681-4241, ext 306 meagan.beattie@td.com

Karen W. Taylor, PhD, MBA, P.Ag. Relationship Manager Abbotsford & Fraser Valley 604-870-2229 karen.w.taylor@td.com

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Photo by Cindy Kaufenberg

19

Regulars 6 Publisher's View – Lisa Olson 8 Calendar 9 News & Events

37 MacIntosh on Money – Peter MacIntosh 39 Word on Wine – Laura Kittmer 41 People Talk – Barbara Ashton 43 Sustainability – Ronald Morrison 45 Legal Libations – Denese Espeut-Post

Photo by Kim Lawton/DogLegMarketing.ca

36 Seeds of Growth – Fred Steele

26 Grapes at Fort Berens Estate Winery.

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Features 16 E xclusive Interview with Minister of Agriculture The Honourable, Norm Letnick 19 Extreme Weather - The 2015 Story of Fruit in BC 24 Orchard & Vine Fruit Survey 26 The 2015 Wine Recap 28 Orchard & Vine Wine Survey 30 Partnership Prepare BC Wine for the World Stage 32 The BC Wine Appellation Task Group 34 Apple Breeding Program Goes Scientific

Photos courtesy of the Province of British Columbia

Cover Photo by Cindy Kaufenberg

16 Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick at the Blueberry Festival at Pitt Meadows Country Fest in July 2015.

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 PUBLISHER’S VIEW | LISA OLSON

Work Life Family

Vol. 56, No 6 Year End 2015

T

he other day, I learned a new term while visiting my son up north and chatting with his boss on the jobsite. As a mom, it was heartwarming to hear how well my son was doing on the job. Phrases like, he’s such a quick learner, and takes initiative plus an all around good person to work with were his boss’s words.

This year marks 10 years since taking over Orchard & Vine. While the magazine dates back to 1959 from its days as the BC Orchardist, it’s 10 years for many of us at the magazine.

Our slick style and look comes to us thanks to creative graphic designer, Stephanie Symons who has been displaying her artistic talents on these pages for a decade.

Longtime advertisers know her skills well too, as she ensures advertisements display crisp and clear graphics - no fuzzy ads in her layouts! Close to five years for Holly Thompson who lends her talents in marketing, sales and social media.

Throughout the years, you have read many uplifting and inspiring articles by writer Darcy Nybo, who is so passionate about spreading the word of our extraordinary growers and specialty food and wine producers.

Publisher Lisa Olson Graphic Design Stephanie Symons Contributors Photo by Kim Elsasser

“He’s like a brother to me; I’m like his Bro-Boss!” A Bro-boss? We chuckled for a few minutes at the new term and deep down, I was a proud and glowing mama.

It got me thinking about how many of us have co-workers that feel like family.

Established in 1959

Barbara Ashton, Michael Botner, Kim Elsasser, Denese Espeut-Post, Cindy Kaufenberg, Laura Kittmer, Peter MacIntosh, Jeannette Montgomery,

Fraser Valley writer Ronda Payne is a dedicated farming journalist who puts an interesting and informative spin on all her stories. Check out her latest work in our Annual Fruit Report.

Ronald Morrison, Darcy Nybo, Ronda Payne, Fred Steele Sales & Marketing Holly Thompson

Michael Botner is an investigator and wine aficionado who enjoys reporting on news from the wineries and the latest in winemaking, liquor laws and business happenings.

Circulation info@orchardandvine.net Orchard & Vine Magazine Ltd.

Our favourite business columnists take extra time and research to bring you into their world of expertise on topics that are here to help you succeed.

1576 West Kelowna Road West Kelowna, B.C., V1Z 3H5 E-mail: info@orchardandvine.net

When you turn the pages of this magazine, it’s good to remember there’s a close knit team, almost a family now, who pour their talent and hard work into the magazine every issue.

www.orchardandvine.net Phone: 250-769-2123 Fax: 1-866-433-3349 Orchard & Vine Magazine is published six

Thank you readers and advertisers of O&V! Best of the season and enjoy the magazine!

times a year and distributed by addressed direct mail to growers, suppliers and wineries in the Okanagan, Kootenays, Fraser Valley, Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, Washington State and throughout Canada.

Orchard & Vine is also available online.

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

Providing Canadian Grapevine Solutions BRITISH COLUMBIA Frank Whitehead p. 250-762-9845 c. 250-878-3656 frank@vinetech.ca

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QUEBEC Alexandre Jacquel p. 905-984-4324 alexandre@vinetech.ca

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Unified Wine & Grape Symposium January 26 - 28 Sacramento Convention Center Sacramento, California www.unifiedsymposium.org 13th Annual Agri-Food Industry Gala January 27 Ramada Plaza and Conference Centre Abbotsford, BC www.bcac.bc.ca 18th Annual Pacific Agriculture Show January 28 – 30 Tradex Exhibition Centre Abbotsford, BC www.agricultureshow.net Islands Agriculture Show February 12-13 Cowichan Exhibition Park Duncan, BC www.iashow.ca BC Association of Farmers’ Markets Conference & AGM March 4-6 Delta Grand Resort, Kelowna, BC www.bcfarmersmarket.org Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers Annual Meeting & Trade Show February 9-11 Three Rivers Convention Center, Kennewick, WA, USA www.wawgg.org COABC Conference Certified Organic Association of BC February 26- 28 Prestige Hotel Vernon, BC www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca

 YEAR END | NEWS & EVENTS

A Different Kind Of Vine – Hops – Celebrated in Abbotsford

By Ronda Payne It was early October when sell-out crowds made their way to a hop farm in Abbotsford to celebrate the first annual BC Hop Fest. Only recently making their way back into fields in B.C., hops are getting help from Dwayne Stewart, owner of Valley Hops.

Photos by Ronda Payne

He sees the return of hops as a great way to capitalize on the growing craft beer market, to contribute to the demand for local ingredients by breweries and also to help farmers and growers make greater use of under-utilized fields.

Stewart, his wife Diane and another organizer put the event together which was held on the Stewart’s east Abbotsford farm complete with food trucks, live entertainment, chocolate and close to 20 local and regional breweries with their products on tap. More than 500 people tipped a glass, tapped their feet and snacked.

hop dog. The latter was served up by one of the food trucks in their gourmet hot dog creations.

“We’ve already got breweries running out,” said Stewart of a few popular beer varieties late in the afternoon of the event.

Chocolates from ChocolaTas were also an unorthodox use of the crop with awardwinning chocolatier Wim Tas using hops for the first time in a custom creation.

While many of the breweries on site used hops grown by the Stewarts in their products served at the event, a few unlikely items included the local hops as well. Lepp Farm market used hops Stewart supplied to create hopperoni and a

“I never worked with hops before,” Tas said. “The first two batches were interesting. In other words, I threw them out.”

The second annual BC Hop Fest is already set for Oct. 1, 2016.

Grizzli Shaping up to be the Biggest New Winery on the Westside

Photo by Gary Symons

Slated to open in Spring 2016, Grizzli Winery on Boucherie Rd. at Hudson in West Kelowna is a busy construction site in early fall. It represents an enormous investment in the Okanagan wine industry, estimated at $30 million to build a 60,000 sq. ft.

(5575 sq. metre), Tuscany-style winery on the 11 acre site. According to plans, it will feature 4 spacious wine tasting rooms, a retail store, outdoor gardens and a picnic area, a 150 seat restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, and ample parking for bus tours.

The investor is Taiwanese-born entrepreneur John Chang, who owns Lulu Island Winery in Richmond, BC, Canada’s largest exporter of Icewine to China.

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 YEAR END | NEWS & EVENTS

Infusions: A Wine Friendly Hidden Gem at Okanagan College

Practical assessment of a student's preparation by Geoffrey Cooper, Chief Instructor for the Culinary Arts Program at Okanagan College.

A student working in the kitchen under the watchful eyes of the chef instructor.

Local wine producers and consumers who enjoy dining out with local wine and great food sourced from BC growers are sure to appreciate the bold, new policy ending corkage fees at Infusions Restaurant. Located in the heart of the campus of Okanagan College, the restaurant is an integral, inviting component of the outstanding culinary arts program at Okanagan College. Students in culinary arts prepare the dishes in an extensive, well-equipped training facility, while hospitality students look after dining room duties, all under the watchful eyes of their instructors.

Bottom line: customers receive a top-notch dining experience and a price break while giving students an opportunity to prepare and serve quality meals in a full-service (no more buffet service at Infusions) Restaurant.

Photos by Michael Botner

“Putting an end to corkage fees at Infusions supports the BC wine industry,” says Jonathan Rouse, director of Wine, Food and Tourism, and Associate Dean of the Okanagan School of Business. “After all, Okanagan wines are a focal point of our programs. “We also want to attract new patrons by providing them another reason to visit Infusions.” That does not mean that customers have to bring their own wines. “Infusions’ wine list offers a growing selection of Okanagan wines to purchase,” Rouse says.

Infusions Restaurant is open to the public Tuesday to Friday for breakfast and lunch, and Thursday and Friday evenings.

Hot smoked wild salmon board, Culinary Arts Lunch Menu.

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“Come for one of the best meals you have ever had,” says Rouse. “You are welcome to bring your own bottle of Okanagan wine.”

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 YEAR END | NEWS & EVENTS

Lunnescence - Playing Classical Music for Stress Free Vines & Happier Grapes All the stars are aligned for Lunessence, one of Summerland’s newest wineries. Launched in July, it occupies an 8 acre site – formerly Sonoran - on Gartrell Rd. between Happy Valley Rd. and Giant’s Head Rd. The new owner is Zhizhong Si, a Canadian environmental scientist. Before purchasing the property, Si brought in an expert to ensure “the vineyard and structures are in harmony with the surrounding environment, according to the principles of feng shui. His ultimate goal is to create a biodynamic winery from the ground up.

Photo Contributed

Out of sight, above the vineyard, a winery facility in sync with the surroundings is nearing completion. Six acres of vines - including Riesling, Gewürtztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Oraniensteiner and Merlot - are grown on the sloping, undulating property.

