orchard & vine fall2013
DESCRIPTION
Explore the pages of the Fall Issue and learn about the Cidery Explosion in BC, Mt.Lehman Winery from the Fraser Valley,BC Fruit packinghouse renovations and the Pacific Berry Resource Centre at the University of the Fraser Valley. Fun photos from the Feast of Fields and columnist Sandra Oldfield discusses the Canadian Top 10 Reasons to Free My Grapes and much more!TRANSCRIPT
Display Until Dec. 15, 2013Publication Mail Agreement
No. 40838008 www.orchardandvine.net
Fraser Valley Berry Resource Centre
Cidery Explosion
Fruit Packing Reborn
Feast of Fields
Fall 2013 $6.95
2 Fall 2013
Features19 The Fraser Valley Challenge to Fine Wines
23 Cidery Explosion
27 New Digs for the Pacific Berry Resource Centre
29 Fruit Packing House Reborn
31 Soil Amendments and Control of Pathogens
46 Loss of an Industry Leader
Double Cross Cidery of Kelowna is part of the Cider explosion page 23.
Cover Photo: Del Halladay of Elephant Island Orchard Wines at the Naramata Tailgate Party.Photo by Kirstin Wakal
Phot
o by
Kirs
tin W
akal
Phot
o by
Ros
e Se
xsm
ith
Raudz Regional Grill prepared food for the Fiest of Field in Kelowna.
Regulars4 Publisher's View – Lisa Olson
6 Calendar
8 News & Events
35 Wanderings – Sandra Oldfield
37 World Wine Web – Mike Cooper
39 Legal Libations – Denese Espeut-Post
41 Money Talks – Geoff McIntyre
43 The Wild Things – Margaret Holm
45 Editor’s View – Devon Brooks
Tours at Little Church Organics were part of the Feast of Fields celebration on page 8.
Phot
o by
Ros
e Se
xsm
ith
Raudz Regional Grill prepared food for the Fiest of Field in Kelowna.
4 Fall 2013
PUBLISHER’S VIEW | LISA OLSON
Phot
o by
Kim
Els
asse
r
What is a family business like? Is it more than just working in your business with one or
more family members? The best busi-nesses operate like a family business, where everyone is collaborating and pulling together.
Your family business may not include actual family members, but team mem-bers of your business may have become like an extended family. Like family, you spend your days together working side by side, sharing ideas, completing tasks, accomplishing goals and ideally are in sync with one another on the common goal. Other times, just like family there can be off days.
It’s also important to have a balance of work, quality time, time alone plus some fun and entertainment! Maybe you have already integrated a fun area at work with a ping-pong table or basketball hoop or pizza days, lunches out, or a fun event to attend together.
One thing I noticed this year while visit-ing fruit stands, farmers’ markets, winer-ies and attending Feast of Fields was the working teams behind the scenes of the operations. Like a good solid family, pre-paring for company, these job families were supporting each other to present their freshest and delicious products to-gether with friendly warm smiles. What a great experience; I truly felt a sense of welcome.
Job satisfaction and happiness sure show up on the job. Made me think of the oth-er people visiting or shopping like I was and how enjoyable it all is for them too. Such great ambassadors for our country!
This season presented such a feast of fresh local food, quality wine and fun events!
Best of the harvest to you and your fami-lies and work families!
Enjoy the Magazine!
My sincere condolences go out to the family of Joe Sardinha, to Julie and children, Brian and Katie.
Family BusinessVol. 54, No 5 Fall 2013
Established in 1959
Publisher
Lisa Olson
Editor
Devon Brooks
Graphic Design
Stephanie Symons
Contributors
Michael Botner,
Devon Brooks, Mike Cooper,
Kim Elsasser,
Denese Espeut-Post,
Margaret Holm,Geoffrey McIntyre,
Darcy Nybo, Sandra Oldfield,
Ronda Payne, Dona Sturmanis
Sales & Marketing
Holly Thompson
Circulation
Orchard & Vine Magazine
1576 West Kelowna Road
West Kelowna, B.C., V1Z 3H5
E-mail:
www.orchardandvine.net
Phone: 250-769-2123
Fax: 1-866-433-3349
Orchard & Vine Magazine is published six
times a year and distributed by addressed
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
Providing Canadian Grapevine SolutionsBRITISH COLUMBIA
Frank Whiteheadp. 250-762-9845c. 250-878-3656
ONTARIOWes Wiens/Tina Tourigny
p. [email protected]@vinetech.ca
NOVA SCOTIAMichael Lightfootp. 902-542-1571c. 902-698-6909
5 Fall 2013
Ready to expand? We learn how you want togrow, then create a financing package thathelps you do it. Work with the leading lender to agriculture, agribusiness and agri-food inCanada. Let’s talk business.
fccfinancing.ca
When you talk financing with FCC,we’ll listen
Dion Wiebe, President, Rossdown Natural Foods, Abbotsford, B.C.
“We worked with FCC toexpand our business.”
29183 E Rossdown 8.625x11.125_29183 2013-06-07 3:00 PM Page 1
6 Fall 2013
FALL | CALENDAR
38th Annual American Agri-Women Convention – Canadian TourNov 6-7Holiday Inn & Suites, Parkway Conference CentreSt. Catherines, ONhttp://www.americanagriwomen.org
6th Building SustainABLE Communities ConferenceNovember 25-28Delta Grand ResortKelowna, BChttp://freshoutlookfoundation.org
Unified Wine & Grape SymposiumJanuary 28 - 30, 2014Sacramento Convention Center Sacramento, Californiahttp://www.unifiedsymposium.org
12th Annual Agri-Food Industry GalaJanuary 29, 2014 Ramada Plaza and Conference Centre Abbotsford, BChttp://www.bcac.bc.ca
16th AnnualPacific Agriculture ShowJanuary 30 - Feb 1, 2014Tradex Exhibition Centre Abbotsford, BChttp://www.agricultureshow.net
57th International Fruit Tree AssociationAnnual Conference & Intensive WorkshopFebruary 27-March 1, 2014Delta Grand Okanagan ResortKelowna, BC http://www.ifruittree.org
Rugged flail choppers to
MOW, SHRED
& EVENLY SPREDChopping the heaviest
materials, just leaving a fine mulch behind.
Double twin flails for grasscutting and light scrub cleaning
Universal hammer flails for heavy duty pulverizing
SHREDDERS-FLV
5592 Hwy 97Oliver BC250-498-2524250-498-6231
Are you protected from frost, freeze, hAil, rAin split And other insurAble perils?
Don’t miss out! Weather is unpredictable! Call now and book your appointment today!
Kelowna 1-888-332-3352Oliver 1-888-812-8811
ApplicAtion DeADlines
october 31: Grapes
november 30: Tree FruiTs
it’s A sound business decision to mAnAge your risk.
For more information visit: www.al.gov.bc.ca/production_insurance
Phot
o by
Ros
e Se
xsm
ith
7 Fall 2013
BOTTLES | CAPSULES | DECORATING | DESIGN | ENGINEERING | REPACKING
In Canada, contact: Heidi Cook | Sales Manager, PNW | 604-649-56231650 Brigantine Dr., Unit 500, Coquitlam, BC Canada V3K7B5
1-800-DRINKWINE | TricorBraunWinePak.com/oav913 |
Making a Difference,One Bottle At a Time.At TricorBraun WinePak, we believe that winemaking represents the perfect blend of dedication, patience and a passion for detail. As North America’s largest wine bottle distributor, we share that commitment to perfection. Our experienced sales and customer service team is dedicated to helping you bring your extraordinary wines to market and to fulfi lling our promises of quality, effi ciency, ingenuity and sustainability every step of the way.
This year, we’re taking our commitment to sustainability a step further by teaming up with longtime partner, Verallia, to offer a line of locally produced, environmentally sound, completely recyclable wine bottles. In addition, wineries in British Columbia that have demonstrated the importance of reducing waste and transportation emissions by choosing these ecologically responsible bottles will be recognized for their commitment with specially designed neck tags as well as acknowledgment in our online and offl ine marketing.
Scan the code below to visit us and fi nd out more about how making the right choices can make a big difference.
TB-2358_OaV913-FllPg-1.indd 1 9/6/13 2:20 PM
8 Fall 2013
FALL | NEWS & EVENTS
Celebrating 20 years – FarmFolk CityFolk
It’s a feast of fabulous bounty of fresh food combined and prepared in a most delicious and pleasing way.
An annual fundraising event for FarmFolk CityFolk celebrating their 20th Anniversary, this four-hour wandering event is a fun and tasty way to sample the very best from British Columbia chefs, farmers, fishers, ranchers, food artisans, vintners, brewers, distillers and other beverage producers who come together from across the province.
The annual Feast of Fields events took place this year in three beautiful farm locations.
In the Okanagan, it was at Little Church Organics in Kelowna, while in the Lower Mainland it was at Krause Berry Farms and Estate Winery in Langley, and on Vancouver Island the event happened at Metchosin Farm in Metchosin.
Enjoy the photos we have gathered for you of this gastronomic journey towards a sustainable, local food system. And make plans to attend next year!
Phot
o by
Ros
e Se
xsm
ithPh
oto
by R
ose
Sexs
mith
Betty Cherkaoui from Lebanese Cuisine happily preparing Stuffed Organic Grape Leaves.
These ladies came prepared to enjoy the feast with hands free wine glass holders.
The FarmFolk CityFolk Feast of Fields in Metro Vancouver hosted this year at Krause Berry Farm and Estate Winery in Langley.
Phot
o by
Sofi
a K
uan
9 Fall 2013
Phot
o by
Ros
e Se
xsm
ith
Phot
o by
Lis
a O
lson
Phot
o by
Lis
a O
lson
Little Church Organics was the host of the Okanagan Feast of Fields. Backyard Farm Product produced by Artisan Culinary Concepts Chef Chris Van Hooydonk.
Raudz Regional Grill apprentice, Katarina Edwards prepares Feather Farm's Heritage Pork, cured Little Church Organics cherries, spiced chicharron.
Phot
o by
Kirs
tin W
akal
Mission Hill's Executive Chef Mathew Batey.
Phot
o by
Mic
hael
Mar
rape
se
Vancouver Island FarmFolk CityFolk Feast of Fields held at Metchosin Farm.
10 Fall 2013
FALL | NEWS & EVENTS
Phot
o by
Sofi
a K
uan
Phot
o by
Ros
e Se
xsm
ith
Mapping the route through Feast of Fields at Krause Berry Farm and Estate Winery.
Phot
o by
Kirs
tin W
akal
Another busy popular table was Poppadoms Taste of India, where Aman Dosanj was preparing potato chaat (right).
More from Feast of Fields
16133 Blundell Road, Richmond BC V6W 0A3604-276-1300 | www.containerworld.com
Two great companies. One of a kind service.
ContainerWorld & Commercial Logistics provide direct & seamless logistics supportto BC’s Beverage and Hospitality industries.
With our province-wide transport network andmassive central distribution centre, we are with you all the way from the vineyard, right to yourcustomers.
From The Vineyard,Right To Your Customers.
