Wineries reopen amid COVID-19

Tweaks to public health regulations governing bars and restaurants will mean few changes for the province’s wineries.

A surge in cases prompted the province’s public health officials to clamp down and ban dancing and require patrons to be seated to receive service at bars, restaurants and other licensed establishments. In addition, parties are limited to groups of six.

However, wineries and other premises serving alcohol under a manufacturing licence are exempt from the seating requirement.

“Patrons in premises with a manufacturing licence may leave their seats to go to a bar for the purpose of being served a drink,” notes a summary of the new rules the BC Wine Institute distributed. “[Wineries] can continue to provide standing counter tasting experiences and sampling provided they follow the [public health order] and BCWI’s Winery and Hospitality Best Practices.”

This means premises such as Hugging Tree Winery in Keremeos, which reopens on August 1 following a move to an 11.6-acre parcel acquired at the end of 2019, won’t need to adjust protocols much from those announced June 19.

“We are taking extra precautions to ensure the safety of our family, staff, and guests,” the winery notes on its site. “We are currently accepting reservations, with a maximum capacity of 6 people per group.”

The opening is one of several launches in the popular wine-touring region this summer. While border closures keep tourists close to home this summer, keeping wineries and other agri-tourism operations virus-free is a top priority.

To date, all known COVID-19 outbreaks on farms have been confined to the farm premises.

All content on this website is copyrighted, and cannot be republished or reproduced without permission.

2 hours ago

... See MoreSee Less

View Comments

Likes: 1
Shares: 0
Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

8 hours ago

Forty-six regions in BC are eligible to participate in the federal livestock tax deferral program, announced yesterday, more than anywhere else in the country. The program allows producers who downsize their breeding herds by 15% to defer reporting the proceeds until the following year, when they buy replacement stock. But after multiple years of drought, the BC beef herd is cruising 25-year lows and some producers are calling for more support to maintain and rebuild their herds. For more, see: [www.countrylifeinbc.com/bc-leads-livestock-tax-deferrals/]

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 17
Shares: 5
Comments: 0

4 days ago

After weeks and weeks of no moisture, there's rain in Kelowna today. While much more moisture is needed over the coming weeks and months to reduce drought conditions and the air smells of wet campfire, the slow, steady rain is very welcome for fruit grower#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 7
Shares: 0
Comments: 0

5 days ago

The first Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust Grassland Set-aside Variety Trial Field Day was held at Delta's family-owned Tecarte Farms, August 27. Co-owner Bill Bates and DFWT executive director Christine Schmalz welcomed more than 35 people to view seven acres planted to different grassland blends specifically chosen to rejuvenate the soil and support the farm's blueberries. For the Bates family, it was time to try something different following the decline of the field's blueberry bushes over the past several years. "We tried everything, and nothing worked," says Bates. The blueberries were removed in May and the grassland crops planted about a week later.

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 17
Shares: 1
Comments: 0

Bessette Creek is the latest watershed hit with a temporary fish protection order this year as the province moves to protect returning Chinook salmon. A total of 131 surface and groundwater users must cease drawing water immediately, with forage producers, greenhouses and nurseries impacted. "Declining flows in Bessette Creek reached record lows in early July 2026 and have remained below the minimum level required to support fish population survival," says the province. Bessette producers have embraced voluntary cutbacks, scheduled irrigation and other measures to reduce water use, and are also waiting on funding to boost water storage infrastructure. They're the second group of producers hit with a provincial order this year. Salmon River irrigators were told to top watering earlier this month following a reprieve to address wildfire risk. Growers in both the Salmon River and Bessette watersheds are urging the province to support new water storage infrastructure in advance of next year.

#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

Likes: 7
Shares: 1
Comments: 3

There is a problem... having lived in the salmon river ( silver creek ) area, I remember a fish biologist telling family members that salmon only "survive" in high iron content creeks, they do not "thrive".... salmon river ( silver creek ) is a very high iron content, would stain clothes brown when i would use bleach... So don't expect high salmon numbers off of that creek , even in ideal situations...

I just wish they would take an interest in CHASE CREEK....went bone dry...100% of trout abd other species died...smell was terrible from rotting fish. Understand this has happened many times in the past. Chase Irrigation District totally responsible for this disaster. Now fishermen are complaining about major drop in water levels at Pillar Lake.

They could not mismanage things worse than they have. It's impossible for them to. The fact that farmers that we need for our animals are now suffering the consequences our governments have not protected us from, is absolutely fucking wild.