An underground stream runs through the property from top to bottom, producing a natural wetland and making dry farming viable on a large part of the vineyard. “It also creates a marshland environment, which attracts a variety of nesting birds,” says Lunessence’s winemaker Michal Mosny. “Plans are in the works to protect the area by volunteering as a Wildlife Habitat Steward under the auspices of the Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society. A boardwalk and signage will be

provided for public education.” At Lunessence, growing grapes and making wine is about providing the right energy – from the moon, the sun and constellations, the wind, the water and the music. “For the next growing season, we will play classical music and opera in the vineyards for two hours every day,” Mosny says. No doubt, this will result in stress free vines and happier grapes.

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Year End 2015 15

Honourable Norm Letnick, Minister of Agriculture

Photo courtesy of the Province of British Columbia

The 2015 Orchard & Vine Interview

Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick (second from right) tasting BC Wine in Kelowna.

By Darcy Nybo It’s that time of year again… time to chat with BC’s Minister of Agriculture, Norm Letnick. Here’s what we found out.

O & V: What is the overall feeling in the industry about having wine available in grocery stores?

Norm Letnick: The plan is to see wine on the grocery store shelves across the province. We are here to support BC’s wine industry. There is one grocery store in Surrey with wine on the shelves that did more sales in one day than several of the surrounding VQA stores. We have the capacity to stock the shelves. We’ve come from 70 wineries in 2001 to 322 today. [Wineries and grape growers] are excited about the grocery store model as it will create more opportunities for consumers to find their products.

On the small business side, selling BC wine through grocery stores will create more jobs for people in the wine industry. The more wine that is sold, the more opportunities for work.

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In the recent past I spoke to some grape growers who had a concern about finding a market for their grapes. I believe with the addition of BC wines on grocery store shelves we will see an increase in demand which will pull those grapes through the supply chain. If they are not VQA quality, they might have to label them different, like 100% BC. There is going to be a need for all different kinds of wine price points in the market.

O & V: Have there been any other sub-appellations requests since the Golden Mile was approved?

Norm Letnick: The Appellation Task Group report does recommend different areas to create new sub-appellations in British Columbia. They have completed their report (www.bcwinetaskgroup.ca) and it is now public. The recommendations in the report will be put to a vote shortly. I’ll be looking at this report after the vote and see what can be done about improving the appellation system and labelling.

O & V: Can you give us an update on the replant program?

Norm Letnick: The replant program is long term. We set it up to last seven years with funding up to $8.4 million over seven years.

It was fully subscribed to last year and this year, and we used up 100% of the allocated funds. The program is making it helpful for farmers who need a little assistance to replant their crops to high quality fruits. The industry is different than it was when I was first Minister of Agriculture. The sentiment amongst the industry is very positive and very strong now. Part of that is the resurgence of cider in the market place which provides a home for the apples that don’t make it to the farmers’ market bin.

There was also funding available through the buy local program and the big thing from 2014 was open access for cherries from China. That will help grow the industry by another 20-25M dollars a year for the cherries.

O & V: Is there anything new with the ALR?

Norm Letnick: They are working through the backlog now and have six regional panels in place and the workload has been distributed to them.

We also announced the hiring of a CEO for ALC. Kim Grout will be taking over on December 14 of this year and the chair will have his duties reduced from CEO/ Chair to chair. We look forward to Ms. Grout leading the administrative side of the land commission. She was at the City of Pitt Meadows as CEO for eleven years.

She has a bachelor of science degree from UBC and is a professional agrologist. She brings a lot to the table and the people at the land commission are excited to welcome her to her new role.

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Year End 2015 17

O & V: Ontario banned the use of neonicotinoids to protect our bees. Are there any plans to regulate the use of neonicotinoids in BC?

Photos courtesy of the Province of British Columbia

Norm Letnick: We recognize the critical role bees play in the environment and agriculture. We have an expert apiarist in our lab in Abbotsford who we rely on to provide us with advice on how to make sure we have a strong bee population. About 250M dollars to the BC economy is made possible by our honeybees as pollinators.

The use of pesticides falls under Federal authority. Health Canada have said they are re-evaluating three of the most commonly used neonicotinoids in Canada and they will have their evaluation done by early 2016. We believe in making decisions based on science so we will wait and evaluate the report when it comes out.

O & V: Any news with regards to the Environmental Farm Plans?

Norm Letnick: They continue to be supported by the government. We are encouraged by the numbers. Since the program began in 2004, over 3200 EFP have been developed and we estimate that 1000 additional farms will participate in the program by 2018.

O & V: What has this year been like as Agriculture Minister compared to previous years?

Norm Letnick: I did go on a smaller tour this year, not quite like the other ones. I’ve been to Surrey and Richmond, Fort St. John, Prince George, the Cariboo, the Interior, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island. The only area I didn’t get to this year was Kootenay.

18 Year End 2015

BC farmers and food producers joined Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick to celebrate BC Agrifoods Day at the Parliament Buildings in Victoria, and $12.3 billion in sales of BC food products in 2014, the highest ever.

There’s so much out there to learn and one of the benefits of having as long a tenure as I’ve had, is that I end up going back to some places and see how they are progressing. Tours are a great way to identify gaps that need working on and identifying successes.

O & V: GMOs are still very much in the news. Is there anything new on that front?

Norm Letnick: The ministry is moving towards mandatory certification towards organics. In the next two to three years if you advertise you are selling organic products you need to be certified.

O & V: What are your thoughts on Prime Minister Trudeau and his new cabinet?

Norm Letnick: I’ve already contacted Lawrence MacAulay, our new Federal Agriculture Minister. We had a brief conversation and I was able to slide in a few of my priorities and that’s important.

BC Fruit Growers Association President Fred Steele, Boparai Orchards owner Avtar Boparai, Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick announcing the BC government funding for tree fruit replant projects in 2016.

We need to discuss how to reduce interprovincial trade barriers as well. We will consult and cooperate with the federal government and we fully expect the great relations we have with them to continue into the future. *Growing Forward 2 (GF2) is a fiveyear (2013-2018) policy framework for Canada’s agricultural and agri-food sector. GF2 is a $3 billion dollar investment by federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) governments and the foundation for government agricultural programs and services. 

The weather played out like an epic novel, but were there heroes in this tale.

Regardless of the kind of fruit a grower was involved with in 2015, the biggest story was the weather.

Sure, weather is something producers always talk about, but when May and June produced record lows in rainfall, it’s really the only story and one that ranges from being a best-selling memoir to a hack’s poorly written thriller.

Just 11 millimeters of rain fell in Vancouver in June and high temperature records were broken all over the province in what went down as one of the hottest and driest springs in the province.

Year End 2015 19

The Book on Berries

yields on par with average years.

The first fruit story to unfold is always strawberries and this year’s tale saw the size of the berries go down slightly while yield and flavor were about average according to Jeff Husband, one of the directors with the B.C. Strawberry Growers Association.

“The flavor was still good,” he says.

“Firmness was good if the berries were handled properly and cooled right away.”

Husband, who is a second generation strawberry grower notes, “We had about 80 days of non-measurable rain. I think it was the driest year on record.”

Like most growers’ fields, the day-neutral or everbearing crops at Husband’s Emma Lea Farms in Ladner didn’t have irrigation, but the season stretched out slightly longer than usual, which he feels is how growers were able to get their

The heat put pressure on the plants, but pests didn’t take too much advantage of the situation. The spotted wing drosophila (SWD) was an issue as it has been in previous years, but overall, didn’t create too much drama if growers put in the work of regular spraying and field monitoring.

“Thrips were the pest of the year,” Husband says.

The rusting thrips cause on strawberries was an issue for many growers, but overall yields weren’t impacted too much

Firmness was good if the berries were handled properly and cooled right away. The heat put pressure on the plants.

Jeff Husband for those who worked with integrated pest management (IPM) programs and sprayed regularly for the pest.

Husband reports acreage in strawberries has remained consistent from last year, but is seeing a shift to more day neutral fields within the overall acreage.

Raspberries were no lengthy novel this year. In fact, the berries didn’t even make it past being a short story. Grower Arvin Neger, chair of the B.C. Raspberry Industry Development Council described it as a short quick season that lasted only three and a half weeks.

Photos by © | Dreamstime.com

“As far as I can remember, this was the quickest season we’ve had,” says the fourth generation raspberry grower.

20 Year End 2015

The winter wasn’t kind to the raspberry tale. Like an over-written villain, the cold season was harsh enough to cause winter damage to plants, but didn’t deliver the cold snap required to push SWD numbers down. Overall, the raspberry yield is expected to be down by 25 to 30 per cent compared to 2014, which was a high year for yield. This puts estimates by some growers at about 20 per cent below an average year.

spray and control programs kept SWD under control and didn’t find larvae in their fruit.

“If growers fell behind in their programs, they had a higher probability of larvae,” notes Neger. “Some farmers may have found that their mite population was a bit higher.

As Neger explains, the SWD monitoring process may increase mite pressures.

“I can foresee it to be a problem for the future,” he says.

The market is strong for the berries, according to Neger, pushing prices for 2015 higher than they were in 2014. He adds that raspberry acreage is expected to stay the same for 2016 if not slightly higher than that of 2015.

For blueberries, perhaps the biggest story was a foreign one, with the approval of blueberries into China with the late June signing of agreements. Chinese inspectors were on hand through August to complete protocol processes which are still not yet wrapped up. It became obvious, with the hot dry spell and extended protocol visits, there wouldn’t be a 2015 shipment of blueberries to that new market.

“Some packers and processors are estimating between 11 and 12 million pounds,” Neger says of the expected volume of raspberries. There were 18 million pounds in 2014.

The story of a poor yield began to unfold in the spring when buds weren’t coming on the plants.

Expectations from Debbie Etsell, the executive director of the BC Blueberry Council, are that the yield for blueberries will come in at about the same level as 2014, which was 152 million pounds. The weather did of course have an impact this year in moving the season up sooner like a spoiler ending in an Agatha Christie mystery.

