Vineyards in the Okanagan faced a difficult growing season

• Extreme heat, smoke, challenged vineyards
• Labour shortage for growers ongoing issue

From extreme weather to labour shortages, grape growers faced a challenging growing season this summer.

Felix Egerer is the vineyard manager at Tantalus Winery. He said growers faced upwards of six weeks of smoke cover, which was especially bad this year.

“I’ve been here for five years. We’ve had smoke pretty much every summer, but not as intensely and not for such a long time," he told Kelowna10.

He said the combination of extreme heat and smoke negatively impacted breathing, forcing workers to modify how they worked. Masks had to be worn outdoors and working days had to be shortened to prevent breathing issues and heat exhaustion.

Another factor adding stress to many vineyards is the impact the smoke may have had on the wine itself.

Egerer said the grapes can absorb some of the smoke molecules, tainting it.

“Then, as you ferment out your juice, your wines can take on a smoky flavor at the end. It’s still a bit too early to tell if there’s going to be a big impact. Our wines are just starting to ferment so we don’t really know yet.”

Once the smoke flavour is in the wine, it’s very difficult to remove. Some wineries have embraced it by marketing smoky wines, but Egerer said this approach works for some and not others.

He said there is hope for successful wines to be produced from this year’s crop.

“It’s wrong to say that every single wine out of the Okanagan Valley in 2021 is going to be tainted. That’s just false. I’ve heard people say that already this year and that’s not true,” he explained. “The weather’s been great during harvest season so far. We haven’t had a lot of rain to deal with. And the grapes are holding up fine quality wise for now.”

Another struggle for many growers in the Okanagan is an ongoing shortage of labour for a second year.

“I know other people, apple growers, cherry growers, just farmers in general are having a really hard time finding labor,” Egerer said, adding it’s not for a lack of trying, with growers exhausting recruiting efforts.

Anybody looking for work is encouraged to reach out to vineyards and other growers either in-person or online.