Summer 2014 Orchard & Vine Magazine

'Tinery' a New Concept in Wine Sales Shuswap Wineries a Family Affair Agritourism Success Stories Bringing Farmers Together Summer 2014 $6.95

Display Until Aug. 15, 2014 Publication Mail Agreement No. 40838008 www.orchardandvine.net

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Summer 2014

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Photo by Kirstin Wakal

Agritourism at the Sanctuary Gardens in West Kelowna. Page 27

Regulars 6

Publisher's View – Lisa Olson

8

Calendar

9

News & Events

39 MacIntosh on Money – Peter MacIntosh 41 World Wine Web – Mike Cooper 43 Word on Wine – Miles Prodan 45 Legal Libations – Denese Espeut-Post 47 The Wild Things – Margaret Holm 49 Guest Column – Investment Agriculture Foundation 4

Summer 2014

Pig Out serving suggestions - use a chicken foot instread of a tooth pick. Page 11

Features 16 Wines of the North Shuswap Wines Coming On Strong 21 What's a Tinery? Kelowna Winemaker Launches Eight Tiny Wineries 24 Young Agrarians Bring Farmers Together in the Digital Age 27 Agritourism Operators Share the Secrets of Their Success 32 Grow Your Business How to Sell Directly to Distributors 34 2014 Prowein Canadian Wineries Fly the Flag in Germany 37 Mobile Juicing is Helping Create Value Added Products

Photo by Kirstin Wakal

Photo by Gary Symons

50 Worksafe Safety Resources for B.C. Fruit and Grape Growers

Tinhorn Creek celebrates 20 years. Page 11

Summer 2014

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 PUBLISHER’S VIEW | LISA OLSON

The Business of Summer Fun

Vol. 55, No 3 Summer 2014

I

Established in 1959

remember summer being a time when I got a chance to run around barefoot until the streetlights came on and my feet were black, and swimming in my local pool and eating at least one Fudgsicle per day. That was in my younger years but not too much has changed. I still love Fudgsicles and a swim on a hot summer day. Add to that a sunny patio, good food, a glass of wine with friends, and being a tourist.

Publisher Lisa Olson Graphic Design Stephanie Symons Contributors Michael Botner, Mike Cooper, Kim Elsasser, Denese Espeut-Post,

With summer here, growers and businesses are implementing the new ideas and plans they came up with over the winter. The new plan can be as simple as a new greeting or taste sample you offer your customers or adding a whole new venture into your existing business model.

As people become more interested in how their food is grown, agritourism is hot! Its magnitude on some farms and wineries is so huge with regard to worldclass restaurants and rockin’ concerts to hay rides and corn mazes that have become popular destinations for visitors and locals. Also in this issue, we feature a few businesses that have either just embarked on the agritourism side and others who have been at it for a while.

Foundation, Peter MacIntosh, Darcy Nybo, Ronda Payne, Miles Prodan, Dona Sturmanis, Gary Symons Sales & Marketing Holly Thompson

Photo by Kim Elsasser

In this issue, we are featuring some great ideas on agribusiness to inspire you; from the unique creation of ‘tiny wineries’, to how the Young Agrarians are building a community of new entrants into agriculture with education, potlucks, mentoring and networking events.

Margaret Holm, Investment Agriculture

Circulation info@orchardandvine.net Orchard & Vine Magazine Ltd.

We offer you some important steps to help you sell your products directly to retailers and restaurants, if you want to.

One thing you will notice after reading, is that it is good to be well prepared.

1576 West Kelowna Road West Kelowna, B.C., V1Z 3H5 E-mail: info@orchardandvine.net

With all your planning and hard work this summer, make sure you take enough leisure time to enjoy a Fudgsicle and local fruit and produce with family and friends.

Orchard & Vine Magazine is published six

Happy summer to all.

times a year and distributed by addressed

www.orchardandvine.net Phone: 250-769-2123 Fax: 1-866-433-3349

direct mail to growers, suppliers and wineries in the Okanagan, Kootenays, Fraser Valley, Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, Washington State and throughout Canada.

Orchard & Vine is also available online.

Publications Mail Agreement No. 40838008 Undeliverable copies should be sent to:

1576 West Kelowna Road West Kelowna, BC, V1Z 3H5

Cert no. SGS-COC-006263

6

Summer 2014

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Summer 2014

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 SUMMER | CALENDAR

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Summer 2014

Annual Feast of Fields present events in the Okanagan, Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island.

2014 Wine Bloggers Conference July 11-13 Santa Barbara County, CA, USA www.winebloggersconference.org Similkameen BBQ King July 12 - 5-9 pm Grist Mill & Gardens, Keremeos, BC www.similkameenwine.com 15th Annual BC Enology & Viticulture Conference July 21 -22 Penticton Trade and Convention Centre Penticton, BC www.bcwgc.org/conference Annual Feast of Fields Okanagan - August 17 Metro Vancouver - September 7 Vancouver Island - September 14 www.farmfolkcityfolk.ca Naramata Bench Tailgate Party September 13 – 6:30 – 9 pm Poplar Grove Winery Grounds, BC www.naramatabench.com Cowichan Wine & Culinary Festival Sept 26 - October 5 Group and Individual events www.wines.cowichan.net

 SUMMER | NEWS & EVENTS

House of Rose Winery Wins 'Champion for the Environment' Award Buy a bottle of wine from the House of Rose Winery in Kelowna, and you can enjoy both the taste and the fact it was produced in an environmentally sustainable way.

The House of Rose has received the Champion for the Environment for Business Civic Award from the City of Kelowna.

“Honoured, humbled, excited, that’s how I would describe it,” says Aura Rose, co-owner and winemaker. “Being aware of and actively reducing our impact on the environment, is so very important to us. It’s an honour to have that commitment recognized.”

“We’ve looked at all areas of our operation, from the farm through the production,” added co-owner Wouter van der Hall. “As soon as we purchased the winery we took our vineyard organic. Next we worked on reducing our energy use, partly driven by the shocking hydro bills for the winery building that we received that first winter! You have to take on one thing at a time, otherwise you can get overwhelmed.”

they began following organic principles in 2009 and last year earned the bronze standard by Green Tourism Canada for sustainable practices.

“I think one of the things I am most proud of is the fact that while we can have up to hundreds of visitors each week, we use only our family allocated garbage bin for regular waste disposal,” adds Rose. "Through composting, recycling, donations (of our used corks for school projects for example), we’ve found a number of ways to limit and reduce our waste.”

At the winery, they purchased compostable plates and cutlery for use in their picnic area and introduced a low flow pressure washer for cleaning. Grape skins and prunings are composted and diversity row vegetation is planted for integrated pest management. Their garbage has been reduced to the same size bin as an average family home. And by investing in heat pumps, upgrading insulation and lighting, they’ve reduced energy consumption by more T:7.5”than 50 per cent.

The winery's goal is to be an eco-friendly visitor experience and a sustainable wine product. While not certified organic,

In June they became founding members

Photos Contributed

A big difference at House of Rose is their wine packaging. By switching to ecoglass for their bottles, up to 29% of CO2 emissions are eliminated during transportation thanks to its lighter weight.

They also use the renewable resource of cork for stopping their bottles.

Aura Rose and Wouter van der Hall co-owners of The House of Rose.

of the Fresh Outlook Foundation, which raises funds for sustainability education. They also spoke at the Women in Sustainability meeting about how small businesses can reduce their environmental impact. To learn more, go to: houseofrose.ca

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Summer 2014

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 SUMMER | NEWS & EVENTS

"Summer of Love" at Gatzke’s Orchard

Upcoming Meetings

Photos Contributed

The BCFGA welcomes feedback and attendance at the Executive and Regional meetings. So far six meetings are planned for this year, and growers are encouraged to attend.

From four-course dinners in the orchard, farm stays, fresh fruit and vegetables, and a local products market, to rocking and rolling on the Big Blue Stage, Gatzke’s Orchard in Oyama, BC has lots of activities planned for this summer!

Dinner themes include chef prepared Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Southwest cuisine, with some of the bounty sourced locally and according to their FLOS (Fresh, Local, Organic, Seasonal) mentality. Farmers will be explaining their products while local wineries offer pairings. This is a great opportunity for participants to increase their awareness of the benefits of growing and eating local foods.

The Concert Series starts off with a Celebration of the 60'′s culture and the music from that era with the Woodstock Revival and continues through the summer with high energy dance music, and musical fun for the whole family!

For more info: www.gatzkeorchard.com Upcoming Dinner Dates: Southwest Blues! June 29 Reggae Nights! July 27 Grill To Gourmet! August 31 That’s Amore! September 14 Modern Harvest! September 28 10 Summer 2014

Big Blue Stage Concerts Woodstock Revival III - July 4,5,6 Bryan Potvin & Kevin Kane - July 20 The Boom Booms with special guest Chin Injeti - August 10 Shane Philip - September 7

• June 11, Oliver, BC • July 21-22, CHC Apple Working Group Meeting Penticton • August 7, Keremeos, BC • October 9, Kelowna BC • November 6, 2014, SVC boardroom, Summerland, BC • November 26-27, BCFGA Regional Meeting Please contact http://www.bcfga.com for time and location.

The Sunset Concert Series at CedarCreek

CedarCreek Estate Winery is pleased to announce that the Barenaked Ladies and Chantal Kreviazuk will perform this summer at their spectacular 400 seat Vineyard Pavilion. Two-time Juno award winner Chantal Kreviazuk will perform July 17th. The Barenaked Ladies, with more than 14 million albums sold, will grace the stage September 5th.

Check out the Canada Day celebration and other events at: cedarcreek.bc.ca

 SUMMER | NEWS & EVENTS

Tinhorn Parties for 20th Anniversary On September 23, 1994, Tinhorn Creek Winery in Oliver’s Golden Mile officially opened their doors. What began as “something new to do” has morphed into a world-class destination, complete with award winning wines and a restaurant like no other.

Miradoro opened in 2011. Overlooking the valley, the restaurant is a partnership with Manuel (Manny) Ferreira of La Gavroche (Vancouver) fame and Chef Jeff Van Geest prepares delicious wine-paired food fresh from the bounty of the Okanagan. All that hard work has paid off, as Tinhorn has become one of the most celebrated wineries in Canada.

Photo by Kirstin Wakal

To celebrate the anniversary, Tinhorn is putting on a summer-long series of events.