11 Fall 2013
FALL | NEWS & EVENTS
At the BC Wine Institute’s AGM, held at Spirit Ridge Resort in Osoyoos, the dynamic MP duo of Ron Cannan and Dan Albas were given the first annual BCWI Industry Recognition Award.
The award, presented by BCWI chair Josie Tyabji, was given for the effort Albas and Cannan made in passing Bill C-311 on federal deregulation of wine shipments to con-sumers. Bill C-311 was an amendment to the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act, which prohibited the movement of wine across provincial borders.
BCWI executive director Miles Prodan told the crowd, “We felt it very fitting that MPs Cannan and Albas received the award this year for their tireless work on Bill C-311. The industry truly appreciates their efforts, and this is one way for us to show our gratitude.”
Albas and Cannan Recognized
BC Wine Institute executive director Miles Prodan, MP Dan Albas, BCWI chair Josie Tyabji and MP Ron Cannan at the inaugural BCWI Industry Recognition Award. (Left to right)
UBC Blueberry Fest
Phot
o C
ontr
ibut
ed
Better known for high-caliber post-sec-ondary education, UBC is also known for creating excellent partnerships, some of which involve the agricultural communi-ty. One between UBC Food Services and the BC Blueberry Council, led to the an-nual UBC Blueberry Fest.
Held on and around the campus in mid-July, UBC Food Services takes on the lion’s share of the event’s organization, now in its fifth year.
UBC Food Services marketing coordina-tor, Juliana Campbell notes, “The UBC Blueberry Fest is created in partnership with BC Blueberry Council to promote the B.C. giant crop. It is an educational event as well as promotional.”
That education is as much about the de-licious flexibility of blueberries as it is learning about local growers, what they do and how they do it.
“We have a grower from Abbotsford who brings berries out and sells them at the event,” Campbell says.
When asked why the grower, Westber-ry Farms, is such an obvious part of the event, Campbell responds, “Supporting local growers equals supporting the local economy, and eating and buying locally is both sustainable and delicious! It is UBC Food Services’ mandate to purchase locally to support our local farmers.”
Through activities like the UBC Blueberry Fest and the associated partnerships, UBC and the BC Blueberry Council say they are ensuring the benefits of blueberries and those who grow them is shared widely.
12 Fall 2013
FALL | NEWS & EVENTS
File
pho
toPh
oto
by M
icha
el B
otne
r
Contender for Best Juice in World – Again!Tabletree Juice, a company started by Gary and Susan Snow to make cherry juice, won the ‘Best Pure Juice Product - 2012’ at the World Juice Awards in Barcelona, Spain last year. This year the owners say their Tabletree Red Apple Juice has been nominated for the ‘Best New Nectar or Juice’ award at the World Juice Awards to be held in Cologne, Germany.
There are only six categories of awards at these events including ‘Best Juice Product for Kids,’ ‘Best Pure Juice or Smoothie,’ ‘Best Retail Packaging Innovation for Juice,’ ‘Best Health Message for Juice,’ ‘Best Sustainability Initiative in Juice’ and the ‘Best New Nectar or Juice.’
Judges narrow down the competition to two finalists in each award category, and the win-ners will be announced in October.
Ezra Cipes, Sumerhill's CEO enjoying Scandal lager with Katie Bruce on the deck at the Sunset Organic Bistro.
Ezra Cipes had good reason to raise a brew when the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch (LCLB), after over a year of deliberations, issued a “food primary” license allowing full service of wine, beer and spirits at Summerhill’s Sunset Or-ganic Bistro in early September.
“Now guests of the restaurant, whether they are international visitors or neighbours seeking a local experience, can be better served with a selection of organic fruit wines, beers and spirits from an array of B.C. producers,” Cipes says.
The first winery restaurant situated on land gov-erned by the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) Act to receive such a license, which replaces the restrictive “winery lounge” license, it will surely not be the last.
To make the breakthrough possible, Summer-hill first had to convince the Agricultural Land Commission to grant the winery a “Non-Farm Use” exemption to the ALC Act, which prohib-its commercial activities that are not ancillary to agriculture on the ALR. After initial rejections, the commission finally approved the request for “non-farm use” exemption, specifically for the purpose of operating Sunset Organic Bistro, in 2012.
“The commissioners recognized the importance of international tourism to the B.C. economy,” Cipes says. “Most recently,” he adds, “Burrow-ing Owl, Tinhorn Creek Vineyards and Hester Creek Estate Winery have applied for “non-farm use” exemptions, utilizing the precedent set by Summerhill.”
Summerhill Spearheads “Food Primary” License on ALR Land
Bottle decorator Universal Packaging Inc. announced upgrades to the equip-ment line at its Vernon facility. Universal’s CEO, Steve Pelkey, says the new equipment allows not only much higher production rates, but provides much more flexibility in what it can do.
Pelkey explains the new Italian-made Fermac equipment allows “for the tightest print registration in the glass decoration world.” He concludes, “It is the finest decoration equipment in the world.”
Along with better workmanship, the new equipment lines have increased ca-pacity for his plant by 50%, making this one of the largest bottle decorators in North America.
Universal Packaging improved Performance
Tabletree's cherry juice took home the Best Pure Juice Product Award in 2012.
13 Fall 2013
FALL | NEWS & EVENTS
Hail Smashes Central Okanagan
A 15-minute long hail storm devastated a number of growers in the Kelowna area on August 12. The hail was very large –nearly the size of marbles– and not only bruised and ruined the fruit, but shred-ded foliage and even damaged tree trunks.
Approximately 35 farms suffered severe damage in the event over an area cov-ering 700 acres. Estimates from the BC Fruit Growers Association are that these
severely affected farms will lose their en-tire crop. This one storm has wiped out approximately 15% of the apple harvest and about 1% of the grape harvest.
Beyond the lost crops farmers are wor-ried because crop insurance will not cov-er the cost of repairing and protecting the damaged trees.
Two weeks after the storm, B.C. Agricul-ture Minister Pat Pimm toured some of
the farms. The minister wouldn’t prom-ise to help the farmers until the extent of the damage was studied by staff from the Agriculture Ministry.
As of early September the ministry had not yet announced any determination, but BCFGA president Jeet Dukhia says a smaller hail storm struck in the Oliver area and damage from that storm will also need to be assessed.
Agriculture Minister Pat Pimm, along with BCFGA president Jeet Dukhia, tours one of the farms hit by the severe hail storm on August 12 in Kelowna.
Phot
o co
urte
sy o
f th
e BC
FGA
Contender for Best Juice in World – Again!
YOU ENJOY THE WINE. WE ENJOY THE WINE BUSINESS.To find out what we can do for you, contact Geoff McIntyre, CA in the Okanagan at 1.877.766.9735 or Marsha Stanley, CA•CBV on Vancouver Island at 1.888.854.8567.
• Unbeatable bird protection• Strong HDPE knit, open-mesh nets• 10 year UV warranty• Hail, shade, rain & other fabrics
• Easy to apply and remove• Nets for grapes, cherries & berry crops• Custom nets and structures
AGRICULTURAL NETTING & FABRICS
Neal Carter & Associates Ltd. 250-494-1099 • [email protected]
www.farmsolutions.net
14 Fall 2013
FALL | NEWS & EVENTS
What is killing large numbers of bees around the globe?
Until fairly recently the betting favourite was the Varroa mite, and some researchers are still with that as the most likely cause.
Notable among those are the manufacturers of the neonicoti-noid insecticides, which includes the giant companies of Bayer and Syngenta.
Others say it is the neonicotinoids, and if that is true, the irony will be that this pesticide was designed to safeguard non-pest insects. Neonicotinoids are a synthetic version of nicotine and are toxic to most insects. Neonicotinoids were thought to be safer because the pesticide is coated onto the seed of the ag-ricultural product, which is then buried so it was deemed im-possible for other insects that didn’t eat the plant down to the seed to be exposed.
Some research suggests this is not working out as planned. Dur-ing planting the insecticide becomes airborne behind big agri-cultural equipment and, according to Val Fournier from Laval University, toxic amounts of the chemical could be found on the surface of water puddles two to three weeks after planting corn that was coated with the insecticide.
The Sierra Club of Canada released a list of 20 papers it says supports the ban of neonicotinoids. Europe has put a two-year moratorium in place on three pesticides (Clothianidin, Imida-cloprid and Thiamethoxam). In Ontario, the Liberal govern-ment has put in place a ‘Bee Mortality Working Group’ to study the impact of the insecticides.
In Ottawa, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency says it will advise farmers to adhere to a voluntary ban in 2014, but won’t make any ruling until 2018.
Neonicotinoids vs. Varroa Mites
Earliest Grape Harvest on Record for South Okanagan
Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Estate Winery, part of the huge Con-stellation Brands empire that makes and markets wine, beer and spirits, reports the earliest date for harvesting grapes in the south Okanagan.
Troy Osborne is the director of Viticulture West for Jackson-Triggs and says, “The growing season to date, to sum it up in a few words – hot, dry, phenomenal. In my 21 years here in the Okanagan in viticulture this is the earliest we’ve ever picked vinifera table grapes.”
The company started harvesting Sauvignon Blanc grapes on August 27 from its Bull Pine Estate Vineyard, on the Osoyoos Lake Bench.
Jackson-Triggs Bull Pine Estate Vineyard near Osoyoos has had its earliest start date for harvesting grapes in more than two decades.
Phot
o C
ontr
ibut
ed
Photo by Michaelnivelet | Dreamstime.com
15 Fall 2013
R R 1 , S 1 1 , C 6 0 , N a r a m a t a , B . C . , V 0 H 1 N 0
f . 2 5 0 . 4 9 6 . 5 5 0 5
e . I n f o r m a t i o n @ a r t u s b o t t l i n g . c o m
p . 2 5 0 . 4 9 0 . 5 5 8 3
Prov id ing bot t l ing fo r runs rang ing f rom
a few hundred cases to the t h o u s a n d s .
• EdwardsEquipment Co.• Rankin/Northstar• Gearmore• TG Schmieser • Yanmar T80 crawlers
• Allied/Farmking• Used Tractors & Equipment• Turbo-Mist sprayers • S & A compost spreaders• Rabaud Vibresopic post pounders
5679 Sawmill Rd, Oliver250 498 5145 250 498 5135 faxEmail [email protected]
DYNA-TRIM UNDER TREE/VINE MOWER
• Reduce or eliminate herbicide use• Gentle on trees/vines• Spring loaded head • Right or left hand units• 15”, 21” or 31” cutting width • Many mounting options
• HD steel deck • Counter rotating spindles• Side discharge of clippings for undervine mulch• Belt or gearbox drives • (4) HD 3” wide blades • HD adjustable laminated tail wheel • Designed for especially for Okanagan conditions• 65” standard cutting width, customs sizes available
ASK ABOUT THE MANY OTHER PRODUCT LINES
EDWARDS DC 6500 MOWER
FALL | NEWS & EVENTS
Westside Wine Trail
The Westside Wine Trail has made it official; they are now a bone fide association. Tina Slamka, of Little Straw wineries, is the new president of the fledgling group, which has a long his-tory of promoting each other.
