#fine-wine-potential

Okanagan Valley Wines: Resilience in the Face of Adversity

It’s been a rough few years for British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley wine producers. A region once defined by boundless promise is now navigating a new normal marked by climate volatility, crop loss, and uncertainty. And yet, in the glass, hope still speaks and often very eloquently. I recently sat down to taste a handful of wines from two premiere Okanagan wineries. They reinforced an already firmly held conviction of just how important this region is to Canada’s fine wine landscape. But first, let’s talk about the storm the industry is weathering. Fire, Deep Freezes, and the Fight to Survive The Okanagan has endured a brutal string of vintages. It started with the catastrophic 2021 wildfires. That summer, blazes tore through the South Okanagan, shutting down tasting rooms and threatening livelihoods. The aftermath was equally devastating. Many 2021 wines showed clear signs of smoke taint, forcing wineries to declassify or discard entire cuvées. Some producers skipped bottling altogethe