Outstanding Quality Despite Challenging Vintage #BCWine

With tonnage down 11% from last year, the 2010 vintage provided numerous challenges for vintners in British Columbia. Despite Mother Nature’s temperament, BC wineries continue to produce exceptional quality wines.

The 2010 harvest got off to a late start with the first grapes being picked the week of September 15, two weeks behind the 2009 harvest. The majority of BC wineries started picking after September 24, and with fruit still coming in well into November, 2010 earned the distinction of being one of the latest harvests on record.

Because of the arduous circumstances throughout the vintage, crop levels were down across the province; however, not as much as initially anticipated. According to the 2010 BC Wine Grape Crop Report, tonnage* was down 11% from 19,879 tons in 2009, to 17,778 tons in 2010.

According to BCWI director Rod King of King Family Farms in Naramata, “[The grape] pricing reflects the reality of a shorter crop last year. All the main varieties were up a little bit on a price per ton basis.” Although the short crop affected some grape pricing, those changes have not affected wine prices at the consumer level, according to Stephen Schiedel, Portfolio Manager (Wines of Canada, USA and South America) at the BC Liquor Stores.

The 2010 white wines have been released to much acclaim. The cooler conditions of the vintage allowed for full flavour development while maintaining the vibrant acidity that the Wines of BC are known for, and perfect for summer sipping. Consumers seem to agree, with overall provincial BC VQA sales up 3% over the past 12 months and BC VQA Wine Store sales continuing to increase, with rolling 12 months sales ended May 2011 up 4%, over 2010.

The 2010 red wines (most of which won’t be released until 2012) were more of a challenge, but vintners are excited about their development. At Hester Creek Estate Winery, their team did a lot of work in the vineyard to ensure phenological ripeness, according to General Manager Mark Sheridan. “We cropped light and did a lot of canopy management, but we have some of the best colour, tannin structure that we’ve had and are extremely excited about the entire portfolio.”

As we release the 2010 BC Wine Grape Crop Report, vintners across the province are already well into the 2011 growing season. As Rod King stated at last year’s winemakers and viticulturalists’ forum, if there is one thing we can learn from the 2010 vintage “the lesson is to have faith, the vines will pull through.”

2010 BC Wine Grape Tonnage* by Variety – Top 10

The 2010 BC Wine Grape Crop Report was compiled by BDO Canada LLP from information submitted by 126 wineries across the province. Thank you to all those who contributed, as well as to the BC Wine Institute, BC Grapegrowers’ Association, BC Wine Authority and the BC Wine Grape Council for their assistance.

“Through compiling the Wine Grape Crop Report since 2008, we have been fortunate to be able to expand our knowledge of industry issues and increase our appreciation of the determination and efforts of BC’s grapegrowers, winemakers and proprietors,” states Ken Davidson, Partner with BDO. “BDO is proud to support the BC Wine Industry.”

To view the complete report, visit www.winebc.com/publications.php

*Tonnage reported in short tons. Note, participation in this survey is voluntary; therefore the tonnages reported here may differ from actual industry tonnages.