‘High expectations’ for 2016 BC vintage

British Columbia wine expert Rhys Pender MW has said that hopes are high for the 2016 vintage which has resulted in an “ideal harvest”.

Commenting on the weather conditions earlier this year, Pender described one of the earliest bud breaks on record as 2016 looked like it was going to be one of the hottest vintages ever seen.

“Then July hit and was one of the coolest Julys in the last 20 years which slowed things down considerably,” he said.

“Things then went back to normal after that – if there is such a thing anymore in this changing climate – and warm and dry months through August and September resulted in an ideal harvest.”

Harvest started in mid-August with the cool July pushing later ripening grapes back to late September and into October.

“There are high expectations from the 2016 vintage. It wasn’t as hot as 2015 or 2014, the long growing season should make wines with excellent balance of moderate alcohol, good natural acidity and ripe tannins combined with lots of flavour,” said Pender.

“These are some of the hallmarks of BC wine – bright natural acidity, ripe fruit, pure and intense flavours with plenty of tannin that make wines that are intense when young and with great ageability. The 2016 vintage has all the elements to showcase these key attributes of BC wine.”

The Okanagan Valley and Similkameen Valley regions which together make up nearly 90% of the British Columbia vineyard area, experienced similar ideal conditions with growers reporting quite high yields. With the early start to the season and the hot weather from April to June, many growers left a larger numbers of clusters on the vine to help slow the plants down.

Reports from Vancouver Island and the Fraser Valley saw more challenging conditions which resulted in a good quality but reduced crop as some unsettled weather resulted in disease pressure. Lillooet had similar quality weather conditions as the Okanagan and Similkameen.

Frost hit some vineyards on 12 October, killing the leaves so some very late ripening grape varieties that weren’t fully ripe might suffer. However, those with moderate yields had already harvested later varieties like Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon at optimum quality levels.

“It should be a good vintage for both reds and whites,” said Pender.

“It was looking like it would be a little too hot and too early for some of the earlier white grapes but the cool July extended the season and allowed for acidity and sugar levels to achieve optimum balance. The reds should naturally have more moderate alcohol levels than in recent years and the long growing season without any heat spikes to shut the vines down has provided ripe tannins making for very balanced wines.”

The drinks business Hong Kong and The British Columbia Wine Institute are hosting a Discover British Columbia masterclass for the Hong Kong wine trade on Wednesday, 9 November from 3.30pm-5pm at the China Club.

The masterclass will include a comparative tasting featuring a selection of British Columbia’s finest red and white wine from Okanagan Valley and Similkameen Valley and a discussion will follow on the future prospects for British Columbia as a globally recognized premium wine region and how its diverse regions and unique short, hot growing season can make a wide range of wines that go beyond cool climate.

Please click here to register your attendance.