“Our biggest impact was that we were three to four weeks early,” says Etsell.

“Depending on the region. [The season] ended that much earlier too.”

While B.C. blueberries didn’t make it to China this year, fewer made it to local markets as well.

“Grocery store programs are set up well in advance,” Etsell notes, explaining how programs selling blueberries kicked in later than local harvests.

Additionally, the weather left berry plants thirsting for more water.

“We never thought in B.C. that we would ever be having problems with water issues,” Etsell says. “We used to sort of smugly laugh, we’ll never be like California.”

“At the beginning of the season Duke was definitely stressed and there was

As far as I can remember this is the quickest season we've had. It lasted only three and a half weeks.

Arvin Neger

“Overall, coming in the spring of 2015, they had significant winter damage,” notes Neger. “The buds would just not come out. It was a good indication in early spring that the crop would be down.”

Certain farmers were hit harder with winter damage than others but growers in general pushed with fertilizer and additional care to increase plant health and vigor. It simply wasn’t enough to get the crop to standard levels. Then, like a distasteful romantic comedy where insult is added to injury, the hot, dry summer prevented the berries that did form from growing to their usual size.

“The berries just did not get the size this year,” Neger says. “In some cases, some of the berries got sunburned.”

Fortunately, growers that followed their

Year End 2015 21

variability in the sizes of the berry,” notes Etsell in terms of berry quality.

“But as it got to Bluecrop and the later crops, it was almost as though the bushes adapted better.”

Berry quality and size seemed to improve as the season moved along into the late season varieties even with the continued dryness and heat.

Yields are up. Individual fruit size is up and the chemistry is higher than usual.

Brian Mauza

Fortunately, pests weren’t a major issue in blueberries, Etsell said. “There wasn’t anything out of the norm.”

Cranberries seemed to have the best story, not unlike an inspirational read. Brian Mauza, an agricultural scientist with Ocean Spray of Canada noted the cranberries came into bloom earlier and had slightly different timing, with an overall expectation of being up in yield for the year by about 15 per cent.

“It [the long hot summer] had a positive impact for us,” Mauza says. “Because it started so early it gave us great pollination. The pollination season was excellent, we had very good fruit set. Yields are up. Individual fruit size is up and the chemistry is higher than usual.”

With early blooms starting the story off, it’s no surprise that some varieties of cranberries were ready earlier than usual. Mauza says the season as a whole wasn’t pushed off its usual schedule much however, even with the weather favourable to cranberries.

The slight shift in timing saw changes in pest management as well, but because IPM programs are longstanding there were no major pest issues.

“Our IPM scouts caught it,” notes Mauza.

“Probably because we’ve been following our IPM program for so long it was easy to stay on top of it.”

Mauza doesn’t anticipate much shift in the volume of acreage planted in cranberries, but states a number of growers are renovating their fields. These renovations consist of removing old plantings and old varieties in favour of newer 22 Year End 2015

Photo by Cindy Kaufenberg

Blueberry plants may have produced well in the 2015 season, but the heat of summer and lack of water left plants stressed, putting into question what will happen in the 2016 season. Etsell says most plants made it through okay, but many are under greater pressure than usual to bounce back to usual vigor making next year’s bud set a concern.

varieties which offer greater yield levels.

Ultimately, growers hope to see a higher yield from the same volume of acreage planted.

Tree Fruits Create an Early Story

The tree fruit story is like a re-write of the berry story. The weather took the starring role and left questions in the margins about the overall health of trees for the 2016 season. Chris Pollock, marketing manager for B.C. Tree Fruits notes the weather caused an early start for harvest across the board.

“It started with cherries and went in to apples,” Pollock says. “It was about one to two weeks early. Obviously with an earlier start date it can result in some challenges in terms of maturity.”

Apples were part of that both good and bad story.

The crop is expected to be down in yield according to Fred Steele, president of the B.C. Fruit Growers Association with pears following in much the same vein.

“I think it’s probably going to end up around 30 per cent [down],” he notes.

Fruit size of apples was also down due to

the heat and the push that weather put on shortening the season. While Steele did find some farmers with the biggest apples they’d ever grown, the majority seemed to struggle with the size of their fruit. He felt it was dependent on the location of the grower’s orchards.

“The season got off three weeks early and nobody really caught up I don’t think,” says Steele. “I was picking apples in August.”

He notes the way the apple story would play out was already written in the early spring with an April pollination schedule.

“I knew we were going to be in for it,” he comments. “Bees were brought in in the third week of April. Normally it’s around the second week of May so you could see it right there.”

Steele says things just didn’t get any easier for apple growers in the 2015 season.

“Sometimes you’ll have a weather incident that will put it [the season] back on timetable and that didn’t happen this year,” he says.

With the fruit ripening early, the annual Kelowna Apple Triathlon in mid-August had apples from Winfield as opposed to

the normal supply of fruit from much further south.

He sees this as part of the growth into other markets like Korea.

“We didn’t have those traditionally cold nights that snap the maturity of apples,” Pollock says. “But then it was like a switch went off when we were done [harvesting] peaches. As soon as peaches were done… the cold nights started to come. We didn’t have the frost issues and we didn’t have the rain issues.”

“They want Canadian fruit and they want B.C. fruit in particular,” Steele says.

“We’re positioning ourselves to be able to take care of that over the next five to seven years as tariffs come off. We’re going to be ready.”

The challenges the weather threw at apple orchards didn’t end there. It played out like a clichéd dark and stormy night.

There were issues with heat scorch, forest fires and accompanying wind storms as well as the stress the high heat put on the trees themselves.

“An apple tree at 40 degrees plus, if you have successive days, the tree will literally shut down to save itself,” Steele explains. “Then of course we had the forest fires which created huge wind storms, the likes of which I have never seen here in Oliver.”

He describes trees blown over, stakes broken off in the ground and to him, what looked like a tornado went through certain orchards.

It may seem like the apple story is filled with nothing but bad news, but here is where the tale turns around for the happy ending. Steele notes the industry grew for the first time in 32 years.

The estimated yield is over 10 million pounds this year compared to about 8.5 million pounds in 2014. Like the other fruit stories, it all came sooner.

“Normally cherries, the last variety is picked on the Labour Day weekend,” Steele notes. “They were pretty much done in the middle of August.”

Pollock sees the numbers of specific varieties (the same noted by Steele) growing in the coming years: pink lady, ambrosia, honey crisp and other new varieties.

Steele says the cherry crop was filled with mixed results depending on where the orchard was located and when the fruit was picked.

“It’s a slow process and it can be an expensive process,” says Pollock. “We need to look three to five to ten years ahead.”

“Some did suffer from the heat,” says Steele. “Cherry heat stress wasn’t a major problem. They, like everyone else in a heat year, suffered some issues. It came upon them fast.”

Cherries too saw themselves as part of an interesting story that played out like an edge-of-the-seat crime drama with a good yield, but challenges along the way.

“It’s definitely one of the largest crops we have had,” Pollock says.

Cherry growers, like apple growers, are looking towards the future with an increase in plantings due in part to the replant program.

The season got off three weeks early and nobody really caught up.

Fred Steele

“We put more apples in the ground this year,” he says. “The industry stopped shrinking.”

The majority of the plantings were of new varieties including ambrosia, honey crisp and pink lady as part of the seven year replant program.

“It’s based on a grower’s business plan,” Steele says. “There’s a whole criteria for the support [of the replant program], judged by qualified horticulturalists.

That dovetails with where this industry is really growing. New varieties that are more profitable, they are also higher density.”

Photo by Cindy Kaufenberg

Steele describes these higher density varieties as those that can produce more than 50 bins per acre where older varieties may have produced 25 to 30 bins per acre. Like the replantings in cranberries, this means a higher yield from the same acreage making growers more profitable.

Year End 2015 23

Summer fruits had a slightly lower yield than last year, but with 2014 as a high year for peaches, apricots, plums and other summer fruits, 2015 may be considered as average in volume in their story.

“Some of them had problems due to the heat,” Steele says of the softer fruits.

“But it wasn’t nearly as bad as people thought it might be.”

Pollock reports there were few pest challenges for tree fruit growers.

“We don’t see a lot of pest challenges here compared to a lot of parts of the world,” he says. “Our growers do an excellent job of managing that.”

Another highlight Pollock sees is the reversal of the trend of taking fruit trees out and planting grapes.

“It’s really positive news for us and the region,” Pollock says. “It’s safe to say that trend is reversing.”

All tree fruits are expected to have some stress from the extreme weather conditions, but it is uncertain what this means for the 2016 season until spring and bud set.

“My thing is be optimistic,” says Steele.

“We’ll deal with that when we get there.”

The story of B.C. fruit in 2015 was an interesting one led mostly by the weather.

A mix of factors kept growers on their toes and made the tale a page-turner right to the very end. 

Orchard & Vine Fruit Survey What has been your greatest challenge in 2015?

IN THE FIELD Weather, pest management, securing pickers, etc.

66%

FINANCIAL Cash flow, budgets, revenue, expenses, expansions, etc.

25%

INTERNAL Staff, hiring, HR issues, office operations, licensing, etc.

17%

EQUIPMENT Finding, upgrading & repair

17%

SUPPLIES Discovering appropriate products, delivery, etc.

8%

0

What will you be investing in over the next 2 years?

RE-PLANTING OR NEW PLANTING

64%

STAFF

37%

SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES & SAFETY

27%

NEW EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES

18%

EDUCATION

18% 9%

NEW BUILDINGS

0

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

What were this year's yield results like?

Photo by Kim Lawton/DogLegMarketing.ca

23% UP

24 Year End 2015

10% 20% 30% 40% 50

53% DOWN

23% SAME

We asked … You answered WHAT DO YOU GROW? 38% Apples 7% Apricots 46% Cherries 7% Table Grapes 7% Nectarines

0% 60% 70% 80%

WHAT ABOUT THAT WEATHER, EH?

