Grape tonnage rises despite 2011’s cool conditions: BCWI

2011's cool weather still produces good grape yields in BC

After our relaunch of BC Wine Lover just under two weeks ago we still have a few bulletins we want to share from the BC wine industry, including this good news from the BC Wine Institute.

Despite 2011 being one of the coolest vintages on record, the 2011 BDO BC Wine Grape Crop Report shows that the total tonnage* has increased by a whopping 28% over last year, from 17,732 tons in 2010, to 22,722 tons in 2011.

According to BCWI Director and BC Grapegrowers’ Association Past-President Manfred Freese of Sun Ridge Vineyard in Osoyoos, “In spite of the large tonnage increase over last year, the crop levels are actually simply returning to normal industry levels, yielding approximately 80% of the potential crop.”

The increase in tonnage over 2010 is certainly good news for consumers who want to get their hands on more BC wines, but it did come as a bit of a surprise because of the challenging growing conditions. Valeria Tait, viticulturalist for Poplar Grove Winery in Naramata noted “I wasn’t confident we would fully ripen all blocks until [October].” Even with the tumultuous start to the vintage, the hot, dry weather at the end of August through September accelerated growth and vintners were very happy with the overall grape quality. “Flavour development [was] late to start, but the change in the fruit [was] remarkably fast and we are happy with the flavours,” said Tait.

Many 2011 BC VQA white wines have already hit store shelves to high praise, and, although winemakers agree that vintage 2011 was particularly exceptional for the whites, the 2011 reds (most of which won’t be released until 2013) are also showing great promise. Sandra Oldfield, Winemaker and CEO of Tinhorn Creek Vineyards in Oliver, noted that the quality of the red wines stems from phenolic ripeness occurring before the grapes reached optimal sugar levels, which allowed for winemakers to pick earlier and at lower sugar levels, which resulted in lower alcohol wines with no loss of flavour development.

BCWI Executive Director Miles Prodan notes that local consumers continue to show their support for BC VQA wines with their wallets. “Despite the fact that BC VQA wine sales are slightly down in terms of volume, dollar sales and average purchase prices continue to increase, demonstrating that consumers continue to see the exceptional quality and value of our 100% BC VQA wines.”

2011 BC Wine Grape Tonnage* by Variety – Top 10

Variety	2011 Rank	2011 Total Tons*	2010 Rank	2010 Total Tons*
Merlot	1	4,829.7	1	3,030.7
Chardonnay	2	2,480.9	2	1,891.0
Pinot Gris	3	2,331.0	3	1,622.3
Cabernet Sauvignon	4	1,693.5	4	1,602.5
Sauvignon Blanc	5	1,425.8	6	1,064.6
Pinot Noir	6	1,416.9	5	1,345.0
Gewürztraminer	7	1,261.8	8	845.5
Pinot Blanc	8	1,173.1	9	808.7
Cabernet Franc	9	1,060.9	11	756.7
Riesling	10	1,010.9	10	786.2

 

The 2011 BDO BC Wine Grape Crop Report was compiled confidentially by BDO Canada LLP from volunteered information collected from 119 wineries across the province. “Through compiling the Wine Grape Crop Report since 2008, we have been fortunate to be able to expand our knowledge of industry issues and increase our appreciation of the determination and efforts of BC’s grapegrowers, winemakers and proprietors,” states Ken Davidson, Partner with BDO. “BDO is proud to support the BC Wine Industry.”

To view the complete report, visit http://www.winebc.org/press_room/publications/.  

*Tonnage reported in short tons. Participation in this survey is voluntary and unaudited, therefore the tonnages and prices reported may differ from actual industry results and are meant as a guide only.