This is the second instalment in our BC Harvest 2025 series — a continuation of the optimism, resilience, and renewal we first captured in BC Harvest 2025: A Vintage of Renewal and Quality. In this follow-up, we check in with winemakers from across the province — from the Cowichan Valley to the Fraser Valley and throughout the Okanagan — to hear how this extraordinary vintage is progressing. Their insights paint a vivid picture of a season defined by balanced ripeness, generous yields, and a renewed sense of confidence returning to BC’s vineyards.
From Blue Grouse Estate Winery on Vancouver Island to Ciao Bella, Noble Ridge, Winemaker’s CUT, Meyer Family Vineyards and Mayhem Wines, Stag’s Hollow, TIME Family of Wines, Haywire, Stag’s Hollow and Singletree in the Fraser Valley, each voice offers a unique perspective on how the 2025 vintage is shaping up — and why many are calling it one of the most promising in recent memory.
Vancouver Island / Cowichan Valley
Blue Grouse Estate Winery / Stacy Hornemann
We are really excited about the 2025 growing season and harvest season. After a wet spring, warm weather had vineyards exploding with growth. Late spring and through the summer were sunny and dry, dare I even say too dry. We started harvesting 10 days earlier than in 2024 with our Estate Siegerrebe on September 8th. From there, the weather made harvesting decisions pretty straightforward. Stylistically, we can expect lovely flavours and aromas from a warmer and sunnier growing season while still having that acid backbone that makes the wines from our cooler region so enjoyable. Sugar accumulation trailed behind flavours, a “decoupling” of sugar and phenology that I have seen in other regions; this makes for lower alcohol wines but without underripe characters.
The Pinot Noirs have a lovely density and a structure that is just now finding its feet after being drained and pressed. To put it simply, 2025 has been a banner year for both quality and quantity for Blue Grouse across all varieties. Folks are describing it as similar to 2023— an exciting comparison to make.
We are so looking forward to seeing these wines through aging and are targeting May 2026 for the first releases of aromatic white wines and rosé. Stay tuned!
Here is where to buy Blue Grouse Wines.
Okanagan Valley
Ciao Bella Winery / Roberto Fiume
Over the past couple of years, particularly during the last growing season and fall, we took several steps to ensure our vines had the best chance at survival. We used old techniques passed down from our Italian viticultural roots, along with any new techniques and data we could find, incorporating as much as possible. The growing (pruning in mid-February) season started with caution about how the vines had made it through the winter, and as the spring progressed, we were very pleased to see our vines were very healthy, and while pruning took longer, we were very happy to see healthy living vines!
As the spring and then summer progressed, we could see the vines were growing and also could see that we would have a much larger crop than we had experienced over the past few years. By August, we had an early version and not only did we see a bumper crop, but the quality of the fruit was as good as any I have seen over the past 25 years of growing on this site.
Harvest came early, September for our whites and early October for our reds. The flavours and colours of the fruit was exceptional! The vineyard Roberto planted 25 years ago produced a healthy crop with amazing colours and aromas, and we think it will live up to the history of our Pinot Neros. The vineyards that have been planted over the past 5 years produced beautiful fruit that will go into our Rosato and Grigio’s and we can’t tell you how excited we were to produce wine from these vineyards.
We marked a significant milestone this past summer, Ciao Bella’s wine shop opened 10 years ago.
Noble Ridge Winery/ Benoit Gauthier
I’m delighted to share that our efforts to retrain the vines after the devastating cold snap of 2024 are truly paying off. This year, the vineyard is producing an abundant and exceptional crop. We’re now approaching our 10-year average yield across all blocks — a wonderful surprise compared to my initial forecast.
Most exciting of all, the quality of the grapes is remarkable. Chardonnay is already standing out with its intense flavours and perfect balance. With about two weeks left in harvest, the team is working tirelessly to craft the level of quality you’ve come to expect from us.
The link to purchase Noble Ridge wines.
Winemaker’s CUT Winery / Michal Mosny
The 2025 harvest was truly magnificent. Our primary grape varieties, including Sauvignon Blanc, Grüner Veltliner, and Cabernet Franc, ripened beautifully. Initially, we anticipated an early and swift harvest, but each varietal maintained its sugars and matured into complex flavours in the vineyards. This year, it was crucial to monitor acidity closely. By opting for minimal leaf removal during late summer, we made the correct choice. Our tanks and barrels are now full, and we eagerly await the bottled wines!
Check out Winemakers CUT wines here.
Mayer Family Vineyards & Mayhem Wines / JAK Meyer
Fruit this year has been exceptional. 85% of the vines that survived 2024 have bounced back with excellent fruit quality and ripeness. We have finished picking as of this week, October 20th, starting in early September. We have been able to pick early due to the ripeness, allowing other fruit to hang and develop even further. An abundant crop, and we look forward to bottling what we think will be one of our best vintages.
The link for Meyer Family Vineyard and Mayhem Wines.
TIME Family of Wines / Lynzee Schatz
Our 2025 harvest began on August 31st and wrapped up on October 9th. While not our earliest or fastest vintage, that record remains with 2023; it was nonetheless an exceptionally efficient and rewarding season. Yields were significantly higher than anticipated: what began as a plan for a comfortable 100 tons evolved into a remarkable 140 tons of beautiful BC fruit, with the majority destined for our sparkling wine program.