"Becoming an association means we end up promoting our-selves as an area destination instead of individual wineries," explained Slamka. "We've been doing it for years unofficially… now we are official. We are always promoting each other, now it is more focused and we can promote the area as a unique and fun destination."
The wineries of the Westside Wine Trail Association range from larger, well-known wineries like Quail's Gate and Mission Hill to smaller, but established wineries including Little Straw, Mt. Boucherie and Rollingdale and newer wineries such as Volcanic, Beaumont and Kalala Wines.
"All the wineries are family-owned and run and several are generational wineries," said Slamka. "They vary in size from very large to very small, so there's a huge benefit in having that kind of collective marketing ability."
In the non-tourist season, the wineries will now officially host events for locals and offseason visitors to enjoy. "We have three major ones planned so far," said Slamka. "This year we'll have a 'Sip into the Holidays' theme with holiday food pairings around Christmas time. Then in February, there will be 'Sip with Your Sweetheart,' paired of course [with] chocolates and a similar themed event in the spring. People often don't know what they have in their back yard, and these events are geared to-wards the locals."
For more information and for locations of the wineries go to thewestsidewinetrail.com.
Soil samples from Westside Wineries were on display at the accouncement.
Phot
o by
Lis
a O
lson
16 Fall 2013
FALL | NEWS & EVENTS
Picnic, Music and Wine
The Annual Naramata Bench Tailgate party was a sold event again this year! The theme this year was Fish n’ Sips – A Naramata Picnic at the Beach. Wine tastings from 24 member winer-ies paired with gourmet food created by Naramata Bench restaurants using Ocean Wise™ seafood supplied by Cod-fathers.Back to the days of picnicking at the beach, the sun set over the lake and brought out dancing under the stars. It was a fun evening of food, wine, music and fun!
Wineries Pouring were:• 3 Mile Estate Winery• Bench 1775• Black Widow Winery• D’Angelo Estate Winery• Elephant Island Orchard Wines• Hillside Winery & Bistro• Howling Bluff Estate Winery• Kettle Valley Winery• La Frenz Winery• Lake Breeze Vineyards• Lang Vineyards• Laughing Stock Vineyards• Misconduct Wine Co.• Monster Vineyards• Moraine Estate Winery• Perseus Winery• Poplar Grove Winery• Red Rooster Winery• Serendipity Winery• Therapy Vineyards• Terravista Vineyards• Township 7 Winery• Upper Bench Estate Winery• Van Westen Vineyards
Phot
os b
y K
irstin
Wak
al
Dan Gauthier & Lindsey Beck – The Bench Market.
AJ Thompson & Jacquie Carlson – Poplar Grove Winery.
Ian Sutherland (Poplar Grove Winery) & Katrin Pottel (Perseus Winery).
For more Info about next year’s Tailgate Party go to www.naramatambench.com
17 Fall 2013
FALL | NEWS & EVENTS
One of the speakers at the 14th Annual Enology & Viticulture Conference in Penticton was Dr. Patrick Vuchot of the Inter-Rhone and Institut Rhodanien in Orange, France. Vuchot shared the results of a study that attempted to determine consumer preferences and understanding of the health benefits of red wine, and tannins in the wine. For the study, consumers were only given organic wine.
Vuchot noted that with only 210 people in the study the results cannot be taken as statistically significant; however the results suggest people generally consider tannins to be a good thing and moderate red wine consumption to be healthy, even if they are a little fuzzy on why for both points. He pointed out anoth-er limitation of the study, which was that consumers made their preferences known through limited questionnaires consisting of only six questions.
Tannins are a biomolecule found in many plants, but are more common in certain kinds of plants like oak trees or grape vines. Tannins are not distributed equally throughout the plant, but are concentrated in certain portions like the leave surface, grape skins or stems, where they are thought to act like natural pesticides. They can also affect plant growth.
Tannins also undertake chemical change under certain condi-tions, and can cause a bitter or astringent taste in very young red wine. Overtime the tannins are modified, causing the wines to mellow and improve in flavour and “mouth feel.”
In addition to tannins found in the grapes and grape plants tan-nins are also found in oak, which is why aging wine in a barrel helps to change the flavour.
Vuchot, in his studies, found that 41% of the tasters preferred the “woody” and “astringent” characteristics associated with modified tannins in the wine.
Feel the Love for Tannin-enriched Wines
250-717-5000
Your local expert in farm, residential, and estate properties
To check out these featured properties and more farms
Log on to our farming specialty website
www.OkanaganFarms.com“We Sell Farms!”PANORAMIC VALLEY VIEWS
ELLISON * 9.25 ACRES * Apple orchard, cherries, other fruits * Large home + cottage * Pool. Subject to home site severance of additional residence. MLS®10066343 $1,300,000
PINOT GRIS VINEYARDNEAR NEW 7500 sq ft home nestled in a Pinot Gris vineyard on 10.7 acres in Southeast Kelowna. $8,000 monthly income. Additional structures. Estate property offers the best in vineyard living & astounding orchards, lake, city views. MLS®10068805 $3,495,000
Check out our latest farm listings at www.OkanaganFarms.com
KELOWNA
JERRY GEEN 250-870-3888
Continued on page 18.
18 Fall 2013
M
atsqui Ag Repair Ltd.
Serving the Fraser & Okanagan Valley’s since 1989
Featuring Two Cab Tractors over 50HP and under 50”wide
34856 Harris Road, Matsqui BC [email protected] • www.matsquiagrepair.com
Call 604.826.3281
Dr. Patrick Vuchot explained to conference goers how tannins and perceptions of health are interwoven with red wine consumption.
Beyond the presence of the tannins, consumers have certain feelings about what is healthy in wine, but little understanding of what it is that might make wine healthier or how it would affect the body. Some of Vuchot’s findings were somewhat con-tradictory such as a belief that the healthiest wine must have no additives or manipulation in a laboratory, even as most con-sumer felt that health benefits need to be scientifically proven.
While moderate red wine consumption is also seen as healthy, especially for certain age groups, few of the consumers in the study knew why it was beneficial or how the benefits were transferred to the drinker.
He noted a majority of consumers wanted “healthy” wine, a term that was frequently seen as interchangeable with “or-ganic” wine. Similarly “natural” wine was preferred for health benefits, even though there is no definition of what “natural” means.
For small wineries the good news is that the consumer assumes their wines are healthier. This is based on a belief that small wineries are less likely to utilize commercial preparation and will, accordingly, put in fewer additives. Wine aged in barrels was also perceived as healthier, possibly because of the tannin transfer to the wine from the oak.
Healthier wine perceptions even carried over to certain aspects of the wine’s presentation. Most consumers wanted cork, but not, as it turned out, natural cork. They were expecting ag-glomerated cork, which Vuchot attributed to their familiarity with agglomerated cork found on cork message boards.
In Vuchot’s study the “traditional” bottle, which entails a tra-ditional label, hand written typography and health benefits presented in simple language on the label, conveyed more “se-riousness” and was perceived as being more likely to be ben-eficial.
Continued from page 17.
FALL | NEWS & EVENTS
French Study Wine Consumers
19 Fall 2013
By Michael Botner
For Vern Siemens, co-owner of Mt. Lehman Winery, growing grapes and making wine are labours of love. Both came natu-rally to Siemens who “grew up in a construction- and farm-based family.” A successful land developer in Calgary and the Fraser Valley, he and his wife Charleen purchased a former dairy farm on fertile rolling hills in Abbotsford in 1985.
Siemens interest in wine came at an unusually early age when he started “experiments with dandelion and raspberry wine in elementary school.”
“Isn’t that why we have closets in the bedroom,” he asks with a smile? “After high school, this led to kit wines, and then mak-ing wine from frozen grapes, and then from imported grapes.” Further training consisted of “traveling to virtually every major wine area in the world to taste and learn...reading almost every book...and acquiring a huge, international wine cellar.”
Gradually, Siemens began experimenting with growing grapes on his 75-acre farm, which continues to produce certified or-
ganic hay on the back 40 acres. “I’ve gone through 50 to 60 varieties...and a lot of them did not work out or I did not like the flavours or they just were not practical,” he explains.
He describes Müller-Thurgau as “simple,” Huxelrebe as “tart without complexity,” Kerner a “huge producer, but mediocre” and Dornfelder with “nice colour and easy to grow, but unim-pressive.”
Siemens jokes there was so much bad wine spilled on the en-trance way that he “had to pave the driveway.” The levity be-lies his real aim: “I would only open a winery if I could make wine as good as Okanagan wine.”
Today’s vineyard covers 17 acres with 12 varieties passing the cut, including Pinot Noir, the flagship variety, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Merlot, as well as several Blattner hybrids. Planted in a new field four years ago, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürtztraminer will produce a crop this year.
Fascinated with Burgundies, Siemens has been growing Pi-not Noir for over 20 years. “I love their complexities, delicate
MT.LEHMAN WINERYTHE FRASER VALLEY CHALLENGE TO FINE WINES
French Study Wine Consumers
20 Fall 2013
personalities, difficult characters...tough to grow and tough to vinify, or tough to get it just right,” he notes. “One false move...and you lose that delicate fruit and personality...with the soft fruit and silky texture. Our vineyard is a compila-tion of French clones 113, 115, 375, 667 and 777...to emulate the great vineyards of Burgundy.”
After trying unoaked Chardonnay from Penticton – “I didn’t realize they were this good” – Siemens planted the vine and liked the result. Using Romani yeast recommended by UBC microbiologist Hennie van Vuuren, he describes the wine as “foamy,” “effusively fruity and
fresh with guava and green apple fla-vours” and “reflects the soil.”
“The Blattner varieties do hold some promise for the Fraser Valley because they are so easy to grow and ripen fairly reliably,” he says. “At this point I am still not sure if [they] will ever make it into the mainstream as I find their wines somewhat lacking and with a greenish mown lawn quality. Currently, I am work-ing on several Blattner varieties, such as Cab Foch and Cab Libre. There are some who seek out the Cab Foch – a killer with Mexican food – for its gorgeous colour and depth, smooth, spicy fruit and soft tannins. But I find them unexciting; if
you are going to have red, why would you want anything but Pinot Noir?”
Siemens explains the biggest challenge for his dry farming vineyard is “obviously getting enough sunshine to ripen all the grape varieties sufficiently –not enough summer– coupled with the need to keep the vineyards clean and cropped via leaf pulling and a disciplined sulphur spray-ing program to keep mildew at bay.” On warm, dry years like this year, both are easily achieved, he adds. While 2012 was fantastic and the warm summer of 2009 produced excellent reds, 2010 and 2011 were horrid, although still suitable for making whites.
In the Fraser Valley… we have hilly terrain – Burgundian landscape – and there is very little mechanized work in the actual vineyard; pruning and picking are done by hand.
Vern Siemens
Vern Siemens of Mt. Lehman Winery adores Pinot Noir, but his love of that varietal hasn’t stopped experimentation with dozens of other grapes to find those most suitable to the Fraser Valley property.
21 Fall 2013
“The soils underlying our vineyards are basically 18 inches of topsoil over dense clay, which not only holds water suffi-ciently during dry spells, but provide our Pinot Noir with a pretty roundness and full fruit flavours,” Siemens says.