23% Peaches 7% Plums

HOT • DRY • MORE PESTS • SHORT SHELF LIFE

7% Blueberries

SMALLER FRUIT SIZE • LOWER YIELD POOR QUALITY FRUIT • STRESSED PLANTS

15% Raspberries

•T he shelf life of cherries was dramatically reduced. In many cases, fruit that looked good when packed did not have any 'legs' when it arrived at market. It was a struggle for many growers, especially in container (sea) shipping.

15% Strawberries

• The heat made employment difficult and affected production.

15% Niche Berries

•V ines stopped growing and maturity advanced during the hot weather. The long growing season helped to reduce fruit acids.

15% Vegetables

•T he hot dry summer put a lot of stress on the raspberry plants. It also added to mite pressure on the plants.

Where do you sell your fruit?

Packinghouse

80%

Farm Gate

40%

Farmers' Market

20%

Home Delivery Service

10%

REPLANTING THIS YEAR?

58% SAID YES

10%

Restaurants

Year End 2015 25

0

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

2015 BC Wine Report:

A Year of Growth, Change, and the Unexpected Farming is a cycle of growth, maturation, harvest, and preparation for the next season.

Add in the making and selling a product like wine, and things can get complicated. A year in wine production is a seesaw of highs and lows, leading from one to another with natural momentum. When looking back upon a year, it’s helpful to remember we’re peering through a small window and into a vast room.

Climate: a hot, dry summer A warm spring set the pace for a hot summer, ending with an early harvest. The British Columbia Wine Institute (BCWI) reports an above average number of growing degree days and lower than normal precipitation. Combined, these form ideal conditions for unique challenges: maintaining crop load and yields to keep vineyards balanced. “We backed off some vineyard management techniques”, says proprietor/winemaker Bradley Cooper of Black Cloud Wine. “We tried to cool the vineyard, to slow it down.”

Dry conditions also sparked an environmental threat. From August 14 to mid-October more than 5,000 hectares of forest burned in the Testalinden fire with nearby wineries keeping a close eye for a tense few days. Fortunately, none experienced losses and all are optimistic for the 2015 vintage. The truth is now in the bottle, literally; early sampling of fermented wines shows ripe fruit and dynamic flavours.

Grapes: what’s growing, selling, and finding acclaim While results for the 2015 Grape Growers Acreage Report have not been published at the time of this writing, patterns are emerging. Between 2011 and 2014, Chardonnay replaced Pinot Noir as the third most planted grape in the province.

26 Year End 2015

Lunessence Winery took over the existing location of Sonoran, on Gartrell Rd. in Summerland.

Cabernet Franc bumped Syrah out of seventh place. What to plant is largely (and should be) based on site, but it’s backed up by consumer selection: a grape variety won’t be widely planted if there is no palate for it.

More wineries open each year. Taking over existing locations (Evolve Cellars), adding production to established vineyards (Vin Perdu, Bordertown, Back Door), and some with new sites (Bella Wines). Each new road sign brings opportunity to raise the bar and a risk of diluting the market.

“The biggest traction we’ve received – regardless of the grapes we chose – has been through our focus”, states Jay Drysdale, proprietor and winemaker at Bella Wines. “Focus allows consumers to selfeducate, without feeling intimidated.” Jay Drysdale of Bella Wines.

Photos contributed

As grapes ripen they produce sugars, which are measured in brix and (with yeast) result in alcohol. “I’ve never seen sugars this high”, says Cooper. “We were three weeks early and two brix higher than in previous years.” One challenge was to match vigorous growth with physiological maturity (flavour development).

Body and structure help a wine help present higher sugars/brix and alcohol percentages better, but it can require more intervention-based winemaking.

provinces slow to adopt legislation. This discrepancy is one more barrier to maintaining a healthy cash flow.

Bradley Cooper of Black Cloud Wine.

To craft their sparkling wines, Drysdale planted Chardonnay and Gamay on Bella’s estate Naramata vineyard.

Based on a survey conducted by Orchard and Vine, some strong varieties in the vineyard and marketplace are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Franc, and Gamay Noir. Grape growers are focusing in the vineyard and people are taking notice. In August, wine critic Steven Spurrier (of Decanter Magazine and the original Judgment of Paris) visited the Okanagan. From Syrah to Chardonnay, he tasted his way through several wine portfolios with positive results. In a press release from the BCWI, Spurrier said “For me wine is the three ‘P’s: the place, the people, and the product. British Columbia ticks all these boxes with exuberance, elegance, and conviction.”

Challenges expresssed in the Orchard and Vine survey included cash flow, labour, licensing, expansion, and supply chain management. Recruiting and retaining staff were also a challenge. Sandra Oldfield, president and CEO at Tinhorn Creek Vineyards, offers one labour solution: hire permanently. “We bumped up our vineyard staff to salary”, she explains. “It’s part of our business sustainability program.” The biggest labour crunch has been in hospitality at Miradoro Restaurant. “Staff want to work with a hyper-local restaurant and be trained by good people like (proprietor) Manny and (chef) Jeff”, Oldfield says.

“But there’s no place for staff to sleep.

The area has almost no rentals or accommodations.” It’s a problem not unique to the wine industry – hospitality shortages have been identified across the province, including in resort towns like Whistler and Big White.

Legislatively, Bill 22 (the Special Wine Store Licence Auction Act) would allow “the highest bidders access to a limited number of licenses to sell BC wine off grocery store shelves”, according to the Ministry of Justice. Wine in grocery stores is a response to last year’s provincial liquor licensing review and public consultation; the playing field is not clear, and it’s making waves in the wine industry and private retail channels. Producers are quick to note this was not

Wholesale pricing was introduced in April and wine producers voiced frustration over its rollout. Many continue to seek clarity on how to offer fair and competitive prices to hospitality, retail outlets, and consumers. Inter-provincial sales remain a murky and unsettled subject, with federal law supporting it but

Appellation: what’s in a name?

On March 30, a group of 11 wineries announced the province’s first official subappellation (or sub-geographical indicator): the Golden Mile Bench. Marked by scientific parameters of slope, soil, and elevation or aspect, the Golden Mile Bench was mapped in partnership with scientists from AAFC-PARC Summerland.

This came at the same time as the formation of the BC Wine Appellation Task Group, comprised of industry stakeholders charged with making recommendations to the BC Wines of Marked Quality Regulations. After months of consultation, recommendations included: ending the use of taste panels in the VQA program, introducing new regions (Thompson Valley, Shuswap, Lillooet-Lytton, and Kootenays), and membership to the BCWA required for approved winery licenses. If and how these recommendations are implemented might cause discord, too.

With growth and change come opportunities and risks. In the wine industry, these are nothing new – what matters is how we respond and what we do to better position ourselves on that seesaw for increased stability in riding out the highs and lows, together. 

Photo by Kim Lawton/DogLegMarketing.ca

Challenges: licensing, labour, and liquor control

at their behest and many are trying to work within the framework presented to them. At time of this writing, only VQA licenses are supported in the store-within-a-store model at three locations in the lower mainland, and two more in Kelowna recently announcing moves for 2016.

Year End 2015 27

Orchard & Vine Wine Survey – We asked … You answered What has been your greatest challenge in 2015?

INTERNAL Staff, hiring, office operations, licensing, etc.

50%

FINANCIAL Cash flow, budgets, revenue, expenses, expansions, etc.

30%

VINEYARD Weather, pest management, finding pickers, etc.

20%

SUPPLIES Discovering appropriate products, delivery, etc.

20%

0

20

• Mother nature challenges, controlling disease and unwanted external elements i,e. leaf hoppers and birds and other mites who eat the grapes.

• Fires, resulting smoke coverage and ash.

What will you be investing in over the next 2 years

Gratitude The way our customers have welcomed us. The reaction we have received from the wine consuming public has been very gratifying.

MARKETING, STAFF, SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES & SAFETY

40%

Produced a Quality Crop

20%

NEW BUILDINGS, EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES

20%

INCREASING OUT-OF-PROVINCE CUSTOMERS

Expanded Sales Won Awards

What types of Social Marketing do you use?

New Techniques THE OVERALL RESPONSE Optimism, Excitement & Gratitude

28 Year End 2015

40

• Making enough wine to keep up with demand.

Great Staff We had the best most productive crew in years

Early Harvest

30

• Keeping up with all of the reporting while doing more business.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST REWARDING ACCOMPLISHMENT THIS YEAR?

Work - Life Balance Finding some free time and enjoying life even during a other busy growing season.

10

0

75%

25% Wine Clubs

25%

25% Newsletters

12%

12% Marketing Agency

25%

Instagram

10%

20%

30%

40%

50

What are your thoughts on our wine laws?

This change was long over due!

Need to be able to sell Canada wide Should be modernized as practiced in the US Still not 100% sure that grocery store sales won't allow for imports in the future.

From what’s seen in jurisdictions with wine in grocery, could cause a race to the bottom

YES Happy about the inter-provincial changes

40%

NO Unhappy with the inter-provincial changes

10%

IN FAVOUR OF GROCERY SALES Like the idea of selling wine in the grocery stores

20%

NEEDS CHANGES Like the basic idea but changes are needed

40%

AGAINST GROCERY SALES Do not like the idea of selling wine in the grocery stores

30%

0

10%

We asked about your hopes and dreams for your business and the industry and here were a few combined responses.

20%

30%

40%

What varietals were your best crop in the vineyard ? What wine varietals or blends sold the most for you  Sauvignon Opal

Steady growth and a strong local wine industry…

Increasing production so we are using all the grapes we produce.…Making money while keeping prices down.

 Sauvignon Blanc

Fewer government restrictions… dictating to wineries what they can charge for their products.

 Pinot Noir

More customers looking for something different other than mainstream wines

 Pinot Gris

 Mead  Merlot

 Cab Franc

 Cab Noir and Blanc this Year in the vineyard.

White and Red Blends & Merlot sold best this year.

A more cohesive industry heading toward the same goals - promoting B.C. wines to the world.

 All Our Varietals Did Well For Us. Cab Franc, Malbec, Merlot ( Hat Trick), Plus Merlot.

