The Okanagan wine sector is undergoing a transition, with many winemakers planting or considering planting what they consider to be hardier grape varieties.
The region's most grown grapes by tonnage are Merlot, Cabarnet Franc and Pinot Gris, according to a recent report by the BC Wine Grape Council. That is unlikely to change soon, but shifts in the varieties of grapes winery owners are choosing to grow are taking place.
Some are tearing out Cabarnet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes and planting Chardonnay and Pinot Noir instead because they believe those varieties can better withstand cold.
A severe cold snap in mid-January 2024 saw temperatures plunge below -20 C after weeks of what had been mild weather, shocking grape vines to the point that many winemakers said they believed their vines would die.
Winemakers, such as Poplar Grove’s Stefan Arnason, have told BIV that they are pulling out Cabernet Franc vines and replacing them with hardier Pinot Gris vines.
Others are either grateful that they have some Maréchal Foch, or they are considering planting that hardy variety.
Albariño is another grape variety that so far comprises a tiny slice of overall Okanagan grape production but which may become more common because of its resilience to cold temperatures, wine author and blogger John Schreiner told BIV.
He added that some other grapes that may become more common include Vidal and Marquette, because they are also resilient grape varieties.
“We lost a lot to the 2023 cold snap,” Country Vines Winery winemaker and founder Lucas Hogler told BIV.
His winery has 15 acres of land in Richmond as well as about 30 acres in the south Okanagan.
“We lost basically 80 per cent of every single varietal we planted [in the Okanagan,]” he said.
He is now trying to get a provincial government grant to help him finance replanting costs, and he is hoping that he can overcome any hurdles in order to get that financial help, he said.
“I planted all the things I probably shouldn't have, like the big reds: Merlot, Cabarnet Franc, Cabarnet Sauvignon, Malbac and Syrah,” said Hogler.
Maréchal Foch could be an up-and-coming Okanagan grape varietal
When Hogler purchased his company’s Oliver vineyard more than 10 years ago, it had hardier Maréchal Foch vines. He pulled out those vines because, he said, he did not believe that there was a market for Maréchal Foch.
“Now I believe there are a lot more growers putting Maréchal Foch into their SKUs (stock keeping units) or blending it in wines,” he said.
Indeed, Frind Estate Winery winemaker Corrie Krehbiel, told BIV that she is thankful that her winery has some Maréchal Foch vines as well as some vines that grow the hardier Regent varietal. None of her winery’s vines died so she does not need to tear any out, she said.
Frind grows a wide range of grape varietals, including a lot of Pinot Noir, which Krehbiel said does OK in cold.
Schreiner agreed, saying “Pinot Noir is a relatively sturdy variety.”
Krehbiel added that no grape variety accounts for more than 50 per cent of her winery’s overall production. That gives the winery some protection through its diverse grape production.
Quail’s Gate Estate Winery makes what is perhaps the best known Maréchal Foch wine in B.C. because it has been making that single-varietal wine for decades and the vines date back to at least the 1980s.
Schreiner called it a “cult wine” because it is well crafted and distinctive for its old vines.
Quail’s Gate’s Maréchal Foch crop survived the 2024 cold snap and winemaker Kailee Frasch told BIV she believes that the varietal can withstand temperatures down to -32 C.
“It was the star of our 2024, vintage,” she said. “It was the only thing that was fully alive. We got a full crop off of it, which is amazing. Everything else was like 98 per cent lost.”
Much of Quail Gate’s acreage was planted with traditional big-red varieties.
“We had some varietals that aren't conducive to West Kelowna, like Cabarnet Sauvignon and Merlot,” Frasch said. “We took out pretty much all the Cabarnet Sauvignon and Merlot, on the estate. We're replacing that with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are hardier than Merlot, Cabarnet Sauvignon and Syrah.”
Frasch said that her winery has acquired a lease on a vineyard in Oliver, where it plans to grow those less hardy but popular big-red varietals. As a result, its production of those wines should stay flat, she said.
Some winemakers replant vines of the same grape varieties that saw vine death
Given climate change, it is not just severe cold that worries winemakers.
Osoyoos Larose COO and winemaker Michael Kuhlmann told BIV that he is more concerned about heat than he is cold.
His winery has about 78 acres of red grapes and 10 acres of white grapes.
He said in February that he had so far ripped out about 35 acres, and that he planned to replace another 10 acres worth of vines.
He is largely confident in big-red grape varieties’ abilities to survive, however, so he is replanting the same varieties but with different rootstock, he said.
He fully ripped out his winery’s Malbec vines, and is replanting Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc vines, he said.
Moraine Winery winemaker Amber Pratt is similarly replanting vines of some of the same varietals that she saw die last year.
“For the most part, our vines did OK,” she said. “We are on the Naramata bench, which is a little bit blessed with good air drainage and the lake’s effect.”
Merlot, she said, is more sensitive to cold so she ripped out a lot of old Merlot vines, which fared badly in the cold.
“What did survive wasn't enough to be worth saving,” she said.
“We'll plant some more Merlot, but we're also going to plant more Gamay, which does well in the winter, and we’ve wanted more of it anyway.”
