How was 2007’s grape yield?

Riesling GrapesA story today in the paper described the illegal practice in France of adding extra sugar to compensate for lack of grapes got us asking how 2007's weather will affect BC wine.

Chaptalization, as it is known is a common, and legal, practice particularly in cooler climates like New York state and the Champagne region. But when sugar is being used to compensate for lack of fruit in Californian or Bordeaux wines, this is known as falsification.

Falsify, and expect the flatfoots to arrive in these places.

2007 was a tough year weather-wise in BC by any measure. Few long periods of heat, lots of cool patches all summer long, and virtually no Indian Summer to extend the harvest. Poor growing conditions results in low sugar in the grapes.

We'll be asking around what the grape yields of 2007 were like, what we can expect in terms of the 2007 vintages, and of course, sharing it with you on BC Wine Lover.

Author

  • Mike Klassen

    Mike is a communications and public affairs professional in addition to being a BC wine industry booster. He and his wife Stacey launched the BC Wine Lover brand in 2007 to share stories about their experiences with people, places and wines on their BC wine country travels. In 2015, Mike was hired as Executive Director of the BC Wine Appellation Task Group, and undertook a comprehensive industry-wide consultation involving hundreds of stakeholders to reform regulations governing wine-making in B.C. The resulting recommendations were overwhelmingly endorsed through a plebiscite, and are leading to the creation of new sub-appellations in the province. In addition to his blog, Mike’s articles on BC wine have been featured in Huffington Post, Vancity Buzz (now Daily Hive), and Vancouver Sun. Mike now works for BC Care Providers Association as Vice President, Communications and Stakeholder Relations, and continues to be engaged on the future of Canada’s wine industry.