Siemens notes the costs to produce in the Fraser Valley are much higher than in the interior or elsewhere in the world. “The reason is that we have hilly terrain – Burgundian landscape – and there is very little mechanized work in the actual vineyard; pruning and picking are done by hand. Also, our labour costs are much higher and finally as part of the winery experience the landscaping of the farm
and look and health of the vineyard are important factors.”
Mt. Lehman is a small–scale family opera-tion with a tiny plot, compared to “other grape growing areas of the world where factory farming more aptly describes grape growing.”
According to Siemens his winemaking “really amounts [to] minimum interven-tion in the wine making process...we want grapes to show us where to go with the wine. That is why it is important to keep your yields low and vineyards healthy as this is really where you start. Every year I continue to experiment with
Vern Siemens of Mt. Lehman Winery adores Pinot Noir, but his love of that varietal hasn’t stopped experimentation with dozens of other grapes to find those most suitable to the Fraser Valley property.
Phot
os b
y D
ale
Klip
pens
tein
Pho
togr
aphy
22 Fall 2013
various new yeasts and wild yeasts to try and find the perfect one for the variety and climate we have here. Instead of ad-ditives, I blend for acidity and keep sul-phur crazy low.”
Siemens prefers small lots, with no more than 200 cases of a certain variety. Pro-duction is nearing 2,500 cases, and he jokes “we either have to go bigger and hire a winemaker and I hire a winemak-er and cellar workers, or we have go smaller so I can keep up.”
He readily admits that pouring his ener-gies into his passion while continuing to make money through his business en-deavours is a tough act. “Rarely do the two work together. My goal is to one day break even on the financial front.”
Vern Siemens, co-owner of Mt. Lehman Winery, relaxes by some of the tractors needed to run the estate winery near Abbotsford.
Production of Mt. Lehman’s fine wines happens in this non-descript, converted dairy barn.
Phot
o by
Mic
hael
Bot
ner
23 Fall 2013
By Dona Sturmanis
Craft cideries have been popping up around B.C. in the last several years. What they produce is not what many Canadians have typically experienced. Bob Thompson, co-owner of the Summerland Heritage Cider Co. describes the usual cider pur-chased at a B.C. liquor store: “A very sweet, simple drink often made using apple concentrate, water, artificial flavours and other ingredients.”
Instead these craft cideries are coming up with a range of arti-sanal choices, much like those produced by craft beer brewers, which experienced amazing growth in Canada in the last few decades.
“New cideries are springing up all over Washington and Or-egon and the trend is moving north. I think it has been produc-er-driven to this point as consumers won’t buy what they don’t know exists,” says Thompson. He believes the biggest job craft cider producers have now is educating consumers that a full-juice cider made using more traditional methods can have re-ally interesting, complex aromas and flavours, body and finish.
“Cider is very popular in Europe and statistics show that mar-ket trends start in Europe, filter into the States, and finally make the way to Canada,” observes Theressa Ross, owner of East Kelowna Cider Co. “It starts off producer-driven, and if the consumer likes it, that creates the demand.”
“I believe the current resurgence is consumer-driven,” says Rick Pipes, co-owner with Janet Docherty of Merridale Ciderworks at Cobble Hill on Vancouver Island. With the cider industry gaining momentum in the U.S. over the last ten years Pipes be-lieves the market is gaining maturity. “As more choices become
CIDERY Explosion
Copper vats used in the cider making process at Merridale Ciderworks.
Phot
os C
ontr
ibut
ed
Phot
o by
Chr
isto
pher
Elw
ell |
Dre
amst
ime.
com
24 Fall 2013
Trays of cider from Merridale Ciderworks.
available, consumers are able to find the product more easily and have the ability to find ones they like.” Pipes also points out increased demand for natural and gluten-free products; cider fills the bill.
“Craft cideries keep in pace with the slow and local food movements,” says Kristen Jordan, owner of Sea Cider Farms and Ci-der House in Saanichton. For growers it’s a chance to do something value-added with their apples and diversify income sources.
That another craft cidery is scheduled to open in Vernon in 2014 –the BX Press Cidery & Farm (www.bxpress.com)– is a sign producers believe ciders will in-crease in popularity.
Some beer breweries are also cashing in on the cider movement. Kelowna’s Tree Brewing Co. and Calgary’s Big Rock Brewery have both introduced ciders made from B.C. apples.
The Significance to Growers
Whether the cider surge will make a dif-
ference to the province’s apple orchard-ists is a matter of opinion.
“There are more options and choices for their fruit,” says Sabrina Fedorak from The View Winery in Kelowna, which also produces a hard apple cider from trees that have been growing on the Turton family property for over five generations.
Pipes sees craft cider as an opportunity to use cull fruit or to cider-specific apple va-rieties, developing an entirely new crop for farmer. “In southwest England, there are more cider apples grown than eating apples.”
However, Thompson thinks the craft ci-der industry has a long way to go before it has much of an impact on fruit grow-ers. “There are only a handful of craft ci-deries in the province and they just don’t have the production to demand large quantities of fruit. For the time being I think it will mostly benefit only a small number of growers.”
Craft cideries create their beverages from a variety of apples, ranging from
dessert to heritage types or those grown specifically for cider. Sometimes other fruit is mixed in, sometimes it’s cull fruit, other times the best fruit. Some grow all their own or at least part of what they use; others buy from orchardists.
Sea Cider uses high-quality fruit, grow-ing a portion and buying the rest. Says Jordan, “Most of our ciders use heritage apple varieties. We also make perry from pears and a cider with blackberries added.”
“We grow many varieties of apples and use what we can from here; otherwise we source out top grade apples from other producers,” says Glenn Cross of Double Cross, located in Kelowna.
At the Left Field Cidery Company, located near Logan Lake, Kate Garthwaite says they’re not concerned about the size or appearance of their apples. “What mat-ters to us is that the fruit is ripe and free of rot. We find that by blending bitter-sweet cider apples with dessert apples, we are able to produce a nice, balanced cider.”
25 Fall 2013
The juice is being crushed from the apples in the press at Summerland Heritage Cider Co.
.
Merridale Ciderworks, the oldest and largest of the craft cideries in B.C., has its own bottling line.
At the East Kelowna Cider Co., “We use 100% of our own fruit,” says Ross. “We have a grading system where our pick-ers pick and grade the fruit right off the trees and pack extra fancy straight into the box for grocery stores; the rest go for cider and to commercial sales. We grow eight varieties of apples and use four. We also have pears, plums and peaches and have plans for pear and peach cider.”
Merridale grows more than half of its own apples and buys the rest from two Cowichan Valley orchards and two from the Okanagan. “In our opinion, good cider is made from varieties of apples grown specifically for the purpose,” says Pipes. “They are known as Bittersharps or Bittersweets and have the required acids, tannins, bouquet and flavour to make great cider. Many of these varieties have been grown in the U.K. and north-ern France for many centuries.”
The quantity of apples used by a craft ci-dery, of course, depends on cider produc-tion. In a year Summerland Heritage Ci-der Co. uses 24,000 pounds to make 600
26 Fall 2013
Big Rock BreweryCalgarywww.bigrockbeer.comProduct: Rock Creek Dry Cider (uses Okanagan fruit in its cider)
Double Cross Cidery @ the JunctionKelownawww.function-junction.caAnnual production: 4,500 LProduct: Hard Apple Cider, Braeburn Iced Cider, Fuji Iced Cider, Pink Lady Iced Cider, Pear Iced Cider
East Kelowna Cider Co.Kelownawww.eastkelownacider.comAnnual production: 20,000 LProduct: Ross Hard Apple Cider to deep, Ross Logger Cider, Winter Gold Iced Cider, Winter Burn Iced Cider and three soft ciders
Left Field Cider CompanyLogan Lakewww.leftfieldcider.comAnnual production: just under 30,000 L Product: Big Dry, Little Dry, limited release, small-batch Cidermaker’s Select Series
Merridale CiderworksVancouver Islandwww.merridalecider.comAnnual production: 130,000 L Product: English-style Traditional Cider, House Cider, Scrumpy Cider, Cyser Cider, Merri Berri Cider, Cidre Normandie, Champagne-style Somerset Cider
Sea Cider Farms & Cider HouseSaanichtonwww.seacider.caAnnual production: 65,000 LProduct: sulphite-free Flagship, Wild English, Kings & Spies, Pippins, Rumrun-ner, Cyser, Pommeau, Pomona
Summerland Heritage Cider Co.Summerlandwww.summerlandcider.comAnnual production: 5,400 LProduct: Tuesday’s Original
The View WineryKelownawww.wardshardcider.comAnnual production: 108,000 LProduct: Wards Hard Apple Cider
Tree Brewing Co. Kelownawww.treebeer.comProduct: Dukes Dry Apple Cider
CRAFT CIDERIES
At East Kelowna Cider orchard tours are another way to engage visitors and help brand the product so that when the buyers want cider later on, East Kelowna Cider will leap to mind.
cases while Sea Cider Farms uses 260,000 pounds to make 7,000 cases.
Theresa Garthwaite of Left Field, Kate's sister, says their limit on production is sourcing enough apples. If they had more they could make and sell more cider.
Overall, says Thompson, “The B.C. apple industry currently has a number of chal-lenges and while another outlet for apples is always positive, I don’t see the craft cider industry having a large impact on most growers any time soon. How-ever, I’d be happy to be proven wrong!”
To Market, To Market
Marketing is an individual strategy, de-pendent on goals and production capac-ity.
“We sell on Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland. We sell all of our prod-uct each year,” says Pipes.
Sea Cider sells throughout western Cana-da and the western U.S., using an online distributor south of the border to sell into 30 states.
While the East Kelowna Cider Co. sells only in B.C., the Left Field Cider Com-pany markets product in the Okanagan, the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and Alberta.
The View sells its cider to hundreds of locations around the province and has a distributor in the U.S. They also sell bulk cider to breweries, so they can make their own blends.
Looking Ahead
All the craft cideries interviewed agree the future looks bright. Sales have in-creased each year at Double Cross Cidery and they are currently debating whether to go larger.
“People love to try something differ-ent and there are already a number of outstanding ciders being produced here with more entrants coming in the next few years,” says Thompson of Summer-land Heritage Cider. “These new cider-ies can’t help but to raise the visibility of craft cider in the province and we wel-come them.”
Kate Garthwaite of Left Field just finds it exciting that a cider culture is emerging in North America, especially on the west coast.
27 Fall 2013
By Ronda Payne
The Pacific Berry Resource Centre, which is part of the University of the Fraser Valley, is doing more than improving the bottom line for berry growers. This dedicated team, led by Tom Baumann, an instructor with UFV, is helping the en-tire agriculture industry as well as berry farmers.
The resource centre began when the BC Blueberry Council, the Raspberry Industry Development Council of BC and the BC Strawberry Growers Association signed an agreement with the university to par-ticipate in support of the centre. While these three berries make up the majority of the projects taken on, there are other, more unlikely projects Baumann, and his right hand man, Eric Gerbrandt, have participated in.
“At the Berry Resource Centre, we have contract research projects we do for the member groups,” Gerbrandt says. “Our goal is to increase the bottom line for farmers.”
