Licensing requirement changes announced to help B.C. wine industry

Changes are being made to help wineries experiencing devastating crop losses.

The Penticton Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to the provincial government back in February, calling for changes to manufacturing and licensing requirements after an extreme cold snap decimated the wine industry.

“[Winery Owners] said that was certainly pressing, and of course as more time went by, the more focus it would need and the more trepidation. And so we wanted to get a start on it early,” said Michael Magnusson, executive director for the Penticton & Wine Country Chamber of Commerce.

“It wasn’t until just a few days ago that we started receiving confirmation and hearing that this would be coming down the pike.”

This year, land-based wineries that experienced crop failure are exempt from producing the minimum 4500 litres of their own wine on site in order to keep their licence.

On top of that, wineries will have the option of applying for a one-year exemption to using 25 per cent of product from one’s own land in B.C., if a land-based winery anticipates difficulty in meeting this requirement.

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“That would be massive. Without the licence they can’t sell. Without being able to sell the product, they have no revenue and without revenue, that’s the worst thing for business habits and that would be insolvency,” said Magnusson.

“To see them maintain the revenue streams to see them maintain employment for the tasting rooms, that’s very, very welcomed news and will hopefully be part of a number of measures that will be needed to get our land-based wineries through this latest challenge for sure.”

Like many wineries most of the vines at Le Vieux Pin Winery in Oliver were damaged by recent extreme weather events.

Severine Pinte, Le Vieux Pin Winery and La Stella Winery winemaker / viticulturist, said Le Vieux Pin will be producing significantly less wine from this year’s crop.

“I think it’s still a tough question because we don’t have the full results. If any vineyards are producing, it’s still hard to see how much of the grapes we’re going to get,” said Pinte.

“I think we are on trend to have about 90 per cent loss overall in British Columbia and I think a lot of wineries will not have been able to meet that requirement. So, it’s very helpful.”

According to industry leaders, the damage will have an impact down the line as it takes a vine around three to five years after planting to produce grapes.

But wineries still have wine, and lots of it, now.

“This would have impacted our operation in very bad way. Because if you don’t have that minimum requirement, you don’t have your license, meaning that you cannot operate, not sell the wine, not make wine at all of anything,” said Pinte.

“That’s a very big relief for us and producer in British Columbia, to have that minimum requirement of 500 cases removed for just this one year.”

Pinte went on to say that although these changes are a good step in the right direction, the industry still needs more help.

“We know that it takes vines three to five years to recover, whether they’re replanted or whether they just take time to heal. So, we have a couple more years left after 2025 that we need to help this industry,” said Pinte.

“And we will certainly continue to be vocal with the government and listen to our stakeholders listen to the winer owners and find out what is the best way to support them.”