Tag: Bailey Williamson

For the 2023 harvest, many winegrowers reported their earliest start on record due to a hot, sunny summer. What did Wines of British Columbia have to say? From Wines of British Columbia, “Going into the summer season BC wineries knew they were facing the challenge of a reduced wine grape crop. “A devastating extreme cold event in December 2022 impacted…

In the late Fall, I interviewed a few BC winemakers about their 2022 harvest, but the wines were still fermenting in tanks, barrels or other vessels.  The winemakers sounded optimistic, thanks to the warm Fall weather.  But how would the wines taste?  This we explored with the following winemakers at the BC Vintage 2022 media preview: Laurent Fadanni, Whispering Horse…

The 2022 harvest is the first after COVID restrictions have been lifted.  I am sure that lifting COVID restrictions was appreciated by BC wineries.  We had a cool start to the growing season, followed by mere mm of rain between July and mid-October so I’d guess the weather has had an impact on harvest and fermentation, but we shall see…

The 2021 harvest will surely be marked in our minds as COVID continues.  Plus during the summer there were major fires in BC, and now with the heavy rains and flooding, I’m sure the weather has had an impact on harvest and fermentation.  Socially distanced visitors to BC wineries ensued this year.  Overall, how did the BC grape growing season and…

The 2020 harvest and the days and months leading up to it will surely be marked in our minds. Starting in March we had the shutdown of our economy and quarantining to keep us safe from COVID.  In the summer there were major fires in California and Oregon, with the smoke travelling up to British Columbia.  Then in October the…

In October the Wines of British Columbia sent out a brief media release about the current state of the 2019 Harvest, stating “…Despite a wetter than average September, winemakers are overcoming the challenges they are faced with right now crediting skilled vineyard management and embracing the lower sugars and alcohol levels they are seeing in the wines so far…” It…

As BC is large with a cooler coastal climate and a hotter, drier interior, our yearly vintages can cover a range from marginal to exceptional.  Luckily we have been closer to the exceptional end of the vintage spectrum these last years.  How was the 2018 vintage?  I attended a media preview of the 2018 vintage and had 4 winemakers from…

In early October, the Wines of BC issued a press release and noted “BC’s annual grape harvest has arrived amid cooler temperatures in mid-August and early September. With the long, moderate season, wineries are indicating nice flavour development, beautiful acidity and increased crop levels for an exciting 2018 vintage…Above average Growing Degree Days this spring in BC contributed to an…

BC is a large province, with a varied climate from maritime to alpine.  Our grape growing regions for wine production vary from the coast, to slightly inland (think the Fraser Valley), to our hot interior (the Okanagan or Kamloops for example).  With all this variability in climate, you would think that grape harvests would all vary and the wines that…