A 20th Anniversary Festival will be held July 20, concerts will be staged at the 400seat outdoor amphitheatre, there are outdoor Movie Nights, and Colin James will headline a summer ending Grand Finale Concert on Sept. 6. Also, don't miss the big Anniversary Party on Sept. 23 For more information or to buy tickets, check out tinhorn.com for all of the anniversary events.

Pork and Pinot Star at Covert Farm's 3rd Annual Pig Out! There may be more … elegant occasions … at the Okanagan Spring Wine Festival, but few are as much flat out fun as the annual Pig Out at Covert Farms.

This was the third annual Pig Out, and as usual featured as its centerpiece a seemingly unlimited pig roast.

Photo by Gary Symons

There were 31 wineries on site providing the quaffables, including Covert Farms itself with its Amiticia, which just won a Best Of Award at the Best of Varietals in Penticton last week.

T:7.5”

Seven restaurants also put on a feast with chicken and pork as the theme of the day, while Valhalla Helicopters was offering chopper rides for $50 a person. Terrific music, a giant ‘bounce sausage’ for the kids, and great wines under a sunny sky; Covert Farms and the Oliver – Osoyoos Wine Country Association absolutely rocked it this year, making for one of the best events of the 2014 Okanagan Spring Wine Fest.

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Summer 2014 11

 SUMMER | NEWS & EVENTS

Annual Enology & Viticulture Conference Returns July 21 Mark your calendar for Monday, July 21 and Tuesday, July 22. This is an exciting, international conference and tradeshow held at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre.

Learn about leading edge research and technology for vineyards and wineries, and network with over 300 delegates.

The venue is excellent and the tradeshow has over 100 exhibitors, a perfect opportunity to get advice on new products, supplies, and equipment.

SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

Dreamstime.com

• Managing Grapevine Trunk Disease - Dr. Mark Sosnowski, South Australia Research & Development Institute • Virus Vectors Research - Dr. Kent Daane, University of California

Discover Wines of British Columbia on Video

• New World and BC Market Trends in Chardonnay and Merlot - Stephen Schiedel, BCLDB, New World Wine Buyer • ML Fermentation in Chardonnay and Merlot - Dr. Peter Salamone, NA, Laffort, USA

A new video by the BC Wine Institute has been released to kick off this year's wine touring season.

trip planning tool, which includes a list of wineries by region, as well as restaurants and accommodations.

With five stunningly distinct wine regions to choose from, including Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands, Fraser Valley, Okanagan Valley and Similkameen Valley, as well as several emerging wine regions, travellers are encouraged to explore new wine routes or rediscover their favourites.

Another excellent wine country trip planning companion is the British Columbia Winery Touring Guide. Created in partnership with Destination BC, the BC Winery Touring Guide provides a complete list of the more than 250 wineries in BC, including grape and nongrape fruit wineries, as well as cideries.

• Yeast Strains in the Winery, Chardonnay Fermentation - Dr. Dan Durral, UBC-Okanagan

"The Experience the Wines of British Columbia video showcases the beauty and diversity of BC wine country, which is reflected in each glass of BC VQA wine," says Miles Prodan, President and CEO of the British Columbia Wine Institute.

"This is an excellent example of our successful collaboration with the BC Wine Institute, to raise the profile of British Columbia as a wine destination," says Marsha Walden, CEO of Destination BC. "This alliance helps travellers by providing them with more reasons to discover BC's wine country."

• New - Exhibitor Workshop Area in the Tradeshow

From soil to sunshine to slope of vineyard, each bottle of BC VQA wine delivers a sensory experience that is as extraordinary and distinct as the province itself.

After determining where to savour their next glass of 100% BC-grown grape wine, visitors can build a custom travel itinerary on WineBC.com utilizing the 12 Summer 2014

• Water Consumption, Transpiration - Dr. Andrew McElrone, USDA, Davis

• Panel – How to Prevent and Deal with Grapevine Virus Diseases – with Drs. Kent Daane, Deborah Golino, Anna-Mary Schmidt, Tom Lowery, & Jose Urbez-Torres

To find out more email: BCWGC@telus.net, to Register online go to: http://www.bcwgc.org/conference

The Guide can be picked up from visitor centeres, BC Liquor Stores and BC VQA Wine Stores across the province, or go to HelloBC.com.

To watch the video, go to winebc.com or the Wines of British Columbia YouTube channel.

Follow us on: twitter.com/orchard_vine

Summer 2014 13

 SUMMER | NEWS & EVENTS

Small Wineries Win Big at 2014 Best of Varietals Awards

By Gary Symons Okanagan wineries win awards frequently on the world stage, but there’s nothing quite like winning at home.

That’s one reason the Best of Varietals Awards at the Okanagan Spring Wine Festival is so hotly contested. Wineries who rub shoulders in the Golden Mile, or on Naramata Bench, or up on Bottleneck Drive are all vying for home turf bragging rights. It’s a bit like winning the Stanley Cup at your home rink; it’s just that much more satisfying.

Every year, the Wine Festival society puts together a cadre of highly qualified judges, most of them sommeliers, wine critics and wine writers, who vote for the best of the best in each category.

Photo by Gary Symons

For us, this is in many ways the best event of the festival. The Westjet Consumer Wine Tasting in Kelowna and the Bacchanalia in Penticton are, of course, much larger and have all the buzz of a real crowd scene.

2014 Best of Varietals Chardonnay St Hubertus and Oak Bay Estate Winery, 2012 Oak Bay Vineyard Chardonnay

Merlot Quinta Ferreira Estate Winery, 2009 Merlot

Riesling Lang Vineyards, 2012 Farm Reserve Riesling

Cabernet Franc Cassini Cellars, 2011 Cabernet Franc

Pinot Blanc Wild Goose Vineyards, 2013 Mystic River Pinot Blanc

Rose/Blush Cedar Creek Estate Winery, 2013 Pinot Noir Rose

Pinot Gris Poplar Grove Winery, 2013 Pinot Gris

Sauvignon Blanc La Frenz Winery, 2013 Rattlesnake Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc

Cabernet Sauvignon Mission Hill Family Estate, 2011 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Gewurztraminer Ruby Blues Winery, 2013 Gewurztraminer

Pinot Noir Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery, Optimum Pinot Noir

Hybrid Single Varieties Arrowleaf Cellars, 2013 Snow Tropics Vidal

Red Blends, Other Covert Farms, 2010 Amiticia

Syrah/Shiraz Based Blends Ruby Blues Winery, Red Stiletto

Red Meritage Blends - Cabernet Dominated Poplar Grove Winery, 2010 Legacy

Syrah/Shiraz 2009 Silkscarf, 2009 Shiraz Reserve

Icewine Inniskillin Okanagan, 2012 Discovery Series Tempranillo Icewine Late Harvest or Dessert Wine Arrowleaf Cellars, 2013 Vidal Special Select Late Harvest

Red Meritage Blends - Merlot Dominated Quinta Ferreira Estate Winery, 2009 Obra Prima

Malbec Sandhill Wines, 2011 Small Lots Malbec Phantom Creek Vineyard

Red Single Varieties, Other Moon Cursor Vineyards, 2012 Carmenere

14 Summer 2014

Sparkling 8th Generation Vineyard, 2012 Integrity

Viognier Silkscarf Winery, 2013 Viognier White Blends Volcanic Hills Estate Winery Magma White White Single Variety - Other LaFrenz Winery, 2013 Knorr Vineyard Semillon

The Best of Varietal Awards is much smaller, and many of the attendees are the winemakers themselves. However, at the BVAs, it's much easier to get to the wines, and it has the significant advantage that one can hobnob with the best winemakers in the valley, in a relatively small and intimate setting.

Optimizing Vineyard Quality and Profits

• • • • • • •

Another reason I like this event is that it gives one perspective on who is shaking up the industry in the Okanagan. It gives you a good idea of which wineries are worth visiting during the 10-day wine festival, and for those who live here, which wineries to see regularly.

Many of the winners are producing small lots of wine that are sold mainly at their winery, and quite a few are snapped up almost as soon as they are released. For many of us, this award show is the only chance we get to taste some of the great wines from the smaller boutique wineries.

This year, many of these small wineries did extremely well in the competition, which is a completely blind and unbiased taste test by independent judges. La Frenz won two Best of Varietals and was a finalist in four more. Ruby Blues won two Best of Varietals and was a finalist in three others. The Silk Scarf winery in Summerland struck gold twice for best Viognier and best Shiraz. And Quinta Ferreira was a highlight, winning for Best Merlot and Best Meritage (Merlot Dominated). I'm a big fan of the Meritage style, as my introduction to wines was in Bordeaux, and for me, Quinta Ferreira's 2009 Obra Prima was one of the best of show.

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Another winery that excelled this year was Poplar Grove, which scored two wins for Best Pinot Gris and Best Meritage (Cabernet Dominated). Both wines were excellent, and the Meritage was one I'll be trying again very soon.

Finally, the awards this year highlighted the really interesting work being done

by Moon Curser Vineyards. It's a bit hard to put this winery head to head with others, because they are almost in a class of their own, producing varietals that are grown in very few Okanagan vineyards.

For example, in the 'Red Single Varieties - Other' Category, Moon Curser actually swept that category completely. They won for best varietal with the 2012 Carmenere, and the runner-ups were their 2012 Tempranillo and 2012 Tannat. ■

Summer 2014 15

SHUSWAP WINERIES

Selling Distinction – Shuswap

By Dona Sturmanis

T

he wineries of the Shuswap, north of the Okanagan, are becoming known for their award-winning “cool climate” wines, unique location and distinctive terroir. There are five family-run wineries here, which is one of North America’s most northern grapegrowing areas: Celista Estates Winery and Vineyard, Larch Hills Winery, Ovino Winery, Recline Ridge Winery and Sunnybrae Vineyard & Winery.

“Customers in general are becoming much more aware of our wines, especially as a viable and interesting alternative to wines of other regions,” says Graydon Ratzlaff, co-owner with wife Maureen of Recline Ridge in Tappen.

The “Dirt” on Shuswap Soil Shuswap soil is fairly rocky, with some clay, suitable for vinifera grapes, according to the owners of Larch Hills, just south of Salmon Arm. “Many people think that grapes need rich soil, but that’s not so," say Jack and Hazel Manser.

“The soil type can vary considerably from one vineyard to the next,” agrees Ratzlaff. “Ranging from gravel, sand, silt, and clay, the Shuswap has a variety of soils suitable for growing grapes.”

Jake Ootes, who owns Celista Estates Winery with his wife Marg in Celista, describes his vineyard soil as a mixed blessing. “There’s about a foot of top soil, then close to three feet of hard pan clay.

