A combination of winter damage and warm weather has resulted in a record low ice wine harvest this winter. Just four wineries registered their intention to pick grapes for ice wine with the BC Wine Authority last fall, but by the time temperatures allowed for the harvest, just three proceeded. A total of 12 tonnes …
ice wine
Ice wine intentions rise
An inflow of Arctic air pushed temperatures in Kelowna towards levels needed for ice wine this week, just as the deadline for producers to register their intention to make the sweet beverage approached. Temperatures approached -7° Celsius as midnight approached on November 7, a degree away from the -8° C that frozen grapes must reach …
Growers cool to ice wine
The wine won’t be ready for Christmas, but grape growers picked the first grapes for this year’s ice wine harvest in the early hours of December 17 as temperatures fell below -10° Celsius at sites in Kelowna, Summerland and Okanagan Falls. By law, temperatures must reach -8° Celsius to allow the frozen grapes to be …
Icewine harvest begins
BC’s icewine harvest kicked off in the wee hours of November 28 as temperatures in the Okanagan dropped below -8 degrees Celsius, the threshold required by law for harvesting and crushing frozen grapes for one of Canada’s signature agricultural products. Quails’ Gate Estate Winery of West Kelowna was one of 20 wineries that registered with …
BC ice wine harvest begins
BC wineries have picked approximately 135 tons of grapes for ice wine since December 5, when temperatures fell to levels required for the harvest. Twenty wineries registered an intention to produce ice wine this year with the BC Wine Authority, which regulates production. Seven plucked frozen grapes for the sweet beverage on December 5, 6 …