BC’s ice wine industry hit hard this year
Posted January 19, 2013 7:09 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It was a so-so year for BC’s ice wine industry.
The reason behind the mediocre season is mainly because many vineyards in the Interior are running into what they call “animal pressure,” which means an influx of birds and deer looking for food.
Eric von Krosigk with Summerhill Pyramid Winery has been in the business for 30 years and says when they leave grapes on the vine for too long — they’ll lose about 25 per cent of whatever’s there.
“This year, especially with the snow starting to pile up, the animal pressure up and down the valley, our vineyards, our neighbours vineyards, was really intense, we lost about an acre and a bit of chardonnay that just walked away in deer tummies,” he says.
Krosigk says they lost about 70 per cent of grapes that were on the vine, which is worth about $700,000.
“We take our losses. That’s all you can do. We have deer fences, but the deer seem to get around those. We have netting for the birds, and the birds figure out how to use that,” he explains.
