B.C. Winemakers Grapple With the Climate Crisis ⇥ thenarwhal.ca

Paloma Pacheco, the Narwhal:

Just a year after the extreme temperature drop in December 2022, another deep freeze descended on wine growers. For several days in January 2024, temperatures across the Okanagan and Similkameen, as well as in the Thompson Valley to the north, dropped below -25 C from unseasonable daytime highs of 10 to 13 C (Canada’s warmest winter on record). The damage from the previous winter’s cold snap had already resulted in a nearly 60 per cent loss of grape and wine production across the province. For the 2024 harvest, the industry is predicting a 97 to 99 per cent loss from both bud and vine damage. In short: decimation.

I am still in shock over how devastating this single cold snap was for so many Okanagan winemakers. It sounds like they are done grieving and are trying to make the most of it, but it is going to be a difficult few years — at least.