It presents challenges because you have to drill or rip through the hardpan so the plants can get through that. That said, the clay has many minerals and holds water quite well, so we don’t have to irrigate like the southern areas.”

Fruity, Aromatic, Crisp Wines “The varieties of grapes grown here are mostly short season because ours start a little later and end earlier,” says Ootes.

Grapes grown in the Shuswap include Bacchus, Gewutztraminer, Kerner, MadCustomers at Recline Ridge are becoming more aware of the Shuswap as a unique wine destination.

16 Summer 2014

Photo Contributed

Wines Come into Their Own

Summer 2014 17

Photo Contributed

Celista Estate Winery is North America's most northern grape winery.

eleine Angevine and Madeleine Sylvaner, Marechal Foch, Ortega, Optima, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Schonburger, Siegerrebe and Zweigelt, Each winery grows varietals that best suit their terroir and environment.

Because Shuswap vineyards do not need to be irrigated, the Mansers of Larch Hills believe this produces an extra intensity to the grapes—”more flavours concentrated in less production of clusters on the vine.”

Jake and Marg Ootes of Celista Estates Winery.

“The whites are extremely aromatic, full of a variety of fruit flavours, and cool and crisp and refreshing,” says Recline Ridge’s Ratzlaff. “Reds are also very fruit-

intensive, but generally can be lighter in style. Marechal Foch, (a red), tends to be full-bodied, smokey on the nose, and finishes very smoothly.”

18 Summer 2014

Photo Contributed

“I would say that our Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer pack more flavour and aroma than many grapes grown further south in the Okanagan, likely due to the slightly cooler growing area and cool nights,” says John Koopmans, who with his wife Catherine owns Ovino Winery in Salmon Arm. “The acidity is usually crisp and refreshing but the sugar content and ‘weight’ of the wine are normally lower than fruit grown further south.”

In the Family Way All five Shuswap wineries are run by families, which has its challenges and benefits.

Photo by Michael Botner

View from the patio at Larch Hills Winery.

Koopman admits it's a challenge at Ovino when several things might need to be done all at once, especially during wineshop open season. He likes to keep the operation small so he can handle the vineyard, most of the winemaking, while wife Catherine can alternate with daughter Jessica in the wineshop. Son-inlaw Don Gawley helps out during crush and bottling. “At harvest, the whole family and friends get invited and seem to have fun!”

Photo Contributed

Similarly the whole family at Sunnybrae Vineyard & Winery in Tappen, owned by Barry and Nancy Turner, help out; not just their daughters, but also their husbands, children, nieces and nephews.

Harvesting at Ovino Winery.

“Often a 24/7 adventure, the work must be performed at all levels, from working in the vineyards to bottling wine to working with customers in the wine

shop,” says Ratzlaff. At Recline Ridge, he and Maureen are supported by full-time winemaker Jesse Steinley and seasonal staff.

At Larch Hills, Jack Manser is in charge of the vineyard and winemaking, while Hazel takes care of marketing, government paperwork, and promotion. Both use help and consultation from others.

“The benefits,” they say, “are that a small winery such as ours has very loyal and appreciative customers and we get direct feedback with face-to-face customer experience all the time.”

Summer 2014 19

Each Shuswap winery has defined its uniqueness through its quality wines and distinct story. Larch Hills, for example, has been successful in product, sales and competitions since it opened in 1997.

They were also the pioneers of vinifera grape growing in the area, and people know about that.

Photos Contributed

Wine competitions and winning awards may or may not directly affect popularity of Shuswap wines. The wineries continue, however, to enter and win—some have fared extremely well. “These competitions do provide access for positive results, publication of those results, and a growth of awareness amongst wine enthusiasts,” says Ratzlaff.

The craftsman style winery building built in 2010 showcases vintage artifacts and photos of Barry Turner's family, farmers in the Sunnybrae area for five generations.

“At Ovino, we only enter one or two national competitions, more to see how our wines rank in relation to other wineries in the country,” says Koopmans.

“Most of our wine is sold from our wine shop and customers go by what they like as they are tasting.”

The Personal Touch It is still, however, the personal experience that largely promotes the individual Shuswap wineries and their wines.

“Tourists and locals always help spread the word (about Sunnybrae), which is great,” says the Turner's daughter Kristie.

Photos Contributed

All of these wineries are in impressive scenic settings, which is hardly surprising in the beautiful Shuswap, whether it’s mountains in the background, overlooking Shuswap Lake, vineyards, or a combination.

To Market, To Market The five wineries of the Shuswap market themselves and their region both collectively and individually. They have reached out as a group, including the construction of a joint website, shuswapwineries.ca, which contains profiles, directions and contact information for each. They also engage in common marketing in a variety of print/trade media, and have a joint rack card displayed in tourist centres. They have not yet identified themselves with a distinctive name such as The Golden Mile or Bottleneck 20 Summer 2014

Drive like other wine regions, but for now, the moniker Shuswap Wineries identifies who and where they are.

Of course, each Shuswap winery does its own promotion. This can include case discounts; print and radio advertising; rack cards; interesting, informative websites; keeping in touch with customers through email lists; and social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Then there are tastings at wine festivals, stores, participation in wine-related events both on and off-site and personal calls on potential wine outlets.

The Shuswap wineries agree that one of the most important aspects of a winery visit is friendliness on the part of the owners. Personal chats, tours, storytelling about the wines and winery, in addition to great ambience and wines, all add up to a memorable experience that visitors never forget.

The Shuswap wineries are coming into their own despite challenges such as a certain remoteness and small population. “We get great satisfaction once we start reaching success,” says Ootes. “It’s a wonderful lifestyle.” ■ For more information, visit shuswapwineries.ca.

TINY WINERIES

Photos by Gary Symons

Vibrant Vine Winemaker Launching Eight ‘Tineries’

Tiny Winery: Anthony Lewis, the inventive mind from Vibrant Vine, is now working on a new concept for wineries that he calls ‘Tineries’. Each is a small winery tucked away on a farmer’s land, where Lewis makes the wine, and shares the profits with the farmer and an orphanage in Haiti.

By Gary Symons

So, it’s clearly a weird day. I’m standing in a tiny picker shack with a mad inventor, listening to the howl of electronic sound coming out of a huge speaker, and watching as the sound gradually creates an elegant pictograph out of table salt.

Summer 2014 21

The tiny patio at Frequency in Kelowna, a 'Tinery' founded by former Vibrant Vine winemaker Anthony Lewis (below).

This is a winery?

Well, to be more accurate, it’s a ‘Tinery’; the latest brainchild of former Vibrant Vines winemaker Anthony Lewis.

In a single venture he’s come up with a way to help farmers be more sustainable, to help wineries sell more wine, and to help support dozens of children in a Haitian orphanage.

Until recently, Lewis worked in the successful family winery in East Kelowna but left after having a “life altering” experience while volunteering at the La Concorde Orphanage in Port au Prince, Haiti. When he returned to Canada with his wife and two children, Lewis left his well-paying job and decided to start his own enterprise; the Orphan Grape. As usual for Lewis, who is known for his out of the box thinking and inventive solutions (like the world's only above ground grape trellis method for vines), his new enterprise is definitely way out there.

Essentially, Lewis and Orphan Grape are 22 Summer 2014

“I want them to walk away with the wine as a memory of the experience they’ve had and share that with other people.

Anthony Lewis

creating eight small wineries on leased farmland. Each of them is absolutely tiny, but they all come with big ideas. The first one, called Frequency, is located just down the street from House of Rose on Garner Road.

When people come in for a tasting, they are also given a demonstration of how sound waves can be used to literally sculpt solid matter into beautiful, symmetrical designs.

“People will walk in here and there will be eight sets of headphones,” Lewis explains.

“You put on the headphones. They’ll be playing drums and different music loops in one year, and the other will be me talking and explaining the frequencies, what the vibrations are doing to the molecular structure of matter itself, and then you’ll have a visual.”

While skeptical at first, I quickly had to admit the demonstration was fascinating.

Lewis played an exact frequency through a speaker embedded in a barrel, that is connected to a flat metal plate. He then sprinkles salt on the metal plate, and before your eyes the salt grains quickly migrate and spread out to form a picture, or pictograph.

Once I picked my jaw off the floor, Lewis explained he discovered these secrets of sound when he worked as a musician and then as an audio engineer in California.

Amazingly, a series of chords in a song can actually be used to form a sequence of pictographs that can be used for communication, like Chinese symbols. For another example, sound can carve intricate designs into ice crystals, visible to the naked eye using a microscope.

land and old picker shacks from farmers, and transform them into tiny wineries using juice he buys from friends who own larger wineries.

“As far as the winemaking goes, I get to hand select wines from a lot of the wineries,” Lewis says. “I have a lot of friends with wineries, so I can get a thousand liters of this, a thousand of that, and a thousand of this, and make a couple hundred cases of really good wine.

“It’s also helping them sell their excess volume and gives them cash flow at the right time of the season, so it’s a win-win for both of us.”

It’s not enough for Lewis to just have a ‘win-win’. He just had to have a win-winwin-win.

Lewis plans to build eight of the Tineries, one for each of the wine trails in the region. At each winery, profits are split three ways.

“I blend, manipulate and brand and sell the wine,” he explains. “A portion of that profit goes to the farmer, a portion of that profit goes to the orphanage, and a portion goes to us, so everybody wins and nobody loses.”

Donations to the orphanage are made through Love Takes Root (www.lovetakesroot.org), a non-profit volunteer group.

Payments to farmers are made directly from the profit per bottle sold.

“It’s not too ambitious for me to say that over time I can sell 5,000 cases of wine,” he adds. “That’s 60,000 bottles. If that farmer was to receive a royalty of a dollar, that would be $60,000 supplementary income."

Part of the goal is to make farming more sustainable by creating a new profit stream for the farmer.

“What I’ve learned is farmers are really good at farming, but not necessarily good at running a retail or tourism business,” Lewis says. “That’s something I know how to do.

“Often, as soon as you take a farmer out of the farming situation you’ve made a stressful situation, not just for the farmer but for his family, the people around him, everything.

“Farming is a big undertaking, and it’s a really rewarding experience when you turn dirt into food, and I want them to keep doing it. So, I can help by taking care of this part of the business.”

The benefit the farmer provides is the land and building. Because that’s being provided for profit-sharing, it cost Lewis under $50,000 to open the first winery, and less than half of that to open the second winery on Gordon Road. Lewis is currently scouting locations to build six more tiny wineries around the Okanagan Valley. ■

Lewis says Frequency will focus on giving people great wine, and a unique experience.