Last year Gerbrandt led a project grow-ing rice for a producer who wants to make local, organic sake. While this project certainly falls outside the scope of the “usual” projects, it is an illustra-tion of how the team is more interested in making a difference than in creating academic case studies.
Examples of recent projects that illus-trate the centre’s standard work include identification of raspberry yield declines, blueberry variety tests, new cultural management techniques, studies of nat-urally occurring plant growth regulators and modified planting arrangements.
“There are so few people in the indus-try that can do what we do,” Baumann states. “There are lots more people in-volved [than just Baumann and Ger-brandt]. We take the ivory tower notion as an insult. Each [project] is entirely industry driven, which is very different from the academic world.”
Students from UFV, and beyond are the “lots more people” Baumann is referring to, but on a day to day basis, it’s just him
and Gerbrandt. Gerbrandt, Baumann quickly points out, is part of his succes-sion plan. He sees Gerbrandt, who runs all the projects and is working on his PhD, replacing him in the future, so the two work to grow and develop the in-dustry, each other and their fellow team mates.
This symbiotic relationship is similar to the way projects are initiated and man-aged by the team.
“The majority of the projects we do, we’ll write a grant,” Gerbrandt says. “We run these projects for them [the partners or those, like the sake producer, who pro-vided direct funding], then we run the analysis, do a write up and the main de-livery is the LMHIA (Lower Mainland Hor-ticulture Improvement Association short course at the Pacific Agriculture Show), when it is a partner project.”
Nearly every project is conducted on a working, producing farm.
“We respond to industry need,” com-ments Baumann. “Our research is run on
New Digs at Pacific Berry Resource CentreResource Centre looks to advance Agriculture and People
Dr. Tom Baumann and PhD candidate Eric Gerbrandt discuss how pruning these raspberry floricanes at the Krause Berry Farms in Langley will take all winter to do properly.
Phot
o by
Ron
da P
ayne
28 Fall 2013
farms for farms. They have the best facili-ties. We work with probably about two dozen farms around B.C. With that sup-port of industry, we will always be held accountable.”
Currently in the works is a $2.3 million greenhouse, barn and soil-based facility in Sardis. This new facility will accommo-date berry research that may not be fea-sible on a production farm and will also include all other aspects of agriculture.
Baumann points to Premier Christy Clark’s letter instructing the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Ad-vanced Education to make UFV a centre of excellence for agriculture.
While the centre is poised to be part of this centre for excellence, Gerbrandt notes they will still be focused on deliver-ing results to the industries they do proj-ects for.
“It sets us apart in terms of our view,” he says. “We work in mainstream agricul-ture. We’re not pigeonholed.”
Even while working on his PhD, Ger-brandt says his focus remains with the big picture of supporting farmers in the real world.
“I intend to build up a skill set for myself of field and lab techniques that can be used to bring new crops, new varieties of old crops and new production methods for those crops to B.C. and in so doing, reach the aim of a better bottom line for farmers,” he says.
New processing opportunities and diver-sification is also important according to the pair.
Baumann uses blueberries as an exam-ple, “The blueberry has seen a decrease in price all over the world. If the global market crashes, we all crash. Consump-tion is still below production.”
He points to the diversity already occur-ring and notes that new markets, new products and new options must be devel-oped to ensure continuous sale of crops.
“Walk down almost any grocery aisle, you’ll be hard pressed to find a section that doesn’t include blueberries some-where. This is part of what we do,” he says. “It doesn’t matter what someone might be interested in studying. That’s all very well and good, but let’s talk about what is actually going to increase a farmer’s revenue.”
PhD candidate Eric Gerbrandt explains ongoing research being undertaken at the Berry Research Centre on the best way to propagate strawberries from runners.
Phot
o by
Ron
da P
ayne
“At the Berry Resource Centre, we have contract research projects we do for the member groups … Our goal is to increase the bottom line for farmers.”
Eric Gerbrandt
29 Fall 2013
By Darcy Nybo
BC Tree Fruits is continuing with machin-ery upgrades and the sale of properties as part of a plan to lower costs, increase efficiency, and get growers the best pric-es for their fruits. The cherry line was up-graded in Oliver in the winter of 2012, which increased the capacity of the line by 66%. Currently the four packinghous-es owned and operated by the BC Tree Fruit Cooperative are located in Osoyoos, Oliver, Winfield and Kelowna.
In Kelowna, the Vaughan Avenue pack-inghouse is for sale, and a few blocks away, the store property on Clement Av-enue has a potential buyer. If there are no hitches that sale should be complete by mid-October.
“The Kelowna packing house is still for sale,” explains Chris Pollock, marketing manager for BC Tree Fruits. “In the past
we’ve run apples, cherries and pears at the Kelowna location. At the moment, it is the only place we pack pears and it is one of two packinghouses for cher-ries. We will be ceasing operation of the apple line at the Kelowna packing house either this year or in the near future.”
BC Tree Fruits hopes the buyers of the Kelowna packinghouse would lease back the property to them; however, if that is not feasible, the cherry and pear line can be taken to one of the other three Okanagan packing houses.
“We are trying to be more efficient with the properties we do have and to streamline operations into less facilities,” says Pollock. “There’s less overhead and property taxes by leasing. We’ve also seen a reduction in our crop volume and we’ve had to react to that. At the end of the day, we are trying to return
as much money as we can to our grow-ers. When you have a lot of operating and overhead costs and the volume isn’t there, decisions to lower costs have to be made.”
Although consumers will no longer be able to buy fruit directly from BC Tree Fruits at the Clement Avenue location, it will still be available at local stores and BCTF’s Osoyoos storefront will continue selling directly to consumers.
Along with premium grade fruit, the BC Tree Fruit stores sell lower grade fruit, which is used for cooking and canning by many consumers. Even without a cen-tral Okanagan store, Pollock says, “Some of our retailers have discount banners and tend to take a lower grade of fruit as their demographic is more price con-scious consumers who want fruit as cheap as possible.”
Packing House Reborn
Phot
o by
Ron
da P
ayne
30 Fall 2013
BC Tree Fruits sells this lower grade fruit to the Overwaitea group for PriceSmart foods in the Lower Mainland and Lo-blaws has a no frills banner that buys some lower grade fruit. Lowest grade fruits still go to companies like SunRype for juices.
Meanwhile, in Winfield, upgrades will help the packinghouse be more competi-tive. Renovations should be complete by apple season and will include new equip-ment and storage.
“We are basically adding new equipment and modernizing the plant,” explains Pollock. “The machines we had before, for example apple sizers, were old and weren’t as efficient. With the new sizers we will lower electricity consumption, get more accuracy in our grading, have less maintenance costs and less down-time on the line. We can get more boxes packed per bin. It will ultimately result in better quality in the boxes, which results in better pricing per box, which results in us being able to give the grower better money.”
There are two parts to the Winfield reno-vations. The first is the upgrades for the sizers, electronics, and bin fillers. Three-quarters of the funding for the $1 mil-lion upgrades came from the provincial and federal governments.
Alan Tyabji, CEO for BC Tree Fruits, says, “This investment not only shows commit-ment to the industry, but it has enabled the Cooperative to remain competitive with Washington State shippers.”
The second upgrade is far more expen-sive, but will provide even bigger returns. “We are upgrading the CA [Controlled Atmosphere] storage,” says Pollock. “CA allows us to store the fruit for months on end. When we bring it back out of a CA room for sale it will be just as fresh as at harvest time.”
Similar storage in Washington State al-lows them to sell 2012 varieties, like red delicious, long after the 2013 harvest is complete. “With CA storage, the room is sealed, oxygen is removed and replaced with nitrogen,” explains Pollock. “It basi-cally puts the apples to sleep. It slows the aging process down to next-to-nothing. When we need to bring the apples out for sale, we let the nitrogen out and let the oxygen in and the fruit starts to mature normally. It will allow us to stay competitive in the market place by
having fresh fruit available in February, March, April and May.”
To install the new CA storage, the old storage rooms were completely gutted. They replaced the old ammonia system with a new, more efficient nitrogen sys-tem. The panels of the room had to have new seals installed, making it completely airtight. The shell of the building was kept intact while everything inside was rebuilt. The CA storage upgrades cost $7.5 million, with the federal and provin-cial governments kicking in $2.5 million through the AgriFlex program.
“These upgrades were necessary for us to lower our packing costs,” says Pollock. “It’s one of the highest costs our grow-ers’ cooperative has. More accuracy and increased speed in getting our fruit to market will results in higher returns to the growers. Even our new bin filler is more gentle, which results in a higher
quality volume, which means higher re-turn.”
Being competitive with markets like Washington is crucial for BC Tree Fruits. Last year’s Washington harvest consisted of 120 million 40 pound cartons of ap-ples. BC Tree Fruits sold three million.
“We need to educate people to look for the BC Tree Fruits leaf logo on our prod-ucts. It’s about getting consumers to un-derstand what that brand represents. I want them to know when they buy that fruit they are supporting 520 grower families instead of a company in Wash-ington state or New Zealand. Now with our upgrades, you know our product will be fresh because of the new CA system. The new upgrades [also] allow us to stay competitive with the [independent] val-ley brokers here.”
The new sizer will be more efficient and is expected to be gentler during fruit handling, resulting in fewer losses.
We need to educate people to look for the BC Tree Fruits leaf logo on our products. … I want them to know when they buy that fruit they are supporting 520 grower families.
Alan Tyabji
31 Fall 2013
By Dr. William McPhee
Tree roots are important to the overall health of trees and, al-though proper management of ir-
rigation and soil nutrition are extremely necessary for healthy root systems, it is also important to manage root diseases. This article will concentrate on soil fungi and nematodes, which form a complex that seriously limits production in com-mercial orchards, and provide guidelines for dealing with these problems based on three years field work with compost and brassica meal.
In the past soil-related pathological problems were generally associated with the fungus (Phytophthora cactorum) which caused crown rot. Looking at tree decline since the mid-1980s, I see a much more significant problem related to root pathogens, including nematodes. This realisation has become more obvious as growers have made the shift to dwarfing root stock of the M9 size (Figures 1a & 1b).
Growers have made the shift to dwarfing root stock Figures 1a.
Spacing and management have changed dramatically. Figures 1b.
Soil Amendments and the Control of Soil PathogensPh
otos
by
y D
r. W
illia
m M
cPhe
e
32 Fall 2013
Most of the research on root diseases is associated with specific apple replant dis-ease (SARD). There are chemical controls for most of the pathogens causing SARD including nematodes, but these are ei-ther not available to Okanagan growers or growers are discouraged from using them.
One way to overcome the initial set back of tree growth caused by soil pathogens
is to fumigate the soil prior to planting to reduce root pathogens, including nematodes. Traditionally, fumigation has rarely been properly or widely ap-plied in the valley, but it has been shown to be sufficiently effective to overcome the initial dramatic impact of replant disease when needed. When a fumigant is used there are ample management techniques available to sustain the rapid
growth in year one and two and allow for significant production in year three (Figure 2).
Getting to an economical level of pro-duction in years three and four requires the utilization of chemical tools in most orchards, but this presents a dilemma. Many things that have a negative im-pact on our environment are not politi-cally popular. Good examples are planes,
Trees can reach the top wire and be in production in year 3. Figure 2.