Finding a balance between growers and wine producers. Remember a good wine starts in the vineyard!!!

 Gamay Noir and Malbec. They all sold out.  Chardonnay they sold the best but the others were sold.

Year End 2015 29

UBC & Kedge Prepare BC Wine for the World Stage

By MIchael Botner

A two-day symposium held in November brought together a cross-section of stakeholders – the collaborative is open to everyone interested in the future of the B.C. wine industry – to address wine labelling and presentations issues through: • Presentation of the results of an industry-wide survey on accurate wine labelling and presentation.

• Discussion of the international experience.

• Striking and organizing a Task Force on Labelling and Presentation.

Of 281 surveys sent online (which included grape/fruit/cider/ mead/sake producers), 51 grape wineries replied with completed returns. These included three large (100%), 14 medium size (41%) and 34 (16%) small wineries. Of these, 31 wineries or 61% were BCWI members.

Based on his extensive experience on these projects, “the results indicate real engagement by the BC wine industry,” says Jacques Olivier Pesme, Associate Dean of International Development and Director of Wine and Spirits Management Academy at KEDGE Business School in Bordeaux, France. A specialist in international business and sustainable competitiveness and a world-leading academic authority on the business of wine, Pesme is working with Roger Sugden, Dean of UBC’s Faculty of Management at the Okanagan campus.

The survey provides a snapshot of what indications – BC VQA certification, BC 30 Year End 2015

Photo by Michael Botner

The next hurdle for the evolving B.C. wine industry is the world stage, where global competition is fierce both at home and abroad. Many of B.C.’s 250 plus licensed grape wineries/ 900 plus vineyards are participating in the work of the UBC & Kedge Wine Industry Collaborative, an innovative partnership between UBC as convener, international experts and the B.C. wine industry. Focused on strengthening the industry’s export readiness and developing a global identity for international growth, funding of $1.3m over three years includes $630,000 from Western Economic Diversification Canada as well as other levels of government, UBC and the industry.

Jacques-Olivier Pesme, director of the Wine and Spirits Management Academy at KEDGE Business School in Bordeaux.

Our recommendations will help to strengthen a sense of place for our wines that is uniquely about British Columbia.

Ezra Cipes geographical indications, CIC (Cellared in Canada), terms like meritage and late harvest, such “fantasy” descriptors as Alsace-inspired and Chauvignon Blanc - are used on wine labels in B.C. Paraphrased from the survey results: 60% of respondents questioned the relevancy of current B.C. wine indications and think that the available indications can be improved; A huge majority believe that having origin on the label is key.

“In a truly global market, tough international competition and changes to provincial liquor laws challenge the sustainability of the local wine industry,” Pesme says. “Positioning the industry to become international players requires greater collaboration amongst B.C. players. As impartial allies to the wine industry, UBC and Kedge creates a new avenue for territory-wide growth, as values, standards and collective strategies can be devel-

oped and coordinated for the benefit of all wineries in the region.”

Pesme discussed labelling and marketing aspects of wine labels early in the symposium. Whether the product is wine or corn flakes, “the role of branding and brand architecture follows a similar model in open economies,” he says. Using wine label examples, he described a traditional tryptic system comprising: • Guarantee – identifying producer, responsible for story (Gebert Family) • Umbrella – for category and symbol, emphasizes type, narrative (Pinot Noir) • Topic – for naming and specifying, brings added value, hero of the story (Oak Bay) Composed of six randomly-selected industry members, two per winery size, the Task Force has a target date of April, 2016 for presentation of the final report.

Its objective is “provide recommendations about labelling and label architecture, including specification of origin on labelling, for all wines that are produced by wineries in BC, both those containing 100% BC grown and others.”

AGRICULTURAL NETTING & FABRICS

Streamlining the appellation system in BC In a notable example of wine industry collaboration, the symposium provided a fitting venue for Ezra Cipes, chair of the BC Wine Appellation Task Group and CEO of Summerhill Pyramid Winery, to present the survey results of the BC Wine Appellation Task Group.

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“Around the world today wine makers and wine enthusiasts are increasingly interested in the soil and climate conditions of where the wine is grown,” Cipes explains. “Our recommendations will help to strengthen a sense of place for our wines that is uniquely about British Columbia.”

• Easy to apply and remove • Nets for grapes, cherries & berry crops • Custom nets and structures

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Supported by the BC Minister of Agriculture and conducted in cooperation with BC Wine Authority and BC Wine Institute, the work of the Task Force took place over seven months with the publication of the final report on November 4. Many leading figures representing different perspectives in the industry participated in the Task Group, including Andy Johnston of Averill Creek Winery (Vice Chair), Harry McWatters (TIME Estate Winery), Sandra Oldfield (Tinhorn Creek Vineyards), Rhys Pender, MW (Little Farm Winery) and Donald Triggs (Culmina Winery).

The final recommendations are based on a series of 8 town hall meetings by region, which provided all the themes and was followed by a survey conducted by a pollster to test the popularity of the ideas. The Task Force received 724 responses resulting in a richly detailed report from the pollster. “A clear consensus of respondents agreed that an appellation system is desirable,” Cipes says. “The concern expressed by the industry has to do with wineries using names of regions/places on their labels when these terms are not legally controlled.”

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The 13 recommendations of the Task Force include: • Creating four new appellations for emerging wine regions Thompson Valley, Lillooet-Lytton, Shuswap and Kootenays – to add to the current list of 5.

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• Creating a framework of 15 sub-appellations within the Okanagan Valley as identified by the Task Group. Only a village or town name, or a place name that is historically associated with a region, may be used. A defining geographical feature may also be used in combination with a village or town name.

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• Harmonizing into one the audit process between multiple government agencies to enhance quality standards and regulatory red tape.

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• Ending the use of taste panels to assess faults produced from 100% BC grown grapes while continuing laboratory analysis to ensure product health and safety, and technical standards.

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• Producers making wine from 100% BC grown grapes be required to become members of BCWA. The next step in the process is an industry plebiscite conducted by the BCWA, the delegated regulatory authority, to approve the Task Group’s 13 recommendations to reform the regulations. For a copy of the Task Group report, as well as maps, survey and other appendices, visit www.bcwinetaskgroup.ca/.

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More About the BC Wine Appellation Task Group The mandate of the BC Wine Appellation Task Group To work in collaboration with the BC Wine Authority to bring forward recommendations to propose amendments to the Wines of Marked Quality Regulation that represent the interests of all 100% BC Wine Producers, to better meet the demands of today’s consumers and for potential application for other sectors including 100% BC fruit wine, ciders and beer.

BC Wine Task Group

Proposed Appellations Being Considered

• Christine Coletta Okanagan Crush Pad Winery • Bill Eggert Fairview Cellars • Andy Johnston, Vice-Chair Averill Creek Vineyards • Derek Kontkanen Inniskillin Okanagan • Eugene Kwan Chaberton Estate Winery • Ian MacDonald Liquidity Wines

Thompson Valley. It includes the lowland along the Thompson River. The upland boundary is marked by watersheds that drain directly into the Thompson River. The valley is cut off at Chase to the east and start of the Fraser Canyon to the west.

• Christie Mavety Blue Mountain Winery • Harry McWatters Time Estate Winery

Lillooet-Lytton - Kamloops. Lytton-Lillooet Appellation would butt up against the Kamloops Appellation at Spence’s Bridge to the east at the point in the Fraser Canyon where interior climate transforms into coastal climate.

• JAK Meyer Meyer Family Vineyards • Rhys Pender Little Farm Winery • John Skinner Painted Rock Estate Winery • Bob Tennant Terravista Vineyards • Don Triggs Culmina Family Estate Winery • James Mack Ministry of Agriculture

32 Year End 2015

Shuswap. Possible Shuswap Appellation would include the three watersheds that flow into Shuswap Lake.

Kootenay. Possible Kootenay Appellation(s) The region can be expanded to include the Grand Forks area by adding sub-basins of the Kettle River watershed.

Maps from the BC Wine Task Group Website with comments from Scott Smith (PARC) http://bcwinetaskgroup.ca/maps/

• Ezra Cipes, Chair Summerhill Pyramid Winery

13 Recommendations 1 We recommend that as a condition of having a winery license producers making wine from 100% BC grown grapes be required to become a member of the British Columbia Wine Authority (BCWA) and be subject to audits conducted and enforced per the Wines of Marked Quality regulations (“the Regulations”).

2 We recommend ending the use of taste panels to assess faults in wines produced from 100% BC grown grapes.

3 We recommend the continuation of using accredited laboratory analysis to ensure that BC wines meet existing health and safety and technical standards per the Regulations.

4 We recommend the continuation of BC VQA as the appellation of origin for wines made from 100% BC grown grapes.

5 We recommend changing the Wines of Distinction category name in the Regulations to British Columbia Wine.

Wines falling under this category would be restricted to use only Product of British Columbia as a geographical indication.

6 We recommend that the BCWA be given the authority to prohibit the use of any unregulated geographical indication associated with British Columbia on its members’ wine labels.

7 We recommend that all wines made from 100 percent BC grapes must register as either British Columbia VQA

(“BC VQA”) or British Columbia Wine in order to qualify for recognition as a Wine of British Columbia. Only registered wines will be eligible for market benefits.

8 We recommend BC VQA wines that use an approved sub-GI be required to display conjunctive labeling to show both the region and sub-region on the primary display panel. (See example) Golden Mile Bench, Okanagan Valley BC VQA -orGolden Mile Bench Okanagan Valley BC VQA

9 We recommend the establishment of new geographic indications in four emerging wine grape growing regions – Thompson Valley, Shuswap, Lillooet-Lytton and Kootenays – subject to a final review of the boundaries and in consultation with stakeholders within each region. [See document: Appellations – Emerging BC Regions] 10 We recommend that industry accept the set of sub-regions of the Okanagan Valley as identified by the Task Group as the basis for establishing subgeographic indications. [See document: Okanagan maps – Terroir boundaries (final Oct 26].

