The Good the Bad and the Ugly

As Crush 25 concludes, there is at least one positive note in B.C. wine country: we set a record for growing degree days (GDD) with no heat spikes. GDD measures heat accumulation used to predict plant development, calculated by averaging daily high and low temperatures and subtracting a specific "base temperature," below which development does not occur. This has resulted in a generous harvest, larger than expected, filling all the tanks after last year's disastrous 2024 deep freeze. On the other hand, the ongoing strike by government workers is slowly destroying the public infrastructure that sells wine, whether at wholesale, retail stores, or in restaurants. As I write this, many hospitality businesses are on the verge of closing, which will impact everyone—whether you're in the domestic or import wine business or an end consumer. Our October newsletter is out, it is free, and currently has a 72% open rate among our loyal readers, to whom we are grateful. We won't run out of wines to review; we only hope that a solution to the current chaos, which has held us hostage, will be found soon. Meanwhile, we are diligently working on our annual sparkling wine and champagne reports, along with some new top tens for the holidays in November and December.