Favourable conditions set the tone early in the season. A mild winter and a balanced summer without extreme heat events led into a beautifully warm September which delivered ideal harvesting conditions. Thanks to this steady weather pattern, fruit quality was excellent across the board, showcasing purity, freshness, and vibrant acidity.
Aside from a brief scramble for extra bins (a happy challenge, given the abundance of fruit), the entire harvest unfolded smoothly.
Among the highlights this year were the Chardonnay bubble base from Naramata, which shows remarkable elegance and texture, and the Malbec from Osoyoos, which delivered stunning colour and concentration. Another milestone moment was our first harvest from the Evolve Estate Vineyard, marking the beginning of its fruit-bearing chapter. Meanwhile, our newly planted Sparkling Ridge Vineyard in Summerland continues to thrive, showing vigorous growth and great promise for future vintages.
Overall, Harvest 2025 was a celebration of abundance, quality, and teamwork — a true reflection of the resilience and potential of our vineyards across the valley.
Link for TIME Family of Wines.
Haywire Winery / Christine Coletta & Matt Dumayne.
If anyone ever doubted the Okanagan Valley’s potential as a premium winegrowing region, those doubts have been smartly reversed. Over my 15 years of making wine in the valley, we’ve seen some spectacular vintages, 2022 being a recent standout.
That said, I believe the 2025 vintage will be our best yet across all varietals. The wine in our cellar destined for sparkling base is exceptional, as are the white and red table wines. After the dismal 2024 growing season, where many of us chose to skip a vintage, it’s incredibly rewarding to fire up the crush pad again and see bin after bin of textbook grapes coming in from our own Summerland vineyards and from our trusted long-termgrowers, the King family in Naramata.
Here is the link to purchase Haywire Wines.
Blasted Church Vineyards /Evan Saunders
Q: What are the Brix of grapes you’ve harvested so far?
All of the fruit that we have brought in so far has shown beautiful varietal character and great balanced ripeness, though at a slightly lower sugar level. It’s the perfect situation thus far.
Q: Is harvest ahead or behind the usual schedule — or right on time?
We got out of the gate a little earlier than usual, with our sparkling wine picks coming off in the last week of August, and we’re still running a little ahead of normal. It can be difficult to pin down exactly how early things are, as some varieties are progressing rapidly while others are remaining quite true to normal. Overall, it feels like we’re about a week ahead of an average year — though it’s been so long since we’ve had a “normal” one, it’s easy to forget!
As of October 7, the home vineyard has been completed, and we’re now continuing to bring grapes in from our growing partners.
Q: Many media reports are using the term “bumper crop.” Would you consider this a bumper crop?
I’d say it’s a bumper crop compared to what we expected coming into the growing season. We’re seeing higher yields in some places, average yields in others, and low yields in those blocks undergoing trunk replacement. The vineyards are quite varied in their recovery from the cold damage, but relative to what we thought we’d see on the vines earlier this year, it certainly feels like a bumper crop — even if the yields are only average, or even a little below average, in some blocks.
Q: Could you comment on the conditions under which you’re bringing in the harvest? How are these conditions contributing to the quality?
We’ve had picture-perfect conditions to start harvest, and it looks like we’ll have another 7–10 days of that, at least. With the warm weather and sunny days, things are moving quickly — so now it’s all about making the right pick calls and putting together the harvest schedule to keep up with Mother Nature.
Here is the link to the Blasted Church Wine Portfolio.
Stag’s Hollow Winery/ Keira LeFranc
And harvest continues…very excited to say this year is a bit of a bumper crop for most wineries, with our little winery bringing in 110% of our usual yield!
These beautiful clusters of our estate Pinot Noir came in looking vibrant and full of promise. Pinot Noir is always a highlight of harvest here at Stag’s Hollow—delicate, expressive, and a true reflection of our estate vineyard. We can’t wait to see how this vintage unfolds.
The link to purchase Stag’s Hollow wines.
Fraser Valley
Singletree Winery / Debbie Etsell
What a super summer we’ve had for harvest this year! Perfect dry weather with enough heat to finish the season off with clean ripe fruit this year.
The spring was a little cool with some rain, but then June, July and August came with very little rain and plentiful sunshine and heat. September was also milder than past seasons. It was such a fun year to harvest because all the fruit looks so clean and healthy, and the yields are up from the last two years.
We started to harvest the Siegerrebe in the beginning of September along with the Pinot Noir. It’s always exciting to get Pinot Noir off the vine in premium condition and quality. There is a nice balance of vibrant fruit, natural acidity, and solid Brix levels, being a bit higher this year. While we are looking forward to all the new wines and are exceptionally excited about our 2025 Siegerrebe, and a nice surprise is the 2025 Sauvignon Blanc, the best we have ever had.
Here is the link to purchase Singletree wines.
Looking Ahead
Many thanks to the talented winemakers and winery teams who shared their insights for this follow-up feature. As the final grapes come in and the cellars fill with promise, it’s clear that BC Harvest 2025 will be remembered as a year of both recovery and reward. From Vancouver Island’s coastal vineyards to the Fraser Valley and the sun-drenched slopes of the South Okanagan, winemakers are reporting balance, vibrancy, and exceptional flavour development across the board.