Lush white root development after the application of Brassica meal. Note the lack of die-back after one month. Figure 3a.
A check treatment from the same block showing severe root die-back symptoms after one month. Figure 3b.
New white feeders showing early signs of die-back. Figure 4.
33 Fall 2013
*These simple rules should work with other tree fruit commodities, but relatively little evaluation has been carried out. ** A “McPhee” root score chart is available to packinghouse growers through their field person or to others contacting Bill McPhee. Learning this chart is easy.
Follow-up
1. Several days after the addition of P to the soil the roots should be re-assessed. The P treatment should generate new feeder roots and the improvement should be visually obvious. Closely examine the newly generated feeder roots, looking for signs of “die- back.”
2a. Repeat the P application with a new product.
2b. In apple blocks supply an Allette treatment or apply compost at 4 tons/acre in moderate, as as high as 12 tons/acre in severe cases of de-cline.There are no registered chemi-cal treatments for root pathogens in cherries.
3. Continue to assess roots at the earliest sign of tree stress. Stress is most likely to become obvious dur-ing prolonged hot spells.
Assessment
1. First assess the root system to determine if the problem is root related. This is done by inspecting the roots in the top centimeters of soil in the herbicide strip
2a. If the roots do not respond to a P application, look for major root or crown damage, irrigation problems or other causes.
2b. If a feeder root flush occurs, but there are signs of die-back, a correc-tive measure is needed.
3. Reassess root systems after initial treatments.
Observation
1. If feeder roots are poor** apply a soluble phosphorus (P) treatment. Several products are available. I recommend Leffeigwell 10-45-10 or Plant Product 10-52-10. These have proven reliable in the past. If your soil analysis indicates soil P levels are high, I recommend the NAP product 1-10-1. Other products are available.
2a. If succulent new feeder roots are not generated by the P treatment, check your choice of P product.
2b. The succulent new feeders are showing signs of pathogen attack (Figures 3b & 4).
3. Feeder root systems should score above 7 and die-back score should be below 4 on the McPhee chart**.
A Guide to Dealing with Tree Decline in Apple & Cherry Blocks*
trains and automobiles – and agricul-tural chemicals. The specific dilemma to agriculture is how to balance the need to compete in the market with the de-sire to become more “organic.” We can’t do anything about the planes, trains and automobiles, but we are working on the agricultural chemicals.
The political pressure to eliminate soil fumigation has resulted in a number of research programs attempting to find al-ternatives to fumigation. This, along with the need to dispose of agricultural and urban waste, has stimulated some local interest in testing compost products and other soil amendments, but none have been sufficiently successful to stimulate widespread use or in demonstrating re-sults comparable to chemical treatments.
Current studies on compost and other
amendments* and the excellent soil pa-thology done by Dr. Mark Mazzola, a USDA researcher in Washington state on brassica meal, emphasize the need for a more sophisticated approach to field di-agnostics. Mazzola’s work demonstrates the necessity to rely on chemical backup systems when the organic approach fal-ters.
The list of potential pathogens causing problems in the Okanagan is long and includes fungi such as Cylindrocarpon, Rhizoctonia, Pythium, Fusarium, etc, as well as some nematode species. The techniques to determine specific causes in any particular case are available, but somewhat cumbersome, expensive, and time-consuming to apply. Fumigants are very powerful chemicals yet they vary in their efficacy from soil to soil. Look-ing for specific bio-controls and much
weaker biocides for each of the possible pathogens is somewhat impractical. The emphasis in the current compost study has been an attempt to define the spe-cific curative properties of various soil amendments by coordinating compost properties with pathological characteris-tics of specific soils. Field trials over the past three years show compost signifi-cantly affects the occurrence of die-back in roots caused by the soil pathogens2
(Figure 4). Brassica meal shows a similar impact on root die-back.
Dr. Mazzola’s studies also show posi-tive root pathogen control using bras-sica meal. This work investigated specific pathogen interaction in the soil to ex-plain the mechanism by which the meal works. This work, and the local experi-ence with compost, encouraged our at-tempt to seek more practical field diag-
34 Fall 2013
® / The TD logo and other trade-marks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank or a wholly-owned subsidiary, in Canada and/or other countries.
We know that farming is more than a business – it’s a way of life. We are committed to serving Canada’s farm communities by providing flexible financial solutions that let you get on with the business of farming.
Contact our Agriculture Specialist. We’ll take the time necessary to understand your unique needs. Together we can meet today’s challenges and anticipate tomorrow’s opportunities.
TD Canada Trust
Banking can be this comfortable
Meet our Agriculture Services Specialist
Jeremy SiddallAccount Manager, Agriculture ServicesPh : 250 763 4241 ext 222 Cell: 250 503 [email protected]
1633 Ellis Street, Unit 100Kelowna
M00342 (0312)
IDLIDLProcess Solutions Inc.
Process & Product DevelopmentAlcoholic & Non Alcoholic Beverage Industry
Equipment Sales
Ivan D.Lessnerphone 604-538-2713fax 604-538-4517
Warehouse Directphone: 604-214-6440 [email protected]
1164 Lee Street, White Rock, BC
www.idlconsulting.com
F.MERKELRapid S02 & T/A, BentotestFLOTTWEGBelt PressesERBSLOEHCellufluxx New D.E.Replacement, EasyLab Kits, Enzymes, Acidex, Exacid, Fining, Yeasts, Bio-Yeasts and Bio & Casein-free Fining Agents, Treatment Agents, Biostart ML CulturesChampagne Yeast & Equipment.E-San Filter Clothes for Lees Filters All Erbsloeh Products are Non-GMOTRUST INT.Quality Hungarian Oak Barriques • Hungarian Oak Chips • Stave Ins & Mini Stave Ins • French & American Oak Barrels
nostic techniques to assist growers with replant or tree decline problems. Studies in the Okanagan, looking specifically at the effect of compost and brassica meal on root morphology and health, show a consistent and distinct impact on feeder roots (Figures 3a, 3b and 4 - see previous page). Specifically this study demonstrat-ed the ability of the soil amendments to reduce or eliminate feeder root die-back. The precise mechanism for this reduction in die-back is still being investigated.
The BC Tree Fruit Co. laboratory in Win-field is currently looking at compost and soil pathogen profiles in an attempt to coordinate specific soil amendments to specific soils.
Utilizing products such as compost and brassica meal as soil amendments in many cases avoids using synthetic chemi-cals on the soil and assists in the safe uti-lization of waste by-products generated by agricultural processing and cattle feed lots. It is clear from these studies the so-lution to replant disease and tree decline lies in a better understanding of the spe-cific problems in the orchard. Methods to diagnose the problems well in advance
of tree failure can only be put into com-mercial practice if effective techniques are available to assess the soils and soil amendments available.
Work at PARC to develop soil pathogen diagnosis will assist extension personnel in the field.
Growers are advised to talk to their field person or the BC Ministry Extension staff for advice on how to best utilize products available. There are a few simple rules to follow when an orchard tree-decline situ-ation occurs (Table 1). In general I would advise conventional growers to fumigate prior to replanting unless a replant test has been done** and indicates fumiga-tion is not necessary. This test involves the evaluation of a number of treat-ments and can include an assessment of the soil amendment you choose. Where there is a tree-decline situation, in older apple or cherry blocks, a treatment with a good soluble phosphorus product is ad-vised followed by a surface application of compost. It is clear from the studies in reference 2 and from this year’s work that different soils respond differently to the different compost products avail-
able. Whenever any product is used as a soil amendment, intended to treat root pathogen problems, it should be accom-panied by root observations. Subsequent treatments may be necessary based on the results of the observations.
* The local program studying the impact of compost and brassica-meal on tree fruit root systems was supported financially by the BC Agricultural Environmental Initiatives program, the Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust, the BC Cherry Association, Big Horn Compost of Okanagan Falls, CAS Consulting of Penticton and Turffix Organic Fertilizer of Loydminster, Alberta.
** A replant test prior to replanting should be done the fall before planting. The test is currently available through the BC Tree Fruit Lab in Winfield, B.C.
1. J. T. Slykhuis, APS Compendium of Apple and Pear Diseases, 1991.
2. RDOS Reports: Utilization of Compost for Treatment of Crop Roots, 2011 Evalu-ation of Compost on Crop Production, Tree Growth, Fruit Quality and Soil Fertil-ity, 2012
35 Fall 2013
There has been much dis-cussion in the last couple of years about the ‘Free
My Grapes’ campaign in Can-ada (see www.freemygrapes.ca). Most people believe that when private member’s Bill C-311 passed unanimously in Parliament last year, repeal-ing an 84-year-old federal prohibition-era law, the is-sue was solved. Alas, in vary-ing degrees, the provinces have stepped in to mitigate the freedoms that bill was in-tended to allow. I have been a big proponent of winery-to-consumer delivery legaliza-tion across Canada for quite a while and will try to articu-late my ‘Top Ten Reasons’ we should allow for doing this (all data from the recent 2013 Canadian Vintner’s Survey www.canadianvintners.com).
1. Supports farmers and small businesses.
There are almost 1,700 grape growers and vineyards across Canada supporting over 27,500 acres of land. Of the 476 licensed Canadian winer-ies, 94% are classified as small enterprises. Impeding small business and farmers is not a very popular stance to take these days.
2. Taxes will still be collected.
Contrary to what some may think, wineries are not trying to sidestep paying provincial taxes by selling direct to con-sumers. Canadian wineries pay $879 million in federal, provincial and local taxes.
Believe me: winery owners know taxes are a part of life, and death. The provincial governments should find a unified way for wineries to remit the proper taxes when shipping wines to consumers outside their home provinces.
3. Wine is personal.
Making connections with wineries is imperative for
consumers who are passion-ate about wine. Being able to speak directly to the win-ery when ordering a special case of wine is paramount to helping the wineries build a loyal consumer following. The world is marching toward direct marketing to consum-ers all products and Canadian wineries do not want to be left out.
4. Liquor board sales will increase.
Imagine you purchase a mixed case of wines from your new favourite Canadian wine club and fall in love with their Pi-not Gris. One night you find you’ve drunk all of that Gris,
but you need more for your dinner that night. Chances are low you will call the win-ery, wait for the shipment to arrive and forego drink-ing wine that night. A more likely scenario is you will go to your local liquor store and buy another bottle of Cana-dian Pinot Gris – or even a non-Canadian Pinot Gris to satisfy your desire. Either way, that one shipment increased provincial liquor board sales. When consumers are exposed to more Canadian wine they drink more Canadian wine.
5. The U.S. did it.
This is as good a reason as any. Since I have lived in Can-
Top Ten Reasons to Free My Grapes
WANDERINGS | SANDRA OLDFIELD
Vineyard Narrow Mulch SpreadersCustom Built Equipment - Built to LastWhatcom Manufacturing Mulch Spreaders are specifically engineered for fast, easy and precise mulch application. Whether it’s for moisture evaporation, weed control, amend-ments or enhancing soil tilth, the Whatcom Manufacturing Mulch Spreader saves time and money.
