Wonders of Wine and Food

 Do Not Let The Smoke Get in Your Vines!!

Don’t let the Okanagan smoke get in your vines!
If you do I’m tellin’ you
You’ll wan’t tosss the wine
If Okanagan  smoke gets in your eyes

It has been a difficult few years for many Okanagan wineries.   Since the late 70s, Okanagan wineries have steadily grown in quality. Becoming a leader among the world's best.

In 2003, a Forest fire destroyed the St Hubertus Estate Winery.  It was a major setback for the winery but their neighbouring wineries came to their rescue, and they continued to produce world-quality wine

The 2024 growing season for BC wineries was one of the most difficult in provincial history. Interior regions (Okanagan, Similkameen, Thompson, Shuswap) suffered catastrophic crop losses of 90–99% due to a January deep freeze, while coastal regions (Vancouver Island, Fraser Valley, Gulf Islands) had a cool, wet but mostly normal‑volume season. 

The 2025 growing season in British Columbia was widely described as a remarkable rebound year—one of the strongest, most balanced, and most optimistic vintages BC has seen in years.

Across the province, winemakers expressed a “renewed sense of optimism” and called 2025 a genuine turning point for BC wine.

   

 But for the Summerland region and other  Okanagan regions, 2026 may be a disaster due to a horrid forest fire season. Early season reports from 2026 showed vines ahead of schedule, healthy. growth and a possible great harvest producing quality wines. 

However extremely dry conditions have greatly aided the fires and smoke will be reachingthe vines of far too many wineries. Although not winery building have at this time been damaged , evacuating and crop loss and a lost tourist season will greatly effect the wineries.

 

Forest‑fire smoke can significantly affect grapevines, especially the berries, by introducing volatile phenols that later create smoke taint in wine. The key issue is not vine health but wine quality: smoke compounds absorbed by grapes become bound to sugars, then release harsh smoky, ashy flavours during fermentation.

There is really nothing the winemaker can do. Current science shows that no spray, barrier, or vineyard practice reliably stops volatile phenols from entering grape skins, and even “clean‑looking” grapes can later develop smoky, ashy flavours during fermentation.

Wildfire smoke contains volatile phenols (VPs) such as guaiacol and cresols. Grapes absorb these compounds through their skins, then bind them to sugars as glycosides. These glycosides are odorless at harvest but break apart during fermentation, releasing harsh smoky flavours.

You can not detect the smoke in the vines untill the wine is made!!! 

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