British Columbia’s wine industry employs more than 14,000 workers in the province, contributing nearly $4 billion to the economy per annum.
However, shifts in climate typicalities are challenging wine producers in the region.
Genome British Columbia points to “rising temperatures, changing rainfall and frost patterns, and smoke from wildfires” among potential factors causing “catastrophic crop losses” in BC.
A new collaboration between Genome BC and regional wine industry organizations aims to explore the impacts of weather effects such as heat stress—with a goal to find solutions.
The partnership includes participation from the Canadian Grapevine Certification Network, the BC Wine Grape Council, the University of British Columbia’s Wine Research Centre, and Andrew Peller Limited, a longstanding Canadian producer with 700 productive acres in BC.
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Ben Bryant, who serves Andrew Peller as vice president of operations for Western Canada, states that “peaks in seasonal temperatures are occurring more often.”
“Heatwaves are stressing grapevines and impacting both production volumes and quality,” he laments. “Extreme heat can cause crop losses and affect the taste profile of the grapes.”
To counter crop loss and preserve plants in the face of different weather patterns, Bryant believes that equipping grape growers and winemakers “with better decision-making tools” is one potential solution.
In addition to studying the effects of heat, the project’s research team will also be studying how bio-stimulants can affect plant defences. These substances—including certain types of acids, seaweed extracts, bacteria, fungi, and microbes—that are applied to plants or soil to stimulate growth, nutrient uptake, and stress tolerance.
Genome BC is funding research across two consecutive growing seasons. For the project, purpose-built greenhouses will allow researchers to isolate the effects of factors such as heat stress, which they can then compare against the effects of multiple stressors.
Measurements will be taken of plant leaves and berries at various points to understand physiological and metabolic responses. Tracking small changes within the chemical compositions may lead to clues about how to innovate, Bryant noted.
“When we move on to the winemaking process, we want to know the different qualities and flavours that change because of heat exposure,” he said.
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