This article is written entirely by a UBCO student as part of the school's Economics and the Media course. It has not been fact-checked by KelownaNow.
Given the record breaking number of Wildfires in British Columbia last year, the wine sector seemed likely to take a financial hit. Thick smoke blocked out the gorgeous views of the lake and mountains. Kelowna having worse air quality than Hong Kong1, and striking images of the floods didn’t serve as Kelowna’s best advertisements.
It is quite surprising to note that the wine sector in Kelowna reported a year similar to average in terms of revenue and traffic.
“Thanks to the love affair we have with our locals, we did not notice a drop in business in correlation with the smoke,” noted Mikayla Jones, who works in the tasting room at The Hatch winery in West Kelowna.2
The poorer air quality ruled out other potential summer outdoor activities, and as a result, people sought out entertainment inside. Cue the more than 30 wineries came in the Kelowna area. The flooding seen earlier in the season kept people off the water as well. Restrictions on boating meant would be boaters also needed to occupy their time. The answer was wine!
During the height of the wildfire season, there was an initial loss of tourism visitors and revenues compared to other years. St. Hubertus and Oak Bay Estate winery noted “about a ten percent decline in visitors,” reported Leo Gebert, head winemaker.
The tourists did not stay away for long “Business volumes rebounded as the summer continued and the fall season was particularly strong,” noted Ellen Walker-Matthews, Vice-President of Destination and Industry Development for the Thompson Okanagan Tourism association3. This assertion is based on preliminary numbers for the 2017 Economic Impact Report of Tourism in Kelowna that will be completed by mid-April.
What about the wine?
Concerns about a smoky taste in the wine last summer were so great that PhD candidate Matt Noestheden conducted experiments on early detection of smoky compounds in grapes4. This research was intended to save winemakers the hassle of producing wine from tainted grapes. The puzzling result of the study was that despite the smoky conditions, no traces of smoke could be detected.
The study’s findings were consistent with St. Hubertus, where Mr. Gebert observed that they have “not noticed any changes in taste or other impact during growing season.”
Likewise, at the hatch, according to Ms. Jones. “The smoke was unable to permeate the grapes… we have been able to mitigate any issues the smoke may have caused.
The resilience of the wine industry last summer is something worthy of raising a glass.
Sources
3. https://totabc.org/about-us/who-we-are/staff/
5.https://thehatchwines.com/the-hatch-is-open-a-new-wine-tasting-room-in-west-kelowna/
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