This is the second article on sourcing grapes for the 2024 BC harvest. For the winemaker’s comments in our first article see – Washington Grapes for the 2024 BC Vintage?
Buy local and support BC Wine as the BC wineries need your support more than ever!
Here are the harvest notes for six more BC wineries.
Kelowna
SpearHead Winery
A cold snap in the Okanagan in January 2024 damaged the SpearHead Winery vineyards, which have been pulled out and will be replanted in the spring of 2025.
Like many other Okanagan wineries, SpearHead Winery’s Winemaker and General Manager Grant Stanley and his team have sourced grapes from vineyards in Washington State and Oregon to compensate for the lost 2024 harvest.
Washington State
The winery is partnering with several vineyards near Prosser to acquire a variety of grapes, including Syrah, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling, and Pinot Noir for Rosé and white Pinot Noir. The Syrah will arrive as whole grapes, while the other varietals will be pressed in Washington and transported as juice in refrigerated trucks. Harvest is anticipated to begin in late September to early October, with some varietals expected to be ready sooner. Grant has been visiting the vineyards before harvest to ensure quality.
Oregon
In Oregon, SpearHead Winery will source Pinot Noir from Cherry Hills Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, enough to produce approximately 1,000 cases. The grapes, which include select Dijon clones, may allow for the bottling of multiple expressions of Oregon Pinot Noir. Harvest is expected in early October, and Grant has already visited the vineyard, with plans for a second trip. The grapes will be transported in refrigerated trucks, using 40 half-ton bins purchased in Oregon to maintain optimal quality. SpearHead Winery looks forward to crafting this vintage, committed to sourcing the finest grapes to continue producing outstanding wines.
The calm before the storm. Below, the winery is ready to receive Harvest 2024.
Naramata
Tightrope Winery
“The Harvest has started at Tightrope. This is our entire Riesling harvest, enough for about 60 cases. We hope to harvest some Pinot Gris as well. That’s about it. We are hopeful for a better 2025!” Lindsey and Graham O’Rourke
Four Shadows Vineyard & Winery
“We have been fortunate to experience minimal vine loss in 2024. The vines have been carefully tended this year to retrain suckers where the canopy/cordon was lost, and we have hope of a return to relatively normal crop levels within a year or two.
In the meantime, our Riesling vines reminded us again of their tenacity and produced a small amount of fruit. While we usually harvest about 3-5 tonnes per acre, our 5 acres had about 3 tonnes total. After a hungry bear made its way under our fence, we were left with about 1.5 tonnes, which we harvested on September 23 & 24th. While we will produce less than 100 cases of wine from our own fruit, the resilience of our vineyard and existing inventory mean we are able to forego bringing in fruit for a 2024 production. Provided this coming winter and subsequent season are devoid of catastrophic circumstances, we will be able to continue producing wines exclusively from grapes grown on our home estate.” Joka & Wilbert Borren
JoieFarm Winery
“2024 Harvest at JoieFarm is underway! – we are excited for the wines to come out of this small but mighty year of Okanagan grown grapes. Mother nature has thrown many curve balls this year, but the grapes coming in are stunning and we look forward to releasing what promises to be an extraordinary vintage.
The pinot auxerrois grapes are from Pipars Vineyard on the Naramata Bench. Bob and Patty Pipars have been growing Pinot Auxerrois and Pinot Meunier for us for years. We appreciate their partnership particularly through such a challenging season. We use their Pinot Auxerrois for our Noble Blend and their Pinot Meunier for our our En Famille Pinot Meunier.
The Pinot Noir is from the Sleeping Dog Vineyard in Naramata. Owned by Janice and Norm, they are not only long-time growing partners of ours, they’re also our neighbours! Located across the road, this vineyard is not only close to our heart, it’s close to our winery!”
Lake Country
Intrigue Wines
“By now, most of you have heard about the farming challenges we’ve faced this vintage. A deep freeze in mid-January caused significant damage across many vineyards in the Okanagan, with some suffering vine losses. Fortunately, most of our properties were spared severe harm, and both the Davis and Wong family vineyards have survived and are producing fruit this year. These properties are primarily planted with Riesling, which has proven to be one of the hardiest Vinifera grapes—and as you know, Riesling is the foundation of many of our wines.
We are excited to share that we’ve also contracted additional fruit from Vancouver Island for this vintage. Our 2023 red wines are already in barrel and will be ready for bottling next spring. While we anticipate a shortage in supply for the 2025 season, we have made adjustments to ensure we can keep our doors open and our staff employed. It’s all about supporting local.” Winemaker, Roger Wong
Summerland
Lightning Rock Winery
“We just brought in some perfect Pinot Noir clusters from a beautiful 13 acres of grapes in Lake Chelan, Washington. These clusters are vibrant, clean, and ready to showcase magic in this year‘s vintage. It’s going to be an exceptional year for our Pinot lovers!” Ron Kubek, Owner
Lightning Rock sourced Cabernet Franc from the Dovex Fruit Company.
