A B.C. winery managed to escape the worst of a bad winter, but it is still feeling the impact of plunging temperatures elsewhere in the province.

Cody Karman, manager of the in south Langley, said they were 鈥渞elatively unscathed鈥� by the unseasonably cold weather last year.

鈥淲e did have some damage to the Merlot and the Cabernet Sauvignon [grapes] but no mass damage to any of our vineyards,鈥� Karman told the Langley Advance Times.

It was a different story in the Okanagan, where temperatures fell below minus 30 C at one point in December.

鈥淥ne of the vineyards we sourced from, they grow our Syrah [grapes], and they unfortunately were completely decimated,鈥� Karman said.

鈥淭hey are going to replant the Syrah, so we might miss a few vintages, or have to source from elsewhere,鈥� Karman predicted.

鈥淚t was an absolute blow to the wine industry.鈥�

Writer and wine columnist , author of The World of Canadian Wine, The Wineries of British Columbia, and British Columbia Wine Country, and 12 other books on wine, described last year鈥檚 weather as 鈥渞eally peculiar鈥� during an apperance at the Township 7 winery on 16th Avenue at 212th Street on Sunday, June 25.

鈥淲e had a wet cool spring,鈥� Schreiner explained, 鈥渟o the grapes were delayed two to three weeks to get into the stage where they were flowering.鈥�

That meant the vines didn鈥檛 have a chance to become 鈥減roperly dormant鈥� before temperatures fell to a 鈥渒illing temperature,鈥� Schreiner summarized.

鈥淰ines need a few weeks to 鈥榞o to sleep,鈥� for the the sap to retreat to the roots, and if it hasn鈥檛 retreated, and it gets cold, the vines will kind of burst. Just like it鈥檚 like your pipes in your house, if it gets cold, and they freeze the pipes over.鈥�

A lot of vines were 鈥渒illed outright,鈥� Schreiner said.

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A report commissioned by Wine Growers British Columbia said the 鈥渨orst fears鈥� of a potential crop loss have been realized with a 54 per cent reduction in 2023 and 45 per cent of total planted acreage suffering what Miles Prodan, president and CEO of Wine Growers British Columbia, called 鈥渓ong-term irreparable damage.鈥�

B.C.鈥檚 wine industry is appealing to the provincial and federal governments for help, asking for a dedicated grant to support crisis relief, additional funding for the Perennial Crop Renewal Program, and alignment of the provincial crop insurance program to cover 鈥渦nique climate-change related events鈥� such as the cold snap.

Township 7鈥檚 Karman hopes consumers will help struggling smaller B.C. wineries by making purchases.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to need us to be buying these bottles of wine, to kind of keep that revenue flow going for the next few years,鈥� Karman remarked.

鈥淚 think what we can do as the consumers, is ultimately show our support and shop local.鈥�

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