“I want people to have a different experience than they have had anywhere else,” he says. “I want them to walk away with the wine as a memory of the experience they’ve had and share that with other people.”

But there’s more to Lewis’ plan than just his single Tinery. His feverish brain took in a series of facts (impoverished children in Haiti, struggling farmers in Canada, an abundance of bulk wine in the Okanagan) and came up with a concept that addresses all three.

Wild experiments with sound at Frequency. Part of Anthony Lewis’ vision for the winery is to show guests how sound vibrations at certain frequencies turn solid matter into elaborate pictographs.

His idea was to lease unused corners of

Summer 2014 23

All

Photo by Ronda Payne

Bringing Young Farmers

Sara Dent, BC coordinator of the Young Agrarians.

The Mixer was an education and networking event .

By Ronda Payne

It’s about networking, sharing knowledge and building connections; farmers are no different from any other business owner in this regard.

S

ara Dent, BC coordinator of the Young Agrarians, explained the primary role of the organization is bringing farmers together both online and offline.

“It’s kind of like creating a family for farmers,” she noted.

Farmers of the past may recall the distance between farms felt like less of a hurdle when weekly barn dances, socials and impromptu meetings at the store created a community effortlessly. The age of deliveries, online shopping and busy lives has removed many of those natural gathering options. The Young Agrarians officially came about in January of 2012 to fill a void created by some of the world’s efficiencies. To date, the group has held about 50 events such as potlucks, farm tours, mixers and educational workshops.

“My experience in rural farming is that farming can be quote isolating,” Dent said, who spent a little over three years farming in the BC interior.

24 Summer 2014

“We’re not trying to recreate anything [with Young Agrarians],” she added.

“We’re just fostering what’s already happening to get more new people interested in farming. It’s a sign of the times. What we need now are strong networks.”

Young Agrarians generally creates programs and events for those in BC, but recently the group held an event in Alberta.

“We just had 65 people in Red Deer,” she said. “We networked all the people together. That’s how we [farmers] lived for a long time. Just knowing our neighbours.”

Despite the organization's name, Dent says, “It doesn’t actually matter who comes to the events,” but added attendees are generally small scale farmers and growers aged 20 to 35. “I’d rename it All Agrarians if I could,” she jokingly added, saying she wants all farmers to feel welcome.

Through youngagrarians.org and organized events, Dent and others in the

Photos by Sarah Dent

Together

Potluck at the Nanoose Bay event.

group are bringing farmers together and are exposing them to one another. The idea is well received and growing.

There have been about 600 downloads of the guide so far with dozens of hard copies additionally handed out at events.

Growing takes on a variety of meanings.

“There’s just a real need for certain things, like learning about how to access land, bringing people together, that kind of thing,” Dent noted. “We are capturing a wave of people (who) are becoming stewards of the land.”

“We had our first baby born in January,” Dent noted. “The couple got together at a Kelowna mixer.”

Baby Ave is the first child born as a result of Young Agrarian events. Michelle Tsutsumi and Tristan Cavers, Ave’s parents, farm at Golden Ears Community Farm in Chase.

“We had something like 800-plus people to our events in March,” Dent said. “We had as much traffic in March online and offline as we did in all of 2012.”

Another huge accomplishment for the group is the completion of their land access guide. Dent says it outlines different aspects of getting into farming.

“It’s a guide to ‘so you want to start farming’ and then ‘so you want to get on land’,” she said. “It spells out options and provides checklists.”

Participation with the Young Agrarians is free and will help those who are already in agricultural groups reach out to new people.

“A couple of young farmers that had their first growing season this past year told us ‘it would have been a really hard season, but we had a community to connect to’ and because they had resources through that community their first year went well,” Dent added.

One of the major strengths of Young Agrarians is the drive to help farmers overcome issues like finding land, funding, information, or accessing tools.

“I feel like a switchboard operator,”

Young Agrarians has staged about 50 events such as potlucks, farm tours, mixers and educational workshops.

Summer 2014 25

Dent said of how she talks to people and connects them to others. “Our strength is in bringing people together.”

This connectivity is particularly important when faced with the province’s continually rising land costs (especially in the southwest region) and the difficulties that new, 'wanna-be' farmers are facing.

“Everyone is concerned with that young farmer demographic,” she noted. “We are working together to find solutions as less than five per cent of farmers in BC are under 34.”

To that end, the activities Young Agrarians are focused on for the latter half of 2014 are land linking workshops and providing business mentorship programming.

The workshops will bring land owners and land seekers together online and in person with the tools to help them create mutually beneficial arrangements.

This includes leasing and licensing information in plain English. There will also be strategies as to what to look for in productive land and understanding the implications of certain arrangements given the theory that most new farmers will go into small-scale farming.

Mentorship is important for farmers who are already on the land and in production.

Mentorship will ensure there is support for farmers who are already on the land and in production. Dent wants to see a collection of business tools from the best sources brought together for mentors to use with new farmers.

“We can make some broad statements [about what Young Agrarians has done to date] but mentoring will deliver a more specific, measureable impact, though still on a small scale,” she said.

You may have seen Young Agrarians participants in the news lately around the changes to the Agricultural Land Commission and Bill 24.

“We wanted to make a statement on social media so people can see it,” noted Dent. “It’s #FARMERS4ALR. It’s a photo of a farmer making their [statement] and using social media as a tool.”

Farmers from Sea Bluff Farm in Metchosin, BC go naked to protest lack of consultation on the ALR and Bill24.

What’s next for this dynamic organization? In addition to 50 or 60 events, Dent wants to see specific services delivered to farmers just starting up; what she calls “game changers.”

around the networking to obtain resources,” she said. “To find what they need in their community and find tools to build their businesses. I want to see us do something that is really, really practical, like hands-on training for start-ups.”

“I would like to see greater intensity

Under the charitable designation of

26 Summer 2014

Farm Folk City Folk, the Young Agrarians are moving swiftly and will perhaps meet Dent’s dream of going national one day.

“I would love to go nationwide, to build a more visible voice for young farmers across Canada.” ■

AGRITOURISM

Added Value Equals Added Awareness & Added Profits

By Darcy Nybo

Agritourism includes everything from value-added products to U-Picks to farm stays. Simply put, agritourism is any activity that brings visitors to your farm.

As many farmers have already discovered, agritourism can increase sales and open doors you never even knew were there.

Summer 2014 27

Photos of Sanctuary Gardens by Kirstin Wakal

Blossoms in front of the Sanctuary Gardens Gazebo in West Kelowna.

Although it was only completed in August of 2013, Sanctuary Gardens has already been home to over a dozen weddings and it was featured on Oprah’s season finale of Super Soul Sunday in December of 2013.

Sanctuary Garden Sanctuary Gardens is one of those places that feeds the spirit instead of the body.

It’s located on 25 acres overlooking Gellatly Bay in West Kelowna. Owner Kirstin Wakal is resurrecting about sixty 40-yearold grape vines on the property that were part of an abandoned vineyard. Her vision for the land is to create a space with pergolas around the old vines for people to use as a gathering area. “I want it to be a park-like setting where people can see what real old growth vines look like and what they produce.”

Kirstin has already created a space just down from the old vineyard that she calls Sanctuary Gardens. It’s a gothic inspired timber-framed white gazebo surrounded by natural gardens including sage and natural bunch grasses. The gazebo itself will fit 45 people, with room to expand onto the lawn area for another 20 people. Although it was only completed in August of 2013, Sanctuary Gardens has already been home to over a dozen weddings and it was featured on Oprah’s seasonal finale of Super Soul Sunday in December of 2013.

28 Summer 2014

“It looks like the gazebo was just placed in the middle of a meadow,” explains Kirstin. “The pathway up to the gazebo is created from flagstones and winds towards one of the most amazing views the Okanagan has to offer. It’s very wild and rustic and perfect for those who want a natural and private setting for their wedding. We’ve also held private luncheons and dinner parties under the gazebo with tons of rave reviews.”

Kirstin’s sanctuary is just one more way of creating an agritourism destination for locals and tourists alike in your own back yard. sanctuarygardens.ca

Old Meadows Organic Farm When Jeff Ricketts took over Old Meadows Organic Farm a year ago he wanted to expand and bring in more visitors.

“Old Meadows is a friendly place where people can now come do U-Pick on flowers, herbs, cherries, strawberries and blackberries. Eventually we will have a UPick vegetable garden. It’s a great way to educate the kids. One of our chefs brings his kid out to pick his own vegetables and it has made him less picky about eating them.”

The chefs in Kelowna have been very supportive.

I’ve been to a couple farm to table events and the chefs are very open to working with the farmers.

Jeff Ricketts

Jeff also reached out and expanded his organic fruit and vegetable sales to include several local restaurants and delivery services. For him it was simply a matter of making the contact, providing a great product and continuing to support a relationship between grower and buyer.

Photo Contributed

“It’s been a truly amazing experience,” said Jeff. “The chefs in Kelowna have been very supportive. I’ve been to a couple farm to table events and the chefs are very open to working with the farmers.”

As a new farmer, Jeff was worried about what he would do if he had too much of one crop. The chefs assured him they would take whatever he had. Local chefs love to work directly with local farmers.

They appreciate the level of freshness and the fact they can visit the farm and know exactly how their ingredients are grown.

“Depending on how much we supply them, they will sometimes mention us or list us as a supplier on the menu,” said Jeff. “You have to earn your way and be consistent, but it’s worth the wait.

Jeff didn’t just stumble upon these ideas and hope they will work. He attended a business-planning program put on by the Central Okanagan Development Commission. “I went to create a business plan to expand the business. It’s all about being able to get things down on paper and documenting everything and figuring out my goals and knowing what you need for the future. It helped me create forms I need and it turned out to be a big time saver and relieves so much stress.”

One of the things for Old Meadows' business plan is to turn the farm into a large backyard U-Pick garden using companion growing. “You mix veg

Jeff Ricketts is expanding the U-Pick program at Old Meadows Organic Farm to bring in more visitors.

etables like corn, squash and beans to create a balanced environment. The corn provides the stalk for the beans to climb, the beans provide nitrogen to the soil, and the squash provides weed control, and in the end we get to harvest three types of produce from one row. Everyone benefits, especially the kids who learn from what we are doing.”

Also in his business plan is aquaponics: the raising of fruits and vegetables and fish in a cycled system. The plants clean

the water for the fish, the fish excrement feeds the plants, and the fish eat some of the plants.

