Vineyards delight in heat

Photo: Facebook

Bud break at Summerhill Winery

Viticulturists and wine makers are overjoyed with the current heat and the possibility of a warm summer.

Ezra Cipes, CEO of Summerhill Pyramid Winery, says if the weather warms early, in years past wine makers usually fear frost could still occur — but not this season.

“The rule usually is don’t put your tomatoes out until May long, because you could have an early frost, but I don’t think anyone is seeing that on the horizon. It’s just a plain and simple early season,” says Cipes.

The last few years have had a jump start to the season with warm temperatures, which has Cipes excited about the 2016 vintage.

“This is incredible, to have this heat for the grapes this early,” he explains. “We have a saying every year is the best vintage until proven otherwise.”

He understands that anything could still happen: hail might hit in August, fires could possibly blaze through in July, or a cold September could hit. But this spring is the ideal start to the season.

Vineyards don’t have the same risks as orchards in the Okanagan.

Fred Steel, the president of the BC Fruit Growers Association, is somewhat uneasy with the warm start to spring.

“If the heat continues and there isn’t a lot of rain it will mean more irrigation starting earlier, blossom is much earlier, pollen might dry when the blossoms open which is a problem for bees. This is early July weather. It’s crazy.”

An early season means fruit will be picked ahead of time and Steel fears there might not be enough cool nights at the end of the summer to colour the fruit.

“Cherries will be advancing along and if you maintain this heat we don’t totally know what the repercussions are. We will have to start picking earlier in the day, when normally we don’t pick until 11 a.m. or noon, but now we’ll have to start at two or three in the morning, which will shorten the time and affect when the fruit is ripening.”

Despite these concerns Steel believes orchardists in the Okanagan will be OK overall.

Cipes does share in the worry that the heat could mean a lack of rain, which would be harmful for the entire valley.

“Most vineyards now use drip irrigation and we recognize that we are in a desert, but June is usually the wettest month and we still expect that,” says Cipes.

While Summerhill has bees on site, they do not help to pollinate the vineyard, as grapes rely on wind pollination.

He says if the warm weather continues the grapes will also be picked from the vines early, but that doesn’t cause the same concerns as the fruit growers might have.

“For our aromatic whites, harvesting them earlier gives us that crispness and acidity.”

The vineyard shuts down during the heat of the day, according to Cipes, and the grapes develop in the cooler evenings and mornings.

“In the south of the valley, varieties such as Cab Sav and Merlot will get to hang longer and let flavours develop,” says Cipes. “We won’t harvest the big reds earlier we will just let them hang, because these long hot years give us the most flexibility.”

Last year was a great year for Summerhill, says Cipes adding that while they do grow several varieties it is hard to provide ideal conditions for each one.