Follower hitch for tight turns around end rows. Available with Quick Change discharge system. Change from the belt discharge for on the row to a spinners discharge for broadcast spreading. Engineered to accomomdate all applications using mulch, saw-dust, shavings, manure, solids, gypsum, organic compost, wood chips etc.
Call today to locate a dealer near you and schedule a demo!
Whatcom Manufacturing Inc.Lynden Washington • Phone: 360.354.3094
www.whatcommfg.com • [email protected]
Also AvailableOrchard MulchersFertilizer Spreadersand much more …
36 Fall 2013
ada for 20 vintages, I have learned this reason alone gets things done in Canada.
6. Helps drag Canada out of the laughing stock category of world wine producing countries.
You are sitting in a Paris café and your maître d brings you a wine list with no French wines on it. When asked why he explains there are no interprovincial trade agreements between the provinces of Ile-de-France (Paris) and Burgundy or Bordeaux. Now you see why our Cana-dian wine laws look so silly and archaic.
As an aside, the word “export” should never be used when referring to sales of wine between Canadian provinces. The verb “export” in the dictionary is defined as “to send goods or services to another COUNTRY for sale.”
7. Helps boost local tourism.
From the quaint towns of Annapolis to Quebec’s Eastern Townships to Pelee Is-land to OK Falls, small towns in Canada benefit when winery-to-consumer ship-ments are legal. Once you’ve connected with a vintner you have a much greater chance of making the trip to visit them someday. Did I mention that the total im-pact of wine related tourism across our country is $1.2 billion annually?
8. People will do it anyway.
The great military commander, Hannibal, purportedly said, “We will either find a way or make one.” True enough.
9. Raise consumption of a Canadian product in Canada.
Canada ranks 16 in world wine consump-tion but only 32% of what it drinks is Ca-nadian wine. Contrast that to Argentina at 96%, Italy at 93%, the United States at 66% and even Russia at 50%. (from www.wgao.ca ) There is certainly much, MUCH more room for Canadians to be drinking more Canadian wine.
10. Build a Canadian Wine Culture.
What is a Canadian wine culture you might ask? Well, Free My Grapes and 476 Canadian wineries are waiting to show you!
Sandra Oldfield, winemaker and owner of Tinhorn Creek Winery in Oliver. Follow her blog at www.sandraoldfield.com, or on Twitter at #CabFrancTuesday.
West: 1•250•868•3186 East: 1•905•246•8316 Toll Free: 1•877•460•9463
cellartek•comProudly Servicing the Canadian Wine & Beverage Industry
Cheers to Corrie and the Cellartek team for providing
not only the right selection of barrels but the knowledge
in how to apply them to the fruit in our region.
Cheers!Cheers!Roger Wong
Winemaker: Gray Monk
Estate WineryOwner:
Intrigue Wines
Contact Frank Whitehead
250 762 9845Cell: 250 878 3656 | Fax: 250 762 9846
email: [email protected] 25026, Mission Park P.O. Kelowna, BC V1W 3S9www.infaco.com
NEW F 3010
Medium Maxi
Okanagan Viticulture Services Inc. Telescopic extension poles ranging from 1.2 to 3.5m.
Interchangeable Cutting Heads
37 Fall 2013
www.praxair.com
1-800-225-8247
In Kelowna call 765-7658
Extenda Pack GasesFor the winemaking industry
The right gas for the right applicationWe supply CO2, Nitrogen, Argon, Dry Ice and Nitrogen Generators
That is unless everything on your website is in place and ready for it.
It’s like selling tickets for a concert without making sure you have a musician lined up, or a speaker system to play them on. People will come all hyped up for the concert, but will walk away fast realizing there is nothing there they came looking for!
Having a poorly designed
website has the exact same ef-fect. By design I am referring to how it looks, the quality of the content, how it functions, how it converts visitors into leads, and leads into custom-ers. Before you get all worried about getting the best search results you should consider these six important items to think about before you worry about how to be #1 in search engines. With these six items in place you will find getting top results in search engines easier, as well as keep the visitors from hitting the back button on the first page.
Become a leader in your industry.You need to convince people you’re an expert in the servic-es or products you are selling.
This is done in a few ways. Having a blog that helps edu-cate visitors showcasing your knowledge of your industry. Being featured in publica-tions or other websites also helps build trust. Having some great testimonials on your website is also an excel-lent way to establish yourself or business as a leader. The important thing about testi-monials is making sure that you provide as much evidence as possible that they are real.
Creating content people want to share.Having content is one thing, making it worth sharing is another! While it is common practice these days to take ex-isting content that’s available and just re-write it to be your
own, you need to give people a reason to share it. Ask your-self these questions; is my content informative, unique, helpful or funny? Think of your target market and make sure your content fits your in-dustry and is good enough to be shared by those who read it.
Stop trying to serve everyone.Make your content specific to your ideal customer and at-tract them. If you’re bringing in more of your ideal custom-ers, you’re able to do more of the work you love and pass on the type of work you don’t want. How many stu-dents can afford a new BMW? Maybe a select few, but that’s not BMW’s target market,
Search Engine Optimization is a Waste of Time WORLD WINE WEB | MIKE COOPER
38 Fall 2013
which is why you don’t see their ads with their cars doing skate board tricks like the Chevy Sonic that is appealing to the younger crowds.
Google is all about organic.Can things be done on your site to im-prove your SEO? YES! Can attracting backlinks to your site improve SEO? YES! But be careful, there is a fine line be-tween doing this in an organic healthy way and pushing too hard or cheat-ing the system. Google really owes you nothing; you do not pay them for any-thing and so if they change the rules or give your site a bad ranking, there is not much you can do about it, so playing by their rules is the best option.
Google is not the only way to be found.To gain more traffic consider spending time figuring out where your potential customers are and draw them in from there. Social media is a great market-ing tool. The key is to be interactive and social. There is a lot of tools out there to help automate your marketing, but if you go too far people notice your inter-action are less human and more machine like. As a result they will not communi-cate with you as much which means lost sales.
Always finish with a call to Action.Every blog post or article you write should have one thing to do next! De-pending on your marketing plan that
may be something simple like giving them a reason to share the blog, or sign up for your email list, or BUY NOW!
Remember that the better your content, the more interactive people are with it, and the more it’s shared, the better your search engine results become! Also ask yourself, are you more likely to buy from a company because they were on the top of Google, or because you saw a friend share the companies information on a social platform?
Mike Cooper is the owner of Black Mountain Media. www.blackmountainmedia.ca or send Mike a note at [email protected]. You can also call 778-214-0519.
Wind Machines“Dependable Frost Protection”
Protect your crops with the smart choice
Outsmart Jack Frost with an Orchard-Rite® wind machine.
ONTARIOLakeview Vineyard Equipment Inc. 40 Lakeshore Rd. RR #5, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ONPhone: 905-646-8085 or Toll Free: 1-866-677-4717 [email protected]
OKANAGANWEB Metal Fabricators Ltd.3650 Hwy 97 S, Osoyoos, BCSales: Rob Webster Phone: [email protected]
LOWER MAINLAND OF BC AND VANCOUVER ISLANDFarmers Equipment Company410-19th Street, Lynden, WashingtonKen Sturtz & Fred Polinder Phone: 888.855.4981 (toll free)[email protected]@farmersequip.comwww.farmersequip.com
39 Fall 2013
LEGAL LIBATIONS | DENESE ESPEUT-POST & NICOLE CLARKE
It Really is ALL about the Name
It is all about standing out. In any industry being known and having a recognizable
name is essential to growth and success. In the wine in-dustry, it is about distinguish-ing your product from all the others and getting the customer to buy your bottle over the next one. This is es-pecially important for small estate vineyards where repu-tation and word of mouth are
key marketing tools. A recent trade-mark opposition case before the Canadian Trade-marks Opposition Board ad-dressed this issue.
A trade-mark is a word, a design, or a combination of these used to identify goods or services. A registered trade-mark gives the owner exclusive use to the mark for a set period of time. In Cana-da, this time period is 15 years with the option to renew every 15 years. Overall, your trade-mark allows you – and no-one else – to use the mark with your product or service and create an association between the mark and the goods or service. This is vitally important in an industry, like
the wine industry, where you need to make your product stand out from the crowd and attract the customer.
In this case, the applicant who requested the trade-mark, was the British Columbian family-owned Meyer Family Vineyards Inc. They wanted to trade-mark “CHARDON-AKED” in association with their wine and wine coolers. Opposing the trade-mark was Vincor International, one of North America’s largest pro-ducers of wine. Vincor’s ob-jection was based on Vincor’s “NAKED GRAPE” mark and design.
When the Opposition Board is determining whether or not a mark should be registered the
standard it uses comes from the Supreme Court of Canada, the highest court in our coun-try. The test to be applied is based on first impressions and imperfect recollection. Put simply, would a casual con-sumer who is in a hurry and does not carefully consider the mark, confuse it with an-other unrelated mark?
Intellectual property cases revolve around the distinc-tiveness of the property be-ing protected and whether a consumer can distinguish between marks. This is to protect the creativity and in-novation of those who have created something and taken the necessary legal steps to protect their ideas.
Canada: Toll free: 888-77T-BIRD • United States: 503-744-9112 www.thunderbirdplastics.com
For over four decades, Thunderbird Plastics Ltd. has provided the highest quality injection-molded handling solutions to the agricultural industry.
Berry flats, blueberry lugs, fruit/vegetable boxes and agricultural containers made with the finest materials and available at very affordable pricing.
At Thunderbird Plastics Ltd. we stand by our pledge of quality, service and on-time delivery.
Quality and Service … it’s Our Pledge.
40 Fall 2013
In this case, the court decided the trade-mark could not be registered because, overall, the Board found the proposed mark “CHARDONAKED” could be con-fused with the registered mark of “NA-KED GRAPE.”
While this is not the same word, the reg-istration of a trademark prevents regis-tration of confusing marks.
Upon applying the test of first impres-sions and imperfect recollection, the Board found that an average hurried consumer would likely conclude that the words were related, which would be unfair to the previously registered and established mark that has already acquired distinctiveness. Intellectual property cases are about protecting in-tangible property, such as ideas and rep-utations; therefore the Board has to look at whether allowing similar marks would be fair to the market, the consumer and both the party proposing the mark and opposing it.
In this case, the Board found the term “naked” had a prior association with “NAKED GRAPE” and was not common enough term in the wine industry to warrant its use without causing confu-sion to consumers.
The question, ‘What’s in a name?’ has an impact when discussing intellectual property because the name is what mat-ters. When creating a trademark ensure it is unique and will not be confusing with marks already registered or, if not registered, previously used.
Contact your legal advisor and obtain advice if you have further questions regarding intellectual property related matters.
Denese Espeut-Post is an Okanagan-based 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. Nicole Clarke is a summer law student at Avery Law.
Family owned since 1976 and the only full-service granular and liquid fertilizer manufacturing facility in the Okanagan. Our high
quality products and industry leading agronomic support will help you grow better, more profitable crops!
Phone: 1-800-361-4600 | Fax: 250-838-6968 www.okfert.com
TECHNOLOGY. AGRONOMY. RESULTS.