“As a young farmer I think Agritourism is going to be the next boom,” said Jeff.

“We live in such a beautiful place and I encourage all farmers to take advantage of the tourism side of things and open up their farms. It creates a bit of extra work, but when you get people come there and witness all your hard work, its very rewarding.” oldmeadowsorganics.com Summer 2014 29

Function Junction and the Double Cross Cidery

One of the best parts about the expansion is that their children are now involved with the farm, making it even more of a family venture. “One of our latest undertakings is apple juice and we are very excited about it,” said Glenn. “It is healthy, all natural, tastes great, and is an all around winner of a product. As of this year our apple juice is the number one poured drink at the Delta Grand!”

Not a bad accomplishment considering Loretta and Glenn were just talking about making juice in 2010. They called the Bullock family at Raven Ridge Cidery to ask some questions and discovered they were selling all their equipment.

Long story made short – they liked what they saw, bought the equipment and leased space for the first few months until their own building was finished.

In the winter of 2010/11 they applied for their cidery licence and six months later they were approved. The Double Cross Cidery brand was launched in the spring 2012. They now have several fruit iced ciders and a hard apple cider available for tasting and purchase and fruit wines coming in the future. They have a tasting room for the hard cider and the apple juice is available on site – either fresh or frozen.

The Cross’s agritourism business took off quickly and Glenn knows all to well where he could have done it better. “As you expand and get into more and more stuff the costs do sneak up on you. My best suggestion for anyone would be to have a detailed business plan. When we 30 Summer 2014

Photo Contributed

Glenn and Loretta Cross decided to diversify their farm a little over 10 years ago.

Glenn was active in almost every facet of the tree fruit industry and Loretta had retired early. They started a small fruit stand in 2004 with mainly apples. “We started to see that in order to survive we had to diversify,” explained Glenn.

“Over the years we planted blackberries, raspberries, red currants, grapes, and then moved into a wide variety of soft fruit such as plums, peaches and apricots.

Then, the ground crops came and we expanded to corn, have three cold frames (greenhouses without heat), and are also leasing a blueberry patch. We have since expanded, adding more berries and larger gardens.”

Tractor tour at Double Cross Cidery.

We had about 3,000 customers to the farm last year, and anticipate doubling that number this year.

Glen Cross

bought the equipment we had a budget, not a plan, and we went way over. There was stuff I didn’t think about. I used to shoot from the hip but now I know all the little things add up in a hurry. We now have a business plan that takes into account everything we need as we expand.”

Having the cidery has certainly helped when apple prices were low. Cross says it levels the ups and downs of farming.

“Branching into agritourism has been extremely beneficial and we’ve grown leaps and bounds as to how much we produce and where it is going,” said Glenn. “We had about 3,000 customers to the farm last year, and anticipate doubling that number this year. We are gear-

ing up by making our parking lot bigger to accommodate tour buses as well.”

As far as getting their name out there, it’s been a fairly painless process. “Tourism Kelowna has been great. We are in their farm to table flyer and they have been great for promoting us. We were in the Kelowna map book and we are in another one this year out of Winfield. We do promotional work whenever possible.

Do tastings continuously – all it does it cost you juice and time. We even put maps on the back of our business cards, to show people where we are. It was one of the best things Loretta ever did.

Where are we – right there – it’s on the card.” function-junction.ca

Appleberry Farms / Beez and Treez Specialty Foods Joan Haddow, owner of Beez and Treez Specialty Foods, moved to the Okanagan to create an agritourism operation. “My idea was to do the tourism part and process what we were growing. This was in 1991, so it was really challenging.”

With nothing more than a small storefront and a covered porch, Haddow served tea, lunch and breakfast to her farm guests. Her experience with pectin had taught her it was a tricky process, so she decided to only process fruit butters.

They created fruit mustards and savouries and other products, which they sold in the store. There was even a viewing beehive to help educate the guests. Although Haddow loved how her agritourism enterprise was working, she soon found the processing end of things was growing faster than she could handle.

of the business. In the end we opted to drop the agritourism and go with the processing.”

Joan’s foray into agritourism allowed her to travel all over North America and see what people are doing with agritourism and value added products. “Feeding

people always entices them to come back for more,” laughs Joan. “I can’t imagine having an agritourism operation and not having anything for people to sample.

It’s all about the experience and teaching people where their food comes from.” fruitfultree.ca ■

We were providing fruit butters in single serve jars to Via Rail and the Fairmont Hotels from coast to coast.

Joan Haddow

“We were providing fruit butters in single serve jars to Via Rail and the Fairmont Hotels from coast to coast. Our client base grew and we were in the Four Seasons, Terminal City Club, Petroleum Club and even Governor General’s House in Ottawa,” said Joan. “In 1996 I had to make a decision. There just weren’t enough hours in the day to manage both the agritourism and the processing side

Phot by Medaacek | Dreamstime.com

Fruit butters from Appleberry are available on Via Rail.

Summer 2014 31

How to Sell Your Products Direct to Market

By Darcy Nybo How do you get your value added products to more markets.

Patrick Clancy of Choices Market and Joan Haddow of Beez and Treez Specialty Foods spoke at a workshop Orchard & Vine attended earlier this year, on how to get your product out there.

Tips to Sell Your Products to Wholesalers and Food Markets

Photo by Gary Symons

How do you get your value added products to more markets.

Patrick Clancy of Choices Market and Joan Haddow of Beez and Treez Specialty Foods spoke at a workshop Orchard & Vine attended earlier this year, on how to get your product out there.

Using a Wholesaler or Distributor You can sell your product directly to the stores or through a wholesaler. Even if you use a wholesaler/distributor, you still must convince the store to take your product. Sometimes your wholesaler will look after advertising, but every one is different so ask lots of questions before you sign on the dotted line.

You may choose to go with an agent. They will provide you with your own sales team to sell your goods for you. Your product will fit in better with an agent/broker if it is more mainstream; such as a beverage or frozen product.

Either way – most stores have their orders placed through their head offices. You can approach them yourself, but you must be prepared.

Be Prepared • Ensure you have all the permits required to legally operate a food manufacturing business.

• Develop attractive, functional packaging for your products that meet all CHFA labelling guidelines for the type of food product you make.

• Price your product fairly, but keep in mind that you also need to make a decent profit.

• Make a list of grocery stores in your area and note if these stores carry any products similar to yours, the prices of those products, and the name and number of the buyer or head store manager.

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PHONE 250-495-6459 LOOK FOR THE CHECKERED FLAGS 2 KM North of the Osoyoos Shell 15210 97 St. Osoyoos BC 32 Summer 2014

The Village Cheese Company is a local producer available on supermarket shelves.

• Cross the stores off your list that do not match up with the product you are trying to sell.

• Ask yourself whether you have the ability to produce enough food to meet the needs of the grocery stores on your list.

• Conduct market research before approaching any grocery stores by selling your food at a local farmers market for a couple of months. Let the buyers know your sales to date.

• Contact the stores on your list, introduce yourself, and ask for a meeting to present your food product.

• Bring your market research, product samples, packaging and business documentation to your presentation. Be prepared to tell the store's buyer what your product is, how it is different from what their store already sells and how it suits their customer base.

Selling to Food Services Food service markets include; restaurants, hotels with meal service, cruise ships, railroads, and airlines.

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Things to Do Before Approaching Buyers: • Be aware of the seasonal needs of each industry.

• Make sure your product packaging meets high standards – be creative.

• Make sure your packaging will keep the product fresh for months.

• Be respectful of the Chef’s/buyers time. Best time to call for an appointment is between 7 and 9 a.m.

• Have all your products with you for the presentation; don’t just bring a few if you have several.

• Bring in anything you need to taste with the product. For example with jams or spreads you should bring your own crackers.

• Bring any ideas you have for pairing, for example your cider with a particular protein or dish.

These industries are always on the lookout for new producers to fit their mid to high-end needs. As with approaching stores, you need to know your price point, your sales to date, your maximum output of product per season, and your story.

Good Stories A good story sells product. Tell them about how your product came about. Is it a family operation? Is it made by hand in a small industrial kitchen by special needs workers? Are the ingredients organic, or picked from heritage plants or harvested during a full moon, whatever the back story is, don’t forget to tell it.

ON GUARD AGAINST VIRUSES

Final Points to Remember

Eckhard Kaesekamp: 707-350-1148

Above all else, be respectful of the buyers’ time and their space.

Come equipped with everything you’ll need, be on time, keep your presentation short, clean up after yourself, and leave on time. Don’t forget to have promotional information to leave with the buyers including all your contact information.

eckhard@knightsgrapevinenursery.com 23308 Gifford Road, Knights Landing, CA 95645

YOUR BEST CHOICE FOR THE STRONGEST, CLEANEST PLANTS!

Above all else, remember, this is a process. If you have any questions along the way, seek out expert advice. ■

Summer 2014 33

2014 PROWEIN

Canada Carves Out Presence at Prowein 2014 Canada needs to invest more heavily in marketing wines abroad, says the president of Burrowing Owl Estate Winery. Chris Wyse was attending the 20th annual Prowein tradeshow in Dusseldorf, where Canada made a small but impressive showing amongst the massive halls dominated by France, Germany and Spain. Held in March in Düsseldorf, Germany, the 20th edition of this mammoth show bills itself as “the leading international trade fair for wines and spirits.” There were around 4,830 exhibitors from 47 wine- producing countries covering all of the key wine regions, including smaller ones such as BC's Okanagan Valley. More than 48,000 international trade visitors – including wine agents, distributors such as wholesalers and liquor boards, retail stores and chains, hotels and restaurants - up seven per cent from 2013, showed up with clear business goals in mind.

By international standards Canada is a small wine producing nation. There are about 15,000 acres of grapes planted in Ontario, and about 10,000 in the Okanagan. These two areas produce about 98 per cent of Canada's quality wines.

But in terms of quality, Canada is punching above its weight for a newer wine region, and Canadian wineries were well received at Prowein.

Maple Leaf Flies at Prowein One of the smaller exhibits, the Canadian Pavilion featured 12 wineries, mostly from Ontario, but also Nova 34 Summer 2014

Photos by Michael Botner

By Michael Botner

Chris Wyse and Nora Grütters, Canada’s Trade Commissioner for Agriculture and Seafood Products in Düsseldorf

Scotia, Quebec (Apple Ice Wine), and British Columbia.