- As a guideline for naming these new sub- geographic indications, the Task Group recommends only accepting a village or town name, or a place name that is historically associated with a region. A defining geographical feature may also be used in combination with a village or place name: i.e. Golden Mile (place name) Bench (defining geographical feature).

11 We recommend that the current 3 separate audits by the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch, BC Liquor Distribution Branch and the BC Wine Authority be harmonized into one.

12 We recommend that section 29 (3) (c) of the Regulations be amended to include the following underlined phrase: At least two thirds of practice standards certificate holders and practice standard certificate holders who own vineyard land in a proposed geographical area or subdivision, who produce at least two thirds of the total production of wine made from grapes grown in that area or subdivision, must have voted, by ballot, in favour of the proposed geographical area or subdivision; 13 We recommend deleting section 29 (3) (e) from the Regulations, and propose an additional review of the entire Section 29 by BCWA and Wine Industry Advisory Committee (WIAC).

Year End 2015 33

Apple Breeding Program Embraces Innovation

By Ronda Payne Science is always at the heart of what growers do. Whether it’s Integrated Pest Management studies, analysis of sprays and treatments or exploration into irrigation methods, there is a form of science at play. Apple growers will be happy to know more science has made its way to their crop of choice in the way of an innovative apple breeding program.

Photo by Kim Lawton/DogLegMarketing.ca

Dr. Daryl Somers, director of applied genomics at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, notes it was a discussion with apple growers in Ontario about refreshing the mix of varieties that started the study in 2011. While BC growers may wonder what apples in Ontario have to do with BC, Somers notes the breeding

The market preference, based on a consumer study conducted by Vineland, found that consumers prefer a fresh red apple flavor over a crisp green apple flavor.

Dr. Daryl Somers, director of applied genomics at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.

program is far from province specific.

will be slight differences.

“Yes, there is an incredibly large market in the Greater Toronto area,” he says.

“But we’re not breeding apples just for Ontario, we’re breeding apples for the global market. I think that’s true across Canada.”

“Certainly the BC jurisdiction is an obvious area for apple growing. One would think they [apples] would show the same kind of features in BC,” he says. “The general quality characteristics will carry through, but there are going to be some subtle variations.”

In fact, Somers compares the growing region in Niagara to the interior of BC and notes characteristics of apples that grow in both regions will be similar, but there

How are those variations achieved? By combining traditional breeding techniques with genetics and sensory sci-

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ence. The DNA of 70 apples are being sequenced and markers are assessed for growing traits (agronomic performance) as well as consumer satisfaction traits.

“Based on our apple sensory profile of attributes such as taste, texture and flavour, we are able to map the human sensory perception and taste experience for apples and identify genetic markers for specific fruit quality consumers prefer,” notes Somers. “These markers are used to accelerate Vineland’s breeding program by focusing on varieties that meet consumers’ preferences.”

Benchmark apples Somers comments on are crisp and juicy like the ambrosia and fuji. The market preference, based on a consumer study conducted by Vineland, found that consumers prefer a fresh red apple flavor over a crisp green apple flavor.

“We certainly want to achieve that kind of quality,” he says. “We’re really very focused on consumer preference and developing high quality apples.”

From trial plantings, 2016 will mark the first year for a significant amount of fruit to study, but as growers know, this is a long-term adventure where it may take up to 12 years to see new varieties become available commercially to growers.

There are 4,000 apple trees planted at Vineland (including heritage varieties dating back to the 1500s) which are partially made up of crosses developed from desirable trait varieties. Plus, 9,000 seedlings were budded onto root stock earlier this year with the choices based on DNA data that indicated good flavor profiles, firmness and better storage characteristics.

“It’s definitely a long-term project,” Somers notes. “We could be doing onfarm trialing in 2024/2023, something like that.”

Trials will be conducted across the country with the goal of 25,000 trees planted for evaluation in coming years. The connection Vineland has to other international variety management programs brings an even more robust set of information to the study.

Get your orchards ready for the coming decades BC; there may be new varieties coming that consumers are clamoring for. 

HAVE YOU PAID YOUR ROYALTIES? Summerland Varieties Corp. (SVC) is auditing plantings of cherry and apple trees that are licensed to SVC and protected

by Plant Breeders’ Rights. There will be a six month confidential amnesty period where growers are asked to confidentially report unlicensed trees for which royalties have not been paid. Amounts owing for growers who report before February 28, 2016, will be the royalty rate at time of planting. Growers who report after February 28, 2016, or fail to report by this date and are then found to be in possession of unlicensed trees, will be assessed a penalty and amounts owing will be equivalent to 1.5 times the royalty rate at time of planting. After August 1, 2016, amounts owing will be 2 times the royalty rate at time of planting plus any legal and administrative costs incurred by SVC. Contact SVC to report unlicensed trees, arrange for payment of royalties and to sign a grower non-propagation agreement. Payment plans may be considered.

The licensed and protected varieties include but are not limited to: • Sumele (Satin™) • Sumleta (Sonata™) • Skeena • SPC136 (Suite Note™) • 13S2009 (Staccato™) • Davison Gala

• SPC207 (Starblush™) • SPC103 (Sentennial™) • Sumnue (Cristalina™) • Santina • 13S2101 (Sovereign™) • Ginger Gold

• 13N0770 (Stardust™) • 8S6923 (Aurora Golden Gala™) • Ambrosia • Pioneer Mac • Honeycrisp™ • SPA493 (Salish™)

Summerland Varieties Corp.

105-13677 Rosedale Avenue, Summerland, BC V0H 1Z5 Phone: 250-494-5157 • Fax: 250-494-7472 • Email: info@summerlandvarieties.com Growers who are not sure about their number of licensed trees can contact SVC for verification of royalties paid. For a full list of SVC varieties and a royalty rate chart, please visit our website: http://www.summerlandvarieties.com/protected-varieties-royalty-rates

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 SEEDS OF GROWTH | FRED STEELE

2015: Farmers Faced Heat, Flame and Storms vested in mid-August. Somehow, we managed to attract the labour needed to get the fruit to market.

T

his year started two weeks early and ended three weeks early - it was a scramble from the start!

Growers contended with windstorms, smoke from forest fires, and excessive heat.

Cherry and soft fruit growers were challenged as the fruit matured very early, so everyone was pushed to get the fruit harvested. The season ended two weeks early, with the latest cherries being har-

Apples were no different, with harvest averaging three weeks early, and there was overlap between varieties.

Harvest maturity was a challenge, as harvest windows were shorter. Size was smaller than normal.

Proliferation of pests in warm temperatures was an issue: Spotted Wing Drosophila numbers were up. Apple Clearwing Moth (ACM) is relatively new and a serious pest. The larvae enter under bark and weaken the tree.

BCFGA was able to obtain funding from BC Investment Agriculture Foundation and Summerland Varieties Corpo-

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ration (SVC) to fund a small pilot project on ACM in the North Okanagan. The intention is to use the information from this test to create a larger, possibly valley-wide pilot project of a three year duration. We are currently looking at the results from this year’s ACM project to determine a way forward.

We also introduced an on-line version of the Tree Fruit Production Guide. Check it out at www.bctfpg.ca This year was active for the BCFGA as we administered the new Replant Program in cooperation with the Province. The timing was later than we would have liked, but we adapted, and horticultural advisors and growers were able to apply to the new program. In fact, more of you applied than we expected, and we ran out of funding. However, the province and SVC provided additional funding - the province moved some funding from later years to the current year in recognition of the late launch of the program, and SVC matched the funding. SVC also provided an additional funding which allowed most applicants to receive funding.

The federal election also was added to our regular business at the association. We sponsored several All Candidates Forums that were organized

by Chambers of Commerce.

We were able to have agriculture questions asked at these all candidate meetings, and this raised the profile of agriculture. We believe that we have made progress in agricultural issues at the federal level, in partnership with the Canadian Horticulture Council and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. The BC Agriculture Council also provided support.

In the fruit growing area, we now have four new Members of Parliament in the 5 ridings. We welcome the new MPs and thank the outgoing MPs for their public service.

In the Central Okanagan, incumbent Ron Cannan is recognized as an outstanding constituency MP, but was not re-elected. We wish to thank Ron for his strong support of Okanagan agriculture. We look forward to working with all MPs to grow our tree fruit industry.  Fred Steele President BCFGA

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 MACINTOSH ON MONEY | PETER MACINTOSH

A Time of Change: New Laws and Policies glance, it would appear that allowing BC VQA wines in grocery stores is a positive development. The convenience to consumers should drive sales volumes and increase profits. However, the margins on sales through grocery stores, i.e. the difference between what wineries sell the product for over the cost to produce it, based on the governments pricing model could be small.

policies that could impact the profitability of your business.

British Columbia’s new liquor laws

H

arvest is a time of change in the agriculture and winery business. Crops are brought in from the field and sold or transformed into a finished product. There are many variables along the way. The same can be said of public policy that impacts the agriculture and wine world. Public policy, in the form of laws and regulations, can change based on initiatives and political direction. As witnessed by the last federal election, political direction can change quickly and so too can the issues affecting businesses.

There are numerous pieces of legislation that affect agriculture and winery businesses.

The following is a brief review of a small sample of

Addressing outdated legislation is normally a positive thing.

However, when a significant source of government revenue is on the line then any change will not be a straightforward one. This brings us to the new liquor laws in BC. It appears that one aim of the new liquor laws is to foster tourism in the province. It is great to see wineries selling at farmers' markets. In addition, having fewer restrictions on alcohol at events and the ability of wineries to sell product other than their own are positive developments. Selling directly to the consumer is vital for many smaller wineries and any means to facilitate this is a good thing.

The wine business is about making great wine but more importantly, it is about selling wine. Selling more wine at a less than favourable profit margin often is not the best approach. The new liquor laws are a profound change to the market place and time will tell the impact.

