nature, Photography

Grape Vines

32 Comments

The British Columbia wine industry took a major hit when a very unusual four-day January cold snap with temperatures as low as -25C did terrible damage to tree fruits and grape vines. Both these agricultural segments suffered huge losses. All of the peaches, apricots and plums and most of the cherries were lost, and many vine fields have been decimated.

There have been signs of hope, however.

Many older, well-established vines did survive, and even though they won’t produce this year, they are showing good signs of recovery.

And if the weather maintains its usual pattern this winter, the recovery for both agricultural segments will continue.

Fingers crossed for all those farmers and vintners that we have a more stable winter and a better season for them next year.

32 thoughts on “Grape Vines”

  1. What a tragic loss for farmers, and others who depend on the industry for their livelihood. I’m relieved to hear there are signs of regrowth. Everyone needs to be taking climate change seriously. Thanks for sharing Lynette.

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    1. I agree about climate change. Unfortunately there are still so many deniers (and those who are just plain greedy) for us as a whole to make the headway that’s now required. We’re stopped or delayed at every turn. There has been a lot of government help for agriculture and the temporary relaxing of certain rules and then other measures are being required such as mandatory underground sprinklers (for warm water in a cold snap). But still, about 30% of farms, including wineries, have gone under this year.

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    1. Thank you very much. Geographically, Finland is on the same set of latitudes as our north. (Finland’s southern border is 61.9°N latitude and Yellowknife, Northwest Territories is at 62.4°N latitude.) I just retired from six years of working in NWT and saw it get warmer and warmer, especially with the midnight sun. The permafrost is starting to melt in places and animals are being very affected. And then there have been terrible forest fires. So I’m not surprised that grapes are being tested in Finland. We could start testing them in NWT as well. What interests me is how people just do things like that instead of realising that our climate is in serious trouble.

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      1. Finland is anyway quite concerned with the climate crisis and they are actively thinking and planning measures to contrast it. Much more than Italy, I have to admit. I will publish little by little posts about the subject.

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        1. I wish we were doing more, too, but we’re in some places handicapped by politicians who are climate change deniers. Right now we have a terrible fire in one of our iconic national parks, Jasper. The leader of the province in which the fire is occurring cried over the damage to it but is herself a climate change denier who is part of the problem. So frustrating. Looking forward to your further posts about this subject.

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  3. Farming is always “hope for next year”. I watched my Dad do this for 20 years. Sometimes it works out and fingers crossed it does this time. Nice to see all the green vines Lynette. Happy Sunday. Allan

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    1. Thank you. Agreed, Allan. There’s always next year, although the number of orchards and wineries that went under this spring is heartbreaking. It was fantastic to see that so many came through, though. The real concern is next January. If it happens again, we might have the beginning of a trend, but then again, there’s not much that’s predictable about the weather at this stage.

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    1. I don’t know how they do it Maggie, and the truth is that many who try don’t succeed. Lots of orchards and wineries went under this spring, unfortunately. Agreed, fingers crossed for a stable winter.

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    1. Me, too, Belinda. The ones who survived through till now are getting a lot of government help but still, we need a stable winter. The economy here is very, very tied to a combination of agriculture and tourism linked to wineries, so some reliable weather is badly needed.

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  9. I was reading about BC Tree Fruits Cooperative closing its doors. It’s likely a huge nail in the coffin of fruit growers. The weather certainly plays a huge factor, and as farmers try to pivot, the costs for this are huge. It’s a tough business – any kind of farming.

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    1. Yes, and it seems they were completely blindsided, too. I’m also not clear on how a cooperative can act unilaterally and secretly in deciding to close like that, either. It seems the government is now scrambling to help the farmers and are looking at an investigation, as well. Agreed – farming is not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure.

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  10. Fabulous pictures! The wine business sounds like tough work, especially these days because of the extreme weather and wild variation in temperatures. It’s not good. Glad to hear there’s signs of recovery though.

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    1. Thank you very much, Linda. It’s definitely very difficult and so much can be lost to the weather even when you’ve done everything else right. The orchards and wineries need a stable winter so that the recovery can continue, but given the extremes we’re experiencing, we might get another January surprise. It used to be that these were weather anomalies, but not anymore, it seems.

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  11. It must be heartbreaking for all the farmers and cultivators when so much is destroyed. While humans seem intent on doing its worst the resilience of nature shines forth as shown by the vines and the older ones surviving and offering hope for the future.

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    1. It has definitely been heartbreaking to see so many so badly affected; I can’t imagine having to experience that. Agreed, we certainly are damaging the climate but nature is much stronger and will survive us. What I wonder is if we will survive us.

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