Only Burrowing Owl and St. Hubertus wineries poured at Prowein to represent BC. Although modest in size, the pavilion organizers showcased the space effectively by hosting a reception, which attracted a standing room only crowd of industry colleagues to taste Canadian wines.

Wyse says ProWein Düsseldorf is an international wine show of immense importance, and its central location is a big plus. “The show puts our wines in the vicinity of key market influencers,” he says.

“With smaller volumes, that critical momentum takes even longer to establish. Luckily, we were able to piggy back on the platform that was created by the Grape Growers of Ontario," the driving force behind the Canadian Pavilion Wyse says the Ontario grape growers have done a very good job of marketing in Eu-

Deanna Sperry, Director of sales; Donna and Carl Sparkes, Co-owners of Devonian Coast Wineries in Nova Scotia.

rope. “Our agent in Europe works closely with an agent in Germany that focuses primarily on Ontario wines.”

With their support, he adds, “we have been selling wine in Europe for about six months and have identified this as a market that we wanted to continue to grow. There are export matching funds we hope to receive with this and

other export initiatives. Global reach takes a long time to establish but has the upside that once established, it can be long-lasting.”

Wyse identifies the lack of marketing power or support in Canada as a roadblock for B.C.’s small wine industry.

Commenting on Burrowing Owl`s experience with the German market, Wyse says,

“Similar to Canada, Germans are great wine producers, but are also actively involved in importing and enjoying large volumes of wine from around the world.” The experience at ProWein has been positive for Wyse. “We have made some great contacts. We have received our first large order and we hope the momentum will continue.”

Several Canadian wineries, notably Pelee Island in Ontario, have found a healthy markets for table wine in Europe, especially in northern European countries such as Holland, Germany and the U.K. Pelee Island’s export wizard, Everett de Jong, praises ProWein Düsseldorf. “I’ve been meeting buyers at ProWein Düsseldorf for seven years and it has delivered good customers,” he says. “With China as the emerging market, I am looking forward to ProWein Shanghai in November.”

Harald Thiel of Hidden Bench on Niagara’s Beamsville Bench says Prowein is important because it allows Canadian wineries to access markets where prices are higher. “As a smaller quantity, high quality winery, we can’t compete on price. Concentrating on gastronomy-conscious markets makes the most sense.”

Carl Sparkes of Nova Scotia’s recently established Devonian Coast Wineries group, poured wines from Jost Vineyards on the Malagash Peninsula, Gaspereau Vineyards in the Annapolis Valley, as well as a Maple Wine based on raw sap under the Devonian Coast label. Sparkes stressed the need to develop an overall national strategy for marketing Canadian wines. Commenting on the fragmented wine growing areas across the country, he noted that, “Atlantic Canada is the most homogenous region.”

Presentation of “red favourites” of Germany in the tasting area Deutsches Weininstitut exhibit..

Highlights of the show: ProWein inhabits eight halls in one of the largest trade fair grounds in the world, taking up about half of its 300,000 square metres.

The exhibits and how they are arranged (by country, region, individualized) are unique - in size, design and personality.

Forecasts indicate that consumers will be spending more on wine over the next 20 years, according to a ProWein survey.

It will be gradual, and it looks like there will be even more producers and beverage alcohol products competing in a market of polarizing supermarket distribution for mass producers, with specialist sellers (and winery-driven direct-to-consumer sales) the only alternatives for niche and boutique producers.

But producers like Wyse and Sparkes say getting in on the increased demand for wine and spirits will require a greater commitment to international marketing efforts by Canada.

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Summer 2014 35

Champagne Lounge • A champagne lounge provided space for 25 rooms, small and large, for serving sparkling wines and for meetings, as well as a large island where visitors had the opportunity to pour samples from a wide selection of open bottles.

Germany • Germany’s winemakers filled a substantial segment of the trade fair, one of the largest at the show, with row after row of stations generally clustered by region, but under the umbrella of Deutsches Weininstitut (DWI), the marketing organization for the German wine industry.

France • France occupied two halls or about one-quarter of the total space, and put on a massive showing. For example, the producers of Grands Crus de Bordeaux at ProWein had about 140 wineries hosting an exhaustive tasting of their 2011 wines.

USA • New York State put on an impressive show from winemakers in Finger Lakes (Villa Bellangelo Winery), Hudson Valley (Brotherhood) (Niagara Escarpment (Leonard Oakes Estate Winery), Lake Erie and Long Island in a corner of the big U.S. sector, sitting next to other states like California, Washington and Oregon.

Other Countries and Regions • There were all the major countries and regions on hand but also many lesser known places such as Georgia in the South Caucasus, Great Britain, Moldavia, China, Lebanon, Israel, and Japan. China in particular is a country to watch. While relatively new to wine production, China is now the fifth largest producer of wine by volume in the world.

Packaging and Glassware • Exhibits and events also featured spirits and products such as wine packaging and wine glasses. Colombia’s Dictador Rum gets the highest marks for turning heads with models in outrageous, black militarytype outfits. An enologist with Portugal’s great cork company, Amorim, presented research on the influence of closure on reduction in wine evolution with a tasting of wines to illustrate their effects. ■

36 Summer 2014

MOBILE JUICING

Helping to Create Value Added Products

By Darcy Nybo

resulting pulp for jams, jellies, cider, spirits and even wine.

Three years ago Kristen Trovato wanted to start her own business. There were several things to consider; most important was making sure her customers profited from her service. “When I decided to start a mobile juicing company, the whole business made sense to me,” said Kristen. “I wasn’t selling a product; I was helping someone else create a value-added product. The fact I get to turn a profit and my clients do too, is the winwin I was looking for.”

“We went to Switzerland

Photos Contributed

Kristen’s husband Remo sold his web design company so he could work with Kristen after their first year proved highly promising. Now they roam the orchards and fields of British Columbia and create delicious and nutritious juices. At first they only processed apple juice, but after several enquiries they decided to expand to berries and cherries.

The process for juice is simple.

Farmers book a time and date and Mobile Juicing drives up to the property with a generator to power their trailer.

“We attach the trailer to a water supply and the farmer loads the fruit onto the conveyor,” explained Kristen.

“The fruit gets washed and then sent into the mechanism. The juice is then flash pasteurized and packaged in a Bag-In-Box system.”

Remo and Kristen Trovato put the squeeze on their customers and created a win-win situation for everyone involved with Mobile Juicing.

now we do all types of berries and cherries.”

and met with manufacturers to learn how to process the cherries,” explained Remo.

“We needed an efficient way to separate the cherries from the pits. We added a de-stoner to the unit and got a continuous feed belt press, and

They also do peaches and apricots with their juicer on wheels; however, they just destone the peaches and provide their customers with the

To make things even easier for farmers, Mobile Juicing provides the Bag-In-Box, with custom designed labels on the boxes (minimum 1500 5L Bag-In-Box).

“We need a minimum of 6,400 lbs. in order for us to come to your farm and process your fruit,” said Remo.

“We’ve also figured out a way for people with less fruit to benefit. For example, once we finish up with a farmer, his neighbour can come to where

Summer 2014 37

we are and we’ll process what they have while we are in the area.”

“We also do group days,” adds Kristen.

“Hobby and small farmers bring their bins to a central location and it becomes a communal event. We are very flexible and want to have lots of options available for our customers. We encourage

farmers to invite their neighbours and sometimes we pair people up if they have less than the minimum amount.”

To get an idea of just how much fruit is needed, 200 lbs. fills one press, which equals 12 – 5L boxes of juice. You don’t have to stick to one type of fruit either.

The Trovato’s have created some very

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tasty juices by mixing berries and apples together. For farmers that grow berries and apples, they simply freeze the berries and add them to the apple mix once the apples are at their prime ripeness.

“The fresher the apple the better the juice,” said Remo. “So far we’ve found the best mix for apple juice is a mix of tart and a sweet apples.”

Juicing is also a viable option for farmers who don’t have crop insurance and are left with ugly fruit that won’t sell in grocery stores. “Last year we had two farmers that juiced their entire orchards because of hail damage,” said Kristen.

“As long as it is only little dents and misshapen apples, we will juice them.”

Mobile Juicing has travelled everywhere from Salmon Arm to Osoyoos, but if there’s an opportunity they’ll go anywhere fruit grows in BC. “We will go to the Lower Mainland and into the Similkameen and Kootenays this season,” said Kristen. “All we need is a couple clients and we are there. Even if one farmer wants us, we’ll make enquiries of neighbouring farms to see if they’d like to use our service as well.”

Aside from the 5L boxes, Mobile Juicing has flexible and customizable packaging with their small bottling line and a smaller 3L Bag-In-Box. Kristen and Remo are looking into ways to use the pulp produced when juicing.

“We could make paper from apple pulp or use it as feed for animals, the options are endless. Our service is only limited by our imaginations.” ■

 MACINTOSH ON MONEY | PETER MACINTOSH

Managing your Winery – It's All About the Cash!

Monitoring the cash flow of a winery is equally as important as monitoring profitability due to the large seasonal expenditures involved. We suggest, as a minimum, that a 36 month cash flow plan should be drafted and continually monitored that addresses the following:

ship, understanding, planning and continually managing your cash flow is vital to not only success but survival.

O

wning and operating a winery requires a significant amount of capital investment. Initial start up costs are substantial, such as establishing vineyards and paying for winery buildings and equipment. Furthermore, it can be several years from first expenditures out in the vineyard until you get to sell a bottle of wine and convert your efforts back to cash.

In the world of winery owner-

We have the privilege of encountering a lot of people that are involved in the wine industry. One shared trait that we see is a passion to make great wine. What we impress upon them is that their passion for making a great wine must be equaled by a passion for selling the wine. One of the quickest ways to run out of money is to build up a large inventory of unsold wine. Establishing reasonable sales targets as well as sales distribution channels must be the starting point of any winery business plan.

>

• Normal monthly operating expenses such as wages, rent, insurances, supplies; • Seasonal expenditures such as harvest wages, bottle or barrel or grape purchases; • Capital expenditures such as planting costs, equipment purchases or winery building expansions; • Any increase in costs related to a planned increase in production;

• Factor in, as much as possible, fluctuations in crop yield and selling prices; A cash flow projection does not have to be a complicated thing. It is normally a spreadsheet that lays out, on a month by month basis, projected cash inflows and cash outflows. For example, you would identify cash that you project to receive from wine or grape sales as well as cash injections from lenders or owners. You would also estimate your normal monthly operating expenses as well as any large seasonal expenditures or other capital outlay such as equipment purchases or planting costs. The number at the end of each month is either positive or negative.