Agriculture specific assistance Growing Forward 2 is a five year program for Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector running from 2013 to 2018. It is a cost-sharing program between federal, provincial and territorial gov-

The BC government has kept a tight control on the pricing model of liquor under the new regulations. At first

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ernments to offer business risk management programs: AgriStability, AgriInvest, AgriInsurance and AgriRecovery. These programs are designed to help producers manage risks associated with farming due to severe market volatility and weather related disaster situations with the goal of fostering and supporting the financial stability of farmers.

These programs are now in the middle of their stated term and can be valuable in aiding cash flow of agricultural producers. I mention them because you may be aware of some but not all of the programs.

Inter-provincial trade In 2012, the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Acts was updated by the federal government to remove trade barriers regarding purchase and personal consumption of wine across the country. Two provinces quickly followed suit, BC and Manitoba, and updated their legislation to include the importation of

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wine. This was followed up with recent similar federal amendments for beer and spirits. This all sounds great. However, the movement, sale, purchase and possession of wine, beer and spirits are governed by provincial liquor laws within each individual province. The federal government is encouraging all provinces to support the measures and create laws to facilitate the federal law, which is really all they can do.

The direct sale of BC wine to consumers across Canada has great potential to increase profitability of wineries of all sizes.

The provinces, other than BC and Manitoba, have been slow to move on changing their laws. It would be wonderful to see some action on this issue but, sadly, it appears that the political will at the provincial level is not there.

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The TPP is a newly announced trade agreement that includes the wine producing regions of the US, Australia, Chile and New Zealand. It's intended to provide benefits to the Canadian wine industry by reducing costly tariffs on wine, providing protection for Icewine,and streamlining complex technical and administrative barriers that limit access to markets in the member countries. The TPP is an opportunity to expand markets but it is also an invitation for more competition in an already competitive market. Wineries will need to manage both the risks and opportunities available to them under this agreement because of its significant impact on the marketplace.

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There has been a lot of discussion regarding potential tax changes as a result of our new federal government. The majority of discussion during the election revolved around personal tax rates going up at the highest income levels. In addition, there was talk of lowering the federal tax rate on corporations.

We are in a wait and see period until the government announces any formal changes. It is always important to weigh tax considerations and their impact on your business. Once again, we will have to wait until the new government provides details of the direction of their tax policy in order to determine where planning opportunities may be available.

Interest rate policy

• New Name • New Look • Same Service visit:

38 Year End 2015

www.AgSafeBC.ca

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The Bank of Canada interest rate policy has kept rates at historic lows for the last several years. It appears that we are still in a time of historic low rates for at least the near term. I regularly discuss financing options with clients and mention that it is important to utilize this cheap source of capital as much as possible whether inside or outside of their corporations. I am not advocating loading up on debt but right now lenders are offering up money at very cheap rates. Interest rates will have to rise in the future but prudent financing decisions now can assist with your cash flow.

All we know is that tomorrow will be different than today. Understanding changes and how they impact your business is very important. You may not know all of the answers to the big issues facing your business but being aware of changing risks and opportunities gives you the best chance to succeed.  Peter MacIntosh, CPA, CA is a partner with White Kennedy LLP. White Kennedy has offices in West Kelowna, Penticton and Osoyoos. Peter can be reached at 250-492-9984 or pmacintosh@whitekennedy.com.

 THE WORD ON WINE | LAURA KITTMER

A Stellar Wine Touring Year For BC Wineries!

W

ine tourism in BC is on the rise, reporting a record high in visitors and sales this year, and gaining accolades as a world-class wine destination from publications and wine critics around the world.

This year the Okanagan Valley was named one of the 10 best wine destinations of 2015

by Wine Enthusiast Magazine, ranked as the #1 wine

laborate marketing efforts to date. Visitors to BC in the first eight months of 2015 were also higher than ever before with an increase of 7.1 per cent from last year according to Statistics Canada.

region in the world by The Huffington Post and dubbed the 2nd best wine region to visit by USA Today. In August, the BC Wine Institute hosted acclaimed UK wine writer Steven Spurrier here for the first time, and in the fall edition of The Somm Journal he proclaimed, “For me, wine is the three Ps: the place, the people and the product. British Columbia ticks all three boxes with exuberance, elegance and conviction.”

Wine touring, which had long been the sole ventures of connoisseurs and official “wine lovers” now attracts a much broader range of tourists who are looking for a variety of experiences. “Wine tourism is still relatively new in British Columbia, though more and more people are expressing an interest in it, evidenced by many of BC’s wineries expanding their guest experiences to include more than simply wine tast-

BC VQA Wine sales are at an all-time high, up 8.96 per cent from 2014 across all channels with 30 per cent of VQA wines sold directly from cellar doors – a direct result of BCWI and Destination BC col-

ing.” notes Maggie Anderson Marketing Director for the British Columbia Wine Institute.

Of the 320 wineries in BC, 275 of them have now opened their doors to wine tourism offering services including tastings, on-site restaurants and shops, wine and food pairing experiences, cooking classes, vineyard tours, concerts, accommodation and much more.

As the wine industry continues to grow in BC, emerging wine regions are also becoming more popular travel destinations. “It’s been an incredible first season for the Kamloops Wine Trail,” notes Trish Morelli Marketing Director for

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Kamloops Wineries Association. “All of our wineries had record numbers in visitors and sales. Our longest standing winery saw an increase of 73 per cent in July’s year over year tasting room sales, and triple digit growths (266 per cent) were reported from one of our newer wineries.”

Season highlights for Kamloops Winery Association included the opening of Monte Creek Ranch Winery and the installation of specialized highway wine trail and wine route signage in partnership with our Minister of Transportation. “Visitor experience feedback has been very positive, people love to discover BC’s newest wine region," says Morelli.

Fort Berens Estate Winery in Lillooet, another emerging wine region in BC, expanded their winery this spring opening a new on-site patio restaurant to accommodate the increase of visitors coming through. “People like the combination of drinking quality wine for a good price while enjoying excellent food and a view,” says Rolf Berens, owner of Fort Berens Estate Winery.

“Duffy Lake Road is one of the most scenic drives in BC and we wanted to provide an additional feature for travelers to experience it.”

“There are now over 43 restaurants at BC Wineries; that’s more than 20 per cent of wineries offering a myriad of cuisine to go with their experience. Very unique in the world of wine touring,” remarks Sandra Oldfield, CEO of Tinhorn Creek Vineyards and Miradoro Restaurant.

Back by popular demand this fall, Communal Table Dinners

by Miradoro Restaurant paired with Tinhorn Creek wines are available every Tuesday until Dec 29 bringing together locals and visitors to celebrate local food and wine.

Also, for the first time this winter CedarCreek Estate Winery and Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Estate Winery will continue to offer wine and food pairing tours during the off-season. “We are excited to extend our winery hours and provide our visitors with an experience that is otherwise hard to offer in the busy summer months.” Says Anahita Pouget Marketing Manager at CedarCreek Estate Winery.

As the sector leader for Wine & Culinary Tourism in Destination British Columbia’s new Co-operative Marketing Partnership program, the BC Wine Institute looks forward to continuing to grow BC’s vibrant wine and food culture, giving visitors more opportunities to discover our pristine region as we roll into 2016.

For a full list of winery events, services and experiences this winter go to www.WineBC.com. ■ Laura Kittmer is the Media Relations Manager at the British Columbia Wine Institute. www.winebc.org

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 PEOPLE TALK | BARBARA ASHTON

Giving and Getting More Love in Your Workplace "The typical workplace is at risk of becoming dysfunctionally connected, people crave a deeper human connection at work. They need to feel a more personal and authentic connection with their managers and their peers that goes beyond what technology can provide."

- Ken Blanchard

D

r. Love (aka Dr. Paul Zak) is a neuro-economist at Claremont Graduate University. He’s also a self-professed nerd who loves to be in his lab ‘avoiding humans’. Yet he’s also one of the world’s foremost experts on the love molecule, oxytocin.

Oxytocin is also commonly called the trust molecule.

When people feel they are being trusted, their brains respond by producing oxytocin.

And according to Jan Hills of Head, Heart + Brain in her article …”when participants felt they were trusted, their brains responded by producing oxytocin, and when participants were shown increased levels of trust their brain produced

shareholders return at -8%, compared to an average company.

even more oxytocin.”

All of this bodes well for the economics of a healthy workplace.

Employee motivation guru Susanne Jacobs ties the development of trust in the workplace to these eight intrinsic drivers:

Emotions Drive Engagement Nothing meaningful happens in the workplace until people are engaged emotionally, which comes from trust. And trust is of course a product of great leadership.

1 Belong and connect 2 Voice and recognition 3 Significance and position 4 Fairness

• Companies with higher employee engagement see the biggest financial gains in their sales growth and shareholder return respectively at +4%, compared to an average company.

5 Learn and challenge 6 Choice and autonomy 7 Security and certainty 8 Purpose On Building Trust From the Get-go

• Companies with lower employee engagement see the biggest financial loss in their

Trust is the single most important foundational value

sought in high performance employees.

Regurgitating a gobbledygook mishmash of someone else’s corporate culture or mission statement will get you about as far as your next mediocre hire. So heed this warning well: do not pretend to be someone you’re not when trying to woo a star candidate.

You may not have an exact, crystal clear vision of what your organization will look like in the future, but you need to be very concise about the values you are in search of when hiring top talent.

Clarity and conviction around your values and culture conveys authenticity which is es-

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YOU MUST HAVE CONVICTION IN YOUR WORK AND BE ABLE TO SUCCINCTLY COMMUNICATE THE FOUNDATION OF YOUR COMPANY'S CULTURE (YOUR WHY).

YOUR ABILITY TO DO THIS IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN HIRING AND ENGAGING THE RIGHT PEOPLE, HENCE THE SUCCESS OF YOUR COMPANY. sential to building a trusting relationship with that star candidate in front of you, regardless of whether or not they come to work for you.

Leadership is about giving first, reaping the rewards later.

I was pleasantly reminded of this reading Dr. Leo Buscaglia’s book, LOVE: What love we've given we will have forever. What love we fail to give is lost for all eternity.

