2004 British Columbia

Cool late-summer weather added to its complexity, says a senior winemaker Bruce Nicholson at Jackson Triggs in Oliver.

"I'm expecting the quality to be excellent. The summer was above average in terms of heat units, but the cool, wet month from mid-August to mid-September brought the grapes into line. We had a warm October and I was able to leave my grapes out as long as I wanted. We picked our Cabernets and Shiraz quite late, in the last part of October. That's especially good for Cabernets, which need that hang time. The result is the reds have the maturity and very good flavours," says Nicholson. "The whites were also good. There's a little more flexibility in the Chardonnay and Savingnon Blanc, and we were able to pick them exactly when we wanted."

Nicholson's skill as a winemaker is recognized internationally. He was named Winemaker of the Year at the recent San Francisco International Wine Competition, an award that he hopes will benefit all BC and Canadian winemakers. "People who don't know the Canadian wine industry will take notice. Our friends in the US will begin to understand that BC makes world-class wines," he says. 

A Penticton-area grape-grower agrees that the 2004 vintage is something to look forward to.

"It will probably be one of the best vintages that we've had," says Rod King of King Family Farms near Penticton. "We started with an early bud break, we had a long growing season and it was very warm up until mid-August. Then the weather cooled down for a month; people didn't like it, but the plants kept maturing and found it to be almost ideal. The extra hang time in October, when the warm weather returned, has produced some nice flavours in the whites, and especially the reds."

Pinot Gris and Merlot grapes were particularly good in 2004, says King. "The Pinot Gris is very rich, with ripe apple and pear flavours, and also tropical flavours of mango and melon. The complexity at this stage is very good," he says. "In our Merlot, we're seeing a beautiful dark colour, with rich plum and dark cherry flavours. You could see the fruit's intensity in the colour of the skins during the harvest."

On Vancouver Island, cool late-summer weather didn't dampen results for Pinot Noir and Ortega grapes at Victoria Estate Winery in Brentwood. Winemaker Ken Winchester says the 2004 growing season confirms an old cliché. "It ain't over until it's over," he says. "The late-season rain meant we had to struggle with our Pinot Noir, which is a temperamental grape, but I was delighted with the sugar levels and quality in the end. The whites came in very nice, especially the Ortega, a Reisling cross which is suitable to our cooler climate and produces a crisp French-style white. It came nice and clean, with the sugars up where we wanted them. Pinot Gris came in well for us too," says Winchester, who also owns Winchester Cellars in Saanich.

British Columbians are drinking more of the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) wines produced in their own backyards, according to Peggy Athans of the BC Wine Institute. "VQA sales for the past year have just broken the $100 million mark for the first time," Athans notes. "Province-wide, VQA wines are now the second-largest sales category, representing 18 per cent of total dollars spent on wine, and 14 per cent of the total volume of wine sold."

Athans says the wine tourism sector also performed very well in 2004, thanks to various tasting events that drew thousands of visitors to the wine regions of British Columbia. "Many people had the chance to take winery tours and taste BC wines in 2004. Wine-related tourism continues to be an important draw for the province's wineries," she says.

The British Columbia Wine Institute was created in 1990 to foster the growth of an internationally competitive wine industry. Based in Kelowna, it delivers market, industry and export development programs to BC's wineries and grape growers. It also carries the views of the industry to government and represents the province's wine industry at the national and international level.