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The benefits of using a cash flow projection are many. A cash flow projection will allow you to effectively manage the times when your cash reserves are low as opposed to being caught off guard and harming your ability to operate your business. Other benefits are as follows: • Identify a need to obtain bank financing ahead of time as opposed to at the last minute • Allow for proactive planning for large capital expenses • Identify whether the financial resources exist to increase production or, perhaps, identify the need to decrease production • Identify the need to have owners inject cash into the business Another important aspect of cash flow planning involves how you pay for different types of assets. As a general rule you want to match the payment of the asset or expenditure with the expected cash flow for that asset. You want to pay or finance short term assets or expenditures with short term money i.e. paying wages from cash generated from operations.

You want to pay or finance long term assets with long term money i.e. financing equipment over its expected useful life.

Some agricultural lenders will defer payment of principal and interest on loans that are used to establish vineyards for up to five years. These lenders understand it takes that amount of time for a new vineyard to produce grapes that can be used to generate cash. Demanding payment before that time creates a cash flow burden on a winery.

We regularly work with our winery and vineyard clients to assist them with cash flow planning. Establishing methods to monitor and manage cash flow is vital to managing relationships with lenders.

More importantly, properly managing cash flow will allow you to deal with the financial requirements of running your business. In the world of wine, more so than in other businesses, cash is king. ■ Peter MacIntosh, CPA, CA is a partner with White Kennedy LLP. White Kennedy has offices in West Kelowna, Penticton and Osoyoos. Peter can be reached at 250-492-9984 or atpmacintosh@whitekennedy.com.

40 Summer 2014

 WORLD WINE WEB | MIKE COOPER

How Do You Compete in a Competitive Market?

I really felt important to them because there was an effort to make sure I was known by name the next time I walked in. Obviously their computer system has my photo connected to my name so they would recognize me, but that doesn’t take away the good feeling you get walking in and being greeted like Norm from Cheers.

called your competition and they told me the exact same thing!”

What is usually missing that makes any business stand out from the competition and become a success is innovation.

W

hen I am working with a new client I usually ask this question. “What makes you different from your competition? Why should I hire you over them?” While the intention is usually good, the answers I get are usually very general. “We do it cheaper," “We do it the right way”,“We focus on the customer." My reply is usually said in a lighthearted way, “Well I just

One of the first ways your business can be innovative is in customer service. I was a new customer of my local dentist, in for a full exam which included pictures of my mouth. While they were busy with that, the hygienists did something to make me laugh and quickly snapped my photo. Fast forward six months and no sooner had I walked in the door for my next cleaning and the receptionist greets me by name like she has known me for years.

One of the biggest areas I think all businesses need help with is being innovative with their efficiency. A business that is not efficient at what they do is pretty much dead in today’s economy. With tough economic times, you need to always think about how you can produce more in less time while not sacrificing quality.

Going back twenty years, I was working in a production plant and witnessed management ‘thinking outside the box’. They did something very innovative to improve production. After they were done the area I was working in increased production by over 100% without making the staff work harder.

They took a dozen workers all from other departments of the plant who had no idea on how the work was done in these areas. They then observed what was being done, asked a few questions and took lots of notes. They had meetings about what they saw and pitched ideas on what could be implemented to make things more ef-

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Summer 2014 41

ficient. Afterwards, a plan was implemented over the whole plant without spending a lot of money by just thinking of better ways get the job done.

This was an innovative way of thinking.

As a business owner or manager, how often do you think to pull someone aside who knows nothing about what you do and ask for help on how you can be more efficient?

For my last example on innovation I want to pick a business that should hit home for most of you. Davison Orchard is a landmark in Vernon, it’s a tourist attraction, it’s a place for family fun, it’s a place of great memories and finally it’s an orchard.

In a time when farmers were (and many still are) in tight times, Davison Orchard knew in order to be competitive they had to be innovative. They made the decision to turn an ordinary farm into something extraordinary by making it into a local tourist attraction. One may have thought they were crazy with hundreds of other farms and orchards in the Okanagan, why would someone go to one for fun or as an attraction? Today there are not many people in the Okanagan or beyond that do not know of Davison’s Orchard.

To wrap things up, I want to help keep you focused on how you can make sure your business is innovative and different from the rest of your competition. I want you take this quote below and put it

somewhere that you will see it every day before you go to do your work or before you serve your next customer. Think of it when you are working on what your next steps are to make sure your businesses is being innovative. ■ “To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success.”

Henry J. Heinz.

Mike Cooper is the owner of Black Mountain Media. See what Black Mountain does at: www. blackmountainmedia.ca or send Mike a note at: mike@ blackmountainmedia.ca You can also call: 778-214-0519

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42 Summer 2014

 THE WORD ON WINE | MILES PRODAN

Ontario Needs to Learn from BC VQA Program understand the level of commitment and capital required to get into the Canadian wine business to begin with – and regardless of the province where you may choose to start a winery.

for some substantial government support for the Ontario wine industry.

T

he province’s big picture support for the sale of BC wine – and the BC industry’s successes – has been highlighted following recent announcements in Ontario.

a

ui tsq

In his first public address in over 30 years at a recent Vancouver Board of Trade luncheon, guest speaker, serial entrepreneur and Mission Hill Family Estate proprietor Anthony von Mandl confirmed to the audience that constructing even a modest-sized family winery can require an investment of roughly $7 to 10 million and it can take three to five years of production before significant cash flow is generated in return, assuming one can overcome the biggest challenge facing most small Canadian wineries: A lack of retailing options.

The flurry of recent Ontario government announcements has inevitably led to the question of how does Ontario VQA government support compare to government support of BC VQA?

Currently the governmentowned liquor sales and distribution channels like the LCBO (and BC’s Liquor Distribution Board) require allocation, brand support, quality and

To give the question context, a reality check is helpful to

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Fortunately, Ontario’s renewed Wine and Grape Strategy seems like a sincere attempt to finally provide that province’s VQA wines new and improved retail channels, specifically those mentioned in the Strategy: farmers’ markets and the LCBO’s new Our Wine Country destination boutiques, somewhat akin to BC’s own VQA wine stores.

Fortunately for the wine industry in British Columbia, we recognized long ago that in order for consumers to embrace, support and, most

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.

M

Last Christmas the Ontario government, to great fanfare, announced a “new” $75 million provincial Wine and Grape Strategy. This came on the heels of an announcement earlier that fall of the establishment of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario’s new Our Wine Country destination boutiques, to be located inside selected fullsized LCBO stores across the province, and to offer an expanded selection of Ontario’s exceptional VQA wines. These announcements have made

Like with many government announcements, not all was as it seems. It turns out that while it is good news for the Ontario VQA wine industry, the $75 million is more specifically $15 million a year over five years. Also, it isn’t new, but a well anticipated – and hoped for – renewal of a program launched in 2009, when the Ontario industry tore itself apart along small and large winery lines. The resulting levy placed on Ontario wineries (not new government revenue) funded the 2009 Wine and Grape Strategy and further drove a wedge in the Ontario industry.

pricing requirements many small wineries – and especially those just starting out – simply lack the production and the capital to be able to meet. In Ontario, the only retail alternative to the LCBO for small VQA producers is to sell directly from the cellar door. However, this relies on a strategic investment in tourism marketing to drive consumers to the tasting rooms, which thankfully is the focus of Ontario’s Strategy.

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importantly, buy BC VQA wine there needed to be ready and easy access. Consequently, some time ago, the provincial government introduced private liquor stores to provide consumers access to BC wine outside the government liquor stores.

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The BC government has consistently approached the BC wine industry with a holistic and long-term view rather than implementing one-off programs that are renewed at the government’s discretion and with the political climate of the day.

It is obvious that BC’s collaborative and singular wine industry voice is heard by government as it develops policies and regulations. One need look no further for an example than Parliamentary Secretary John Yap’s recently announced Liquor Policy Review recommendations that included direct benefits to the BC wine industry, such as farmers’ market wine sales, grocery store in-aisle BC VQA, among many others.

Support from the provincial government has helped the BC wine industry become the more than $2 billion-a-year economic generator it is today. Not to mention, the 10,000 jobs created in BC as a result of the wine and grape industry.

In the end, renewal of Ontario’s Wine and Grape Strategy will be good for Ontario VQA wines but falls short in comparison to the market access and government policy we enjoy here in BC. ■ Miles Prodan, President & CEO The BC Wine Institute represents 119 winery members and 17 grape growing partners that represent 95% of the province’s total wine production and produce 88% of wine production made from 100% B.C. grapes. www.winebc.com

 LEGAL LIBATIONS | DENESE ESPEUT-POST

Have the Grapes Really Been Freed? Part 2 ly shipped from the winery.

of that destination province.

To be clear the IILA remains good law, except a personal consumption exemption has now been created.

A

s the tourist season picks up, a review of the provincial laws regarding inter-provincial wine importation seems appropriate. I have previously written on the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act (“IILA”) which dates back to 1928 and the 2012 personal consumption amendment. I questioned whether the grapes had really been freed.

You may recall that until the summer of 2012, the IILA made it illegal for you to bring wine from one province into another, whether for your own personal consumption or otherwise. The 2012 amendment created an exemption for the importation of wine into a province “in quantities and as permitted by the laws”

Alberta The Gaming and Liquor Regulation specifically allows for wine to be brought into Alberta from other provinces for personal use or consumption without limitation on quantity subject to Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission policy. The Commission has set policy that wine must accompany the individual. The requirement to have wine “brought back to Alberta with you” does not permit direct shipping.

The exemption only applies if the person bringing wine into a province complies with that province’s laws. So, it becomes important to know what the laws of a province permit you to do, so when you are travelling home or on vacation with wine, you know if you fall within the exemption.

British Columbia

Saskatchewan

BC’s Liquor Possession Regulation permits you to bring wine from another province into BC for your own personal consumption as long as you are carrying it with you and the amount does not exceed 9L. However, wine entirely grown and produced in another province and purchased from producing winery for your own consumption can be brought into BC without limit, whether you carry it with you or you have it direct-

The Alcohol Control Regulations 2013 state that a person may personally bring up to 9L of wine into Saskatchewan.

Again, direct shipping is not permitted.

Manitoba The Liquor and Gaming Control Act does not prohibit a person from possessing wine that was lawfully imported into Manitoba. Neither limitations on quantity nor per-

sonal accompaniment are specified. The provincial government has stated there are no restrictions on the amount of wine you can bring into the province for personal consumption, whether on your person or through direct shipping.