Giving, paying it forward, treating others as you would have them treat you ... it’s always about putting one’s trust forward, which brings to mind two other essentials in our workplace: authenticity and transparency, powerful precursors to building a trusting workplace.

We trust people because they showed up when it wasn’t convenient, because they told the truth when it was easier to lie and because they kept a promise when they could have gotten away with breaking it. - Seth Godin What’s your leadership philosophy on building a trusting workplace?  Barbara Ashton is CEO and Executive Search Consultant with Ashton & Associates. Offices located in Kamloops and Kelowna serving industry leaders throughout BC’s Okanagan Interior.

800-432-6893 www.ashtonassociates.com 42 Year End 2015

 SUSTAINABLIITY | RONALD MORRISON

Thinking Sustainability Beyond Organic Wine

T

he popularity of organic food and beverage products has skyrocketed in recent years. Consumer appetites for organic foods have become insatiable, catapulting them into one of the fastest growing agriculture sectors. Similarly, the organic trend has extended to the wine market with more winery businesses thinking about organic wines. At the same time, sustainability has transformed the business world and increasingly been adopted in the wine industry globally. The relationships and differences between the two green approaches are outlined in the following.

Organic wines refer to the cultivation of the wine grape and vineyard practices with-

ing wine. It is also one that is likely to become increasingly costly in light of changing legislation, such as the new Water Sustainability Act in British Columbia.

out inputs of synthetic chemicals or genetically modified organisms or products, found in many pesticides and fertilizers. They also refer to wines processed with considerably fewer or no added sulphites or preservatives, other than naturally occurring ones. Although there is much debate over sulphites in wine, they are a common food preservative - a chemical substance derivative from SO2, which has been used for centuries since Roman times in winemaking, protecting wine from oxidation and bacteria.

The concept of sustainability is broader from a business perspective. It applies to how the grapes are grown in the vineyards, production and cellar practices in the winery, waste management and recycling, supply and transportation, sales and marketing of the brand, and finally, how the product overall relates to sustainability of the business and perceptions of consumers. It refers to a range of practices, not only from environmental perspectives, such as chemical additives, but also addresses financial interests and social values.

Organic wines are generally focussed a little less on other factors such as the conservation of water and energy resources - key cost determinants in producing wine. Water supply is a significant variable in wine production and one that is limited by nature and regulated by provincial and local governments. In light of climate change and drought conditions that are on the rise, water will become even more critical in produc-

Sustainability has evolved as a business approach to wine production that is innovative, cost effective, engaging and preferred by consumers, while aimed at conserving resources. Winery enterprises are beginning to view sus-

tainability as an opportunity to drive operational efficiencies and reduce costs, improve quality and build capacity for long-term strategic growth.

Benefits and Drivers of Going Green While some local enterprises are still learning the benefits of how their operations can benefit from sustainability, a tipping point is emerging and being driven by investors, governments and customers who have come to see the greater value possible through an economic, social and environmental lens. Numerous market studies have confirmed a growing trend in strong consumer preferences toward sustainability. In some locations such as northern California, retailers have seen double digit sales growth among sustainable wines.

A new era in business thinking, producers and consumers are all driving both organic production and the sustainability model in the wine business. Meanwhile, there

Constellation Laboratories is one of Canada’s leading independent testing laboratories. We offer a wide range of Quality Control services to cover the full range of winery activities: • Preharvest Maturity • Fermentation • Ongoing Storage • Prebottling Analysis • Component Packaging Testing • Export Analysis Certificates • Production Quality Monitoring

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Year End 2015 43

are misconceptions and gaps in the level of understanding between the two approaches. One common myth is that organic production implies sustainability. In fact, the production of wine as an organic product can be extended to encompass the broader social, economic and environmental values of sustainability. An organic wine can very well be a first step in building a robust sustainability program for a winery enterprise.

The rise in organic food and beverage branding and marketing is actually helping distinguish and bring sustainability into focus for wine producers. The evolution of wine making has come almost full circle from early traditional methods applying more natural processes and ingredients, to large-scale and mass production with the application of pesticides, fertilizers and sulphites, and now with organic and sustainability processes, returning to greener approaches without the assistance of chemicals and thinking more about the conservation of resources in production processes.

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Requirements and Standards for Organic and Sustainable Wine Requirements and standards for organic wines in Canada fall under the general principles and management standards set out under the Organic Products Regulation adopted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. They refer to agriculture products that are grown and processed under various practices, relating mainly to crop production systems and permitted substances. The regulations apply to agriculture producers who want to make an organic claim or use the Canada Organic label to market their products, and are implemented through a program of voluntary market certification. Similar legislation and guidelines exist at the provincial level, with BC, Manitoba and Quebec also requiring the federal regulation.

Although there are several wine sustainability certifications that are popular outside of Canada, certification is just beginning to gain traction in Canada, based on the BC Wine Grape Council Sustainable Winegrowing Program, and the Wine Council of Ontario Sustainable Winemaking Ontario: An Environmental Charter for the Wine Industry and its Sustainability Certification Program. While these programs provide tools and direction for establishing sustainability into winery businesses, external expertise can facilitate and expedite the process.

Sustainability Integration and Goals How can sustainability be integrated into winery operations and what are the kinds of goals that can be pursued?

The starting point for building sustain-

ability into operations and planning for the future is to undertake a baseline assessment to provide quantifiable metrics that relate to environmental, economic and social attributes of your business.

From this baseline, it is then possible to begin planning for sustainability into the future, with goals and initiatives related to those goals. For example: Extend organic production practices through a 60% reduction in the use of fertilizers, pesticides and sulphites by 2018.

Reduction of water consumption and corresponding costs by 40% over the next five years, and greenhouse gas emissions by 30% over the next three years.

Report on sustainability framework, practices and performance by 2017, following widely accepted sustainability reporting standards, e.g. GRI and CDP. Measuring performance in terms of operations inputs and outputs, and planning and reporting are the prerequisites to advancing sustainability. Regardless of the motivating factors and ways in which greening a wine business is approached, there are significant benefits to be realized through commitment to more sustainable practices in winemaking. With increasing interest and awareness among producers, they can begin to uncork the multiple benefits of sustainability. ď Ž Ronald Morrison, MES, MCIP, RPP is President of Sustainability North Inc., a consultancy and advisory practice specializing in corporate sustainability, regulatory affairs and environmental planning. www.sustainabilitynorth.ca

Vineyard Narrow Mulch Spreaders Custom Built Equipment - Built to Last Whatcom Manufacturing Mulch Spreaders are specifically engineered for fast, easy and precise mulch application. Whether it’s for moisture evaporation, weed control, amendments or enhancing soil tilth, the Whatcom Manufacturing Mulch Spreader saves time and money.

Follower hitch for tight turns around end rows. Available with Quick Change discharge system. Change from the belt discharge for on the row to a spinners discharge for broadcast spreading. Engineered to accomomdate all applications using mulch, sawdust, shavings, manure, solids, gypsum, organic compost, wood chips etc.

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 LEGAL LIBATIONS | DENESE ESPEUT-POST

Protecting Brand Advertising Key to Business

W

e are wrapping up our trilogy on branding with this column. Let’s talk about protecting brand advertising.

Your brand image represents what your customers think of and associate with your brand; it embodies the value of your brand. You have worked hard to establish a positive brand image and you will want to make sure that your positive brand im-

about the many benefits of trademarking.

Realistically, the chances are that your entire advertising campaign will not be able to be trademarked. However, if you make use of a slogan in addition to your logo, your slogan should also be registered as a trademark. Registration will give you rights in the slogan across Canada and allow you to bring an action for infringement against others who use a confusingly similar slogan, mark or name. You will also want to ensure you own the copyright in your slogan if it is created by someone other than you. The copyright gives you the sole right to produce or reproduce the slogan and you may be able to bring an action for infringement if a

age is communicated to your customers. This is achieved through brand execution and the experience you create for your customers. When creating that customer experience, you will need to consider your brand position which is the message that you want to leave with your customers about your brand. All of this will be achieved with brand advertising.

We all know how important brand advertising is as well as how costly and time consuming it can be to produce and carry out. Given how much is invested in your brand advertising, it is important to give some thought to the protection of that advertising.

We have previously spoken

competitor interferes your copyright.

with

Be aware of producing any misleading advertising. The Competition Act deals with advertising and seeks to prevent false representations and misleading claims in the marketplace. If this should accidentally occur as part of your brand advertising, immediately publicize a correction notice and take the necessary steps to fix the errors.

The timely efforts you make to remedy the mistake will be considered by the Competition Bureau in deciding if proceedings relating to the misleading advertising should be started. Also, claims regarding the performance of your product should be avoid-

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Year End 2015 45

ed unless the claims are based on proper tests using appropriate methodology.

Ensure the claims accurately reflect the data obtained from the tests.

Comparative advertising occurs when one product is compared to another, often competing, product. As long as it is accurate, comparative advertising helps consumers make more informed choices.

However, if you are concerned with a competitor’s conduct in comparative advertising because your competitor’s advertising is reckless, false or misleading, swift action against the competitor must be taken to protect your branding. Actions may be brought under the Competition Act, Trademarks Act, Copyright Act or other common law causes of actions.

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Remember that your brand is an asset.

It has considerable value and must be protected. If your brand image is damaged or disputed, re-branding your product or services will be a very expensive and lengthy process which you will want to avoid. The exercise of branding is on-going. It begins when you first select the components that make up your brand and determine the availability of those components in the marketplace. It continues with the registration of your trademarks and ensuring ownership of your copyrights. It carries on with the ongoing policing of the marketplace and challenging competitors making use of competing marks or slogans.

Building and maintaining a brand can be challenging. Speak to your professional advisor for assistance with your brand development and maintenance.  Denese Espeut-Post is an Okanaganbased lawyer and owns Avery Law Office. Her primary areas of practice include wine and business law. www.averylawoffice.ca

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Roll-over protective structures (ROPS) and seatbelts save lives

We’re working with you to make sure all farmers go home safe. For resources and videos on safe equipment operation, visit worksafebc.com/agriculture.

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