Cold snap expected to wield another devastating blow to Okanagan wine industry
With an Arctic front forecast to descend on the Okanagan this week it could do massive damage to already hard-hit grape vines.
Ben-Min Chang, a scientist at the Summerland Research and Development Centre, is carefully monitoring the situation and isn't optimistic about the prospects of grape vines escaping serious damage.
“In 2016, we had a similar study that showed the really cold-hardy ones could probably resist up to six hours,” he told iNFOnews.ca. “That would cause 50% damage at -18 C. Looking at the forecast for Friday, the high is -18 C and the nighttime is -25 C. So that day will be tricky.”
Last winter there were two cold snaps that resulted in 45% of planted acreage in the Okanagan suffering long-term irreparable damage, according to WinesBC.
That came with a cold snap in early November where temperatures dropped from about 10 C to -10 C overnight before the vines had a chance to acclimatize to winter weather. That was followed by temperatures as low as -27 C in late December, which was enough to kill roots.
While the hardier vines – generally those from northern European countries like Germany – can handle -18 C for up to six hours, even a short spell of -25 C is enough to do serious damage.
The warm winter this year has not added to the danger since it has cooled gradually allowing the vines to adjust but there's very little snow on the ground to help insulate the roots which does add to the risk of root damage.
The Environment Canada forecast doesn’t show much differentiation between the North and South Okanagan but it can be warmer in the south, where the bulk of wine grapes are grown.
The forecast calls for a low of -21 C overnight Thursday with daytime highs of -18 C on Friday and -19 C on Saturday. The overnight low Friday is forecast to drop to -25 C.
The forecast is also for clear skies without any cloud cover, which will contribute to lower temperatures.
READ MORE: Okanagan wine industry will take half a decade to fully recover: Wine Growers
There's very little growers can do to protect their plants, Chang said. Those who have wind machines might be able to mitigate the damage a bit by activating them but there are no large-scale options.
“I foresee some challenges (for the industry) in the next couple of years,” he said.
It can take three to four years to start getting commercial yields off new vines and if there is more vine-kill this week the new plants can’t be delivered in time for planting this spring.
Growers will be out evaluating bud damage as early as this weekend but it could take weeks to learn the full impact of the frigid Arctic weather.
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