Ontario Like Manitoba, the Liquor Licence Act states it is legal to possess wine that is “legally imported” into Ontario without specifics on quantity or personal accompaniment.

The Liquor Commission Board has created policy that wine imported from other provinces must be by personal possession and up to 9L. Quebec There is no provincial law that regulates the inter-provincial shipment of wine at this time.

An Act Respecting Offences Relating to Alcoholic Beverages makes it an offence to transport wine not purchased from the government or an authorized vendor within Quebec.

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The Liquor Control Act allows the transport of wine that has been “brought” into Nova Scotia from other provinces in an amount limited by regulation. Currently, there is no regulation setting permissible quantities. Importing wine personally appears permissible but direct shipping would likely not be permissible.

New Brunswick The Liquor Control Act allows a person to possess one bottle of wine that has been purchased outside of NB from a liquor board or similar agency. The legislation does not specifically mention purchases from wineries or vendors authorized by an appropriate government agency so it is questionable whether wine purchased from a winery and brought into NB would fall within the exemption.

Newfoundland The Liquor Limitation Order does permit a person to bring wine from other provinces into Newfoundland to a maximum of 1.14L on one occasion. In the writer’s opinion, Newfoundland’s law likely does not extend to direct shipments.

Prince Edward Island The Liquor Control Act permits a person to “import” wine from other provinces into PEI to a maximum of 9 L for personal consumption. The use of the word “imported” in the legislation can be interpreted to include both personal accompaniment and direct shipping. However, the PEI Liquor Control Commission has released a policy statement advising that the wine must be carried in your personal or checked luggage.

The above is a brief overview of the certain provincial requirements for the IILA personal consumption exemption and are provided for informational purposes alone. Please speak with your lawyer to confirm the law in these jurisdictions and seek advice of the application of the law to your personal circumstances. ■ Denese Espeut-Post is an Okanaganbased lawyer and owns Avery Law Office. Her primary areas of practice include wine and business law. She also teaches the wine law courses at Okanagan College.

 THE WILD THINGS | MARGARET HOLM

Support the Bees, and They'll Support You

W

e’ve all heard that honey bees and native bees are in trouble in North America.

There seem to be a number of factors leading to the decline of native pollinator populations of honey bee colonies.

Minute quantities of neonicotinoid pesticides have been implicated in bee population decline and have been banned in many European

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Maintaining a healthy population of insect pollinators is vital to agricultural production and the environment.

countries. The second factor severely affecting honey bees is the Varroa mite. A third factor may relate to poor nutritional opportunities for bees feeding on monocultures of some commodity crops. Recent drastic declines in some native bumblebee populations have lead researchers to hypothesize that diseases were spread from non-native bumblebees used in greenhouses.

Use of pesticides is a part of most farm operations, however good management practices can ensure that bees have little or no direct contact with toxic sprays. Consider the following before applying pesticides.

Are you practicing Integrated Pest Management by correctly identifying the pest problem and applying treatment at the lowest effective label rate?

Both wild and domestic bees provide millions of dollars of pollination services to fruit and ground crops. Although they are not needed for grape pollination, they do pollinate cover crops and plants that support beneficial insects.

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Have you checked pesticide options available and the toxicity of the product to

bees? Check the label, the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) web site, or get advice from field services staff and your local pesticide supplier.

Do you know the location of beehives owned or being used for pollination by neighbouring agricultural properties? If they are nearby, contact the bee-keeper about your spraying plans.

Have you planned your spraying to avoid the time when bees are most active? Remember that native bees are active at lower temperatures than honey bees.

Avoid flower bloom times – for crops, cover crops, and

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Summer 2014 47

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flowering weeds – when bees are attracted to your property. One option is to remove flowers before pesticide application by mowing.

Are you using techniques to reduce pesticide spray drift? Air-blast sprayers can produce finer droplets with greater drift potential. Consider redirecting or turning off nozzles, or use technologies that reduce drift. Have you tested or calibrated your nozzles this year?

Are you carefully considering wind and temperature conditions before spraying to reduce spray drift?

Go to the Health Canada site and search for “Protecting Pollinators during Pesticide Spraying” for more tips on best management practices. Be aware that pollinators collect pollen and water as well as flower nectar and can be harmed by pesticide residue from these sources.

Ground-nesting bumble bees are also very susceptible to pesticides used in turf management.

You can support bees by providing areas of native habitat or buffer crops of clover and other flowering plants that are not sprayed. Minimize tillage in natural areas and leave gullies and hedgerows which are ideal nesting and foraging habitat.

Weathered wood such as fence posts, sheds and trees offer homes to many native pollinators such as mason bees. Native bumble bee and mason bee species are more efficient pollinators than honeybees and are active longer when the weather is cold and wet. They need very little in return for their services—a small hole to nest in and native habitat to support them after the commercial crop has blossomed. ■ Report suspected pollinator pesticide poisonings to Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency at 1-800-267-6315.

Margaret Holm works for the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance.

Contact her at outreach@osca.org.

Follow us on: twitter.com/orchard_vine 48 Summer 2014

 GUEST COLUMN | INVESTMENT AGRICULTURE FOUNDATION

Funding Helps BC Agriculture Go Global

F

rom the US to the UK, throughout Asia and the Middle East, BC agrifoods have been circling the globe in pursuit of new markets, thanks to the BC Agrifoods Export Program. In less than three months from its November 2013 launch, IAF committed over $600,000 of federal and provincial funding into projects to help BC’s agriculture, food and seafood sectors showcase their products around the world.

Companies like vitamin manufacturer Herbaland Naturals, and Nutraex Food, a developer of natural sweeteners for mass produced foods, used export funding to travel to Southern California and attend Natural Products Expo West, one of the world’s largest natural health product and supplement tradeshows.

Meyer Family Vineyards also headed south for the World of Pinot Noir Symposium in Santa Barbara, where they presented their Okanagan-produced wines to California consumers. The Meyers were also able to travel to London to promote their award-winning Pinot noir and Chardonnay at trade and media tastings.

particularly optimistic about the contacts they were able to establish in Japan, and is confident about their export plans for this new base.

For Messent, export funding is not only beneficial to his company, it is a key resource for enhancing the competitiveness of the entire industry.

“We are getting serious about export opportunities that can potentially boost profits for many BC fruit growers,” says Messent. “Our premium quality crops are already enjoyed within the domestic marketplace, but it's important to have funding support available to help us expand our customer base and put BC products on the map.”

After a highly successful pilot year, the BC Agrifoods Export Program has been renewed for 2014-15. Up to $50,000 in matching funds is available for projects that enable industry engagement in in-

ternational market development activities, including participation in international tradeshows, promotional events and incoming/outgoing missions, and creating marketing materials to support international market development. Participants must contribute 50% in cash of the total project cost. ■ For more program and application information, visit www.iafbc.ca/exportmarket-dev.htm Funding provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the BC Ministry of Agriculture through the BC Agrifoods Export Program under Growing Forward 2, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative. The program is delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC.

For president John Meyer, the project was a pivotal step in facilitating international market access.

“We previously secured a distributor and importer in California, but attending this event allowed us to launch into the California market,” explains Meyer. “We saw some direct sales from the show itself, plus we were able to develop some promising leads that will likely increase export sales within upcoming months.”

BC Gourmet Foods pursued target export markets in Dubai and the Middle East for their new premium seafood and wild mushroom product. As a result of project funding, the company is currently in the process of formalizing a food service partner agreement in the UAE. Consolidated Fruit Packers (CFP) presented a bounty of BC blueberries and tree fruits to potential buyers in Germany and Japan, through a series of meetings and events. CFP president Brian Messent is

Summer 2014 49

Safety Resources for B.C. Fruit and Grape Growers Understanding how to work in and around confined spaces can save your life. That’s an important message for B.C. farmers and food producers. While workplace injuries in agricultural confined spaces are rare, if they occur they can be serious and fatal.

In 2002, two Okanagan winemakers died in a wine fermentation tank. Six years later, on a Langley mushroom farm, three men died while working in a pump shed; another two suffered devastating injuries.

Every one of those deaths was preventable.

What is a confined space?

A confined space is an enclosed or partially enclosed area that’s big enough for a worker to enter. It may be enclosed on all sides, or on as few as two sides. On a vineyard or orchard, confined spaces may be present in a crawl space or cellar, an irrigation pump station, or even inside refrigeration equipment.

What you’ll find in the booklets These easy-to-read resources correspond to different farm and business types and include helpful information such as: • How to identify and confined space • How to conduct an inventory of the confined spaces on your farm • How to get proper training You’ll also find information and checklist to help you identify confined spaces, typical hazards, and training resources, as well as peel-and-stick safety signs you can post around your workplace to alert workers to confined spaces.

The booklets will be distributed to all farms in BC, as well as posted on worksafebc.com/agriculture, where you can find regulations and guidelines, case studies, and images on confined spaces.

Because of the various hazards contained within these types of spaces, confined spaces are not designed for someone to work in regularly. They’re places where entry may be needed from time to time for inspection, cleaning, maintenance, or repair and should be properly assessed before any entry.

Easy-to-read resources With help from the Farm and Ranch Safety and Health Association (FARSHA), WorkSafeBC has developed a series of safety booklets to raise awareness about best practices for working safely around confined spaces in agriculture.

“The booklets are customized for your particular type of business, and provide practical information for you, your supervisors, and your workers,” says Ian Munroe, WorkSafeBC’s Vice-President of Employer, Industry, and Worker Services. “I encourage you to read them and share them with your employees, so that together, we can ensure you — and each and every one of your employees — go home safe at the end of the day.”

50 Summer 2014

Five steps to worker safety In addition to the booklets, there are other steps you can take to ensure the safety of your workers when it comes to confined spaces on your work site: 1. Identify all the confined spaces on your farm or processing operation.

2. Post warning signs outside the confined spaces, and seal or lock them to prevent anyone from entering.

3. Ensure that a qualified person determines the hazards for each space.

4. Communicate with your workers about the locations of confined spaces and the hazards that are present.

5. Determine which spaces need to be entered.

For more information on the confined space in agriculture initiative or to download additional booklets, please visit the Safety at Work centre for agriculture at worksafebc.com/agriculture.

Safety Resources for BC Fruit and Grape Growers Safety booklets are now available that provide practical information on how to work safely around confined spaces in agriculture.

To access and download resources on confined spaces in agriculture, please visit worksafebc.com/agriculture.

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