Follow Canadian Immigration and Life in Canada: Canada’s British Columbia ice wine producers expect this year’s ice grape harvest to set a record, reaching a production of 1,000 tons.
Recently, British Columbia, Canada has experienced a cold snap, which may be uncomfortable for some, but for the province’s ice wine producers, such cold weather is indeed worth celebrating.
Last Thursday, many pickers braved the cold to begin harvesting ice grapes in the Kelowna area of the Okanagan, including Tantalus Vineyard winemaker David Paterson.
Ice grapes need to be harvested at -8°C or completely frozen. Paterson stated that the weather conditions on Thursday morning were very ideal. “It was just at the edge of minus eight to nine degrees.”
This is the third early harvest year for ice wine in British Columbia. Industry insiders expect this could also be one of the largest years for ice grape production in the province’s history, with an expected grape harvest of 1,000 tons.