FERTILIZER
CHEMICALS
SEED
Phone: 604-856-8644 or Toll Free: 1-800-661-5772
Hydro Coolers
Blast Coolers & Freezers
Chillers
Holding Coolers
Ice Machines
LTD.
26121 Fraser Highway, Aldergrove BC V4W 2T8 www.fraservalleyrefrigeration.com
At Fraser Valley Refrigeration, we design commercial systems that address energy conservation, value and impact on the environment.
Call us for all your Post Harvest Cooling Needs
Change of AddressTo update your mailing address
send us an [email protected]
41 Fall 2013
Selling your Wine Business
MONEY TALKS | GEOFF MCINTYRE
Paying attention to what purchasers of wineries look for can make a big
difference
I was meeting recently with the owner of one of the win-eries we work with and the topic of conversation turned to attracting a buyer or in-vestor for the business. They asked me, “How much longer do we [my wife and I] want to be working this hard?” And, “How are we going to get our money out and realize a return on what we have in-vested?”
We discussed:
• How a privately owned busi-ness is valued
• What does a buyer or inves-tors look for in a business and how to make a business more attractive to potential buyers or investors?
These great questions indi-cate the owner has made a real paradigm shift in how he
was looking at his business. He had (temporarily, at least) es-caped the overwhelming pull of the day-to-day demands of running an estate winery to consider a longer term view. He had started thinking of his winery as his product –not just his wine. Michael Gerber summarized this nicely in his landmark book, The E-Myth: Work on your business, not in your business. This phrase has become well known in entre-preneurial literature to the point of becoming cliché, but what does it really mean?
The winery owners we work with all have a good sense of what their wine customers want. They are wine drink-ers themselves, they interact with their customers directly in their wineshops, and many talk regularly with their li-censee customers. They get that when it comes to their winery visitors, they are not just selling wine, they are sell-ing an experience.
To view your winery business as a product that someone might buy or invest in, think about things at a higher lev-el. A good marketing profes-sional will tell you that with thousands of wine labels out there, you need a strategy for making your brand stand out.
This is called differentiation and it applies equally to sell-ing winery businesses as well as wine. You need to under-stand what your buyer wants that you are uniquely posi-tioned to deliver and tailor your message accordingly.
How a privately owned business is valued
We will keep this discussion to basic concepts, so there are two main perspectives when valuing a business: the asset based (balance sheet) approach and the earnings based approach. Both ap-proaches should be looked at when valuing a business, but often one will be more appro-priate than the other.
The asset based approach fo-cuses on what the business owns and what it is worth. In an estate winery, assets main-ly mean land and buildings, equipment and wine invento-ry. Wineries are capital inten-sive businesses, so assets are important when determin-ing overall value. A business with valuable assets reduces the risk for a buyer; if things don’t go well they can always look at selling the underlying assets and cutting their losses.
An earnings based approach focuses on historical and pro-
jected operating results. All other things being equal, a winery business with a history of consistent profitability and positive cash flow will com-mand a higher price than a winery in a start-up phase, or one with an inconsistent earnings history. People gen-erally expect history to repeat itself, so past consistency re-duces perceived risk.
A business valuator will also look at a value indicated by an earnings based approach and compare that to a value indicated by an asset based approach. This often involves comparing key metrics, like return on assets (ROA) or re-turn on investment (ROI) with published industry statistics. If a target business has a his-tory of generating a ROA or ROI greater than the industry benchmark, it is a good indi-cation that it has developed a mature and valuable brand. A buyer should be willing to pay a premium for such a win-ery.
Here is a short list of some of the things we have found to be of particular interest to potential buyers or investors:
1. Land and Location
Buyers in this industry are quite often just as interested
Pressing, Pasteurizing & Packaging Your Custom Apple Juice
New! Custom Design Your Own Boxes!
Call 250-550-8885 to reserve your spot today!
[email protected] • www.mobilejuicing.com
Rossworn Henderson LLPChartered Accountants
Tax Consultants
Expert farm taxation advice:• Purchase and sale of farms• Transfer of farms to children• Preparation of farm tax returns • Government programs• Use of $800,000 Capital Gains Exemptions
Armstrong 250-546-8665 Enderby 250-838-7337
Toll free 1-888-818-FARM
Murray Chris
42 Fall 2013
in an appealing lifestyle as in a successful business, and we all know B.C. has a lot to offer for lifestyle.
An onsite residence may be important to some buyers. A pleasing location with good consumer traffic is a definite plus. Too much land or too elaborate a winery may limit the market for potential buy-ers due to cost.
2. Cash Flow
Nothing magical here: people like to see credible financial information that clear-ly shows a consistent history of strong, positive cash flow. Strong cash flow is good evidence of a strong brand and that is something you can charge a buyer for. On the other hand, a winery that has inconsistent results or has struggled fi-nancially will generate questions and un-certainty. This leads, at best, to a lower offering price and at worst, to no offers at all.
It’s true some buyers look for under-performing businesses that they can turn around, but you will never get top dollar from such a buyer.
Good results can sometimes be hidden by poorly presented information. Con-sider getting qualified assistance to pro-duce a professional offering document. Assurance over the numbers presented by a qualified third party accountant is also a plus.
3. Brand
Brand is really a catchall word for the intangible asset value built up over the years. A strong brand means your cus-tomers clearly understand what makes you unique and what you stand for. Perceived benefits exceed the perceived cost. This is called value.
A strong brand is the sign a business is past the start-up stage. It is not easy to develop, so it’s something most buyers are willing to pay for, and all investors are looking for.
4. Transferability
It may seem odd, but one of the best things you can do to prepare your busi-ness for sale is to make yourself redun-dant. Who will want to buy your winery if you are critical to its success? A smart buyer looks for a business with a great team already in place who are going to stick around.
The exception to this rule might be where the winery is being purchased for consolidation with a larger group and an existing team; however, buyers still look-ing to acquire talent, so a knowledge-able team who will stick around after the purchase is always a plus.
A lifestyle buyer with no wine industry experience will definitely be attracted to a business with a strong already team in place that they can retain. A seller can help by agreeing to stay on as a consul-tant, but this is usually a less than ideal situation unless they are being bought out over time.
The good news is that many of these fac-tors that make your estate winery busi-ness attractive to a potential buyer or investor are the same things that make it profitable while you own it. You need to work on these factors well in advance to realize maximum value when you want to sell.
Geoff McIntyre, CA is a business advisor to the Agrifood industry in MNP’s Kelowna office. To find out what Geoff can do for you, contact him at 250.763.8919 or [email protected].
Penticton Lab With 24/7 “Nite OWL” Drop Off• VQA and Export Packages • Microbial Analysis • Field Sampling
• Lab Chemicals & Equipment • Kelowna Satellite Office
OKWINELAB.COM 250.717.0788
10%DISCO
UNT
On All Services
On Any O
ne Order
PROMO
CODE OV0913
43 Fall 2013
Thank You For Your Continued SupportFor A Dealer Near You Call 1-877-856-3391
FRASER VALLEY STEEL & WIRE LTD.3174 Mt. Lehman Road
Abbotsford, B.C. 604.856.3391
Proud Supplier Of QualitySteel & Wire Products
To Orchards & VineyardsFor Over 30 Years
LOOK FOR THE CHECKERED FLAGS2 KM North of the Osoyoos Shell
15210 97 St. Osoyoos BC
PHONE 250-495-6459
Call Bowtie for an appointment & estimate
• Propane Conversions• Auto Start Installs• Service & Repair
• Propane Conversions• Auto Start Installs• Service & Repair
THE WILD THINGS | MARGARET HOLM
New Guides on how to Manage Critters
Nearly everyone has critters of some kind on their agricultural
property. As the number of orchards and vineyards has grown, the populations of some wildlife species have in-creased to take advantage of new food sources and oppor-tunities presented by urban and rural communities.
Living with Wildlife is a series of eight new wildlife man-agement guides for agricul-ture. The publications serve several purposes. They pres-ent options for wildlife de-terrents for the species most problematic for growers in-cluding rodents, starlings, deer, and bear; and they fo-cus on safety for species that may cause concern for people working outdoors such as snakes, cougars, and coyotes.
Choices for wildlife manage-ment, worker safety, and ani-mal deterrents are provided for each species and are also
compiled in the Wildlife Con-flict Reduction guide. Wildlife management assessments are outlined as a planning tool and can help determine what are the most cost-effective, protective measures. Web links for further information on each species as well as wildlife control suppliers are included.
The goal behind the new guides is to reduce crop dam-age while reducing the need to kill wildlife. Controlling attractants is a key strategy in wildlife management, but
when the fruit or animal at-tractant is the commercial product, it can be challeng-ing. Wildlife control agencies are reticent to respond to complaints about damage to commercial crops or livestock if little or no predator control measures, such as fencing and basic attractant management, are in place. Responsibility for the reduction of potential conflicts is considered to lie first with the land owner.
Here’s an excerpt from one of the guides on worker safety and managing attractants:
Managing Attractants
Managing attractants and wastes are the single most important practice for reduc-ing human-wildlife conflict. Garbage is the major cause of human-wildlife conflict in North America.
Keep a buffer zone of cleared brush on the perimeter of the property to create a visible ‘break’ in animal travel path-ways and improve sight lines for workers.
Secure pungent liquids, chem-icals, fertilizers, and animal or livestock feeds in locked or wildlife resistant structures, and bee hives inside enclo-sures or surrounded by elec-tric fencing.
Make sure all human garbage is easily disposed of into se-cure containers or bear proof bins. This is very important around living areas and regu-lar food consumption sites. Keep containers in clear view to avoid a surprise encounter. This practice also removes any other molestation of waste by raccoons, rats, rodents, and dogs.
Discarded vegetative materi-al, such as fruit and vegetable thinnings. Make sure these items are correctly composted
The Living with Wildlife series includes advice on living with rodents such as the Pocket gopher.
Phot
o by
Sou
th12
th |
Dre
amst
ime.
com
44 Fall 2013
and safely away from workers, or placed in such a way as to be easily seen and accessed.
Left over fruit or vegetation in the field should be flailed, ploughed under or re-moved.
Compost
Composting on site can be a very effec-tive way of dealing with potential at-tractants.
Locate away from areas of human activ-ity and check frequently to insure the compost is working correctly – compost-ing not rotting.
Locate where leaching or ground water pollution is not an issue.
Choose a highly visible location, in an open area to reduce wildlife encounters while loading on or turning the com-post.
Compost can be used to dispose of small-er dead animals if properly managed and buried deeply.
The management guides are available for free download and distribution on the following web sites:
• www.osca.org/Living with Wildlife – Agriculture section
• Regional District Okanagan Similka-meen www.rdos.bc.ca WildSafeBC-Bear Aware section
• BC Wine Grape Council www.bcwgc.org Health & Safety section
The guides were funded by the BC Ag-riculture Council, Ardcorp, Environment Canada, and the South Okanagan Si-milkameen Stewardship Program. Writ-ten by Zoe Kirk, coordinator with Wild-safeBC and Margaret Holm, who works with a number of conservation organi-zations to provide information on the province’s natural habitats and species at risk; they can be contacted at [email protected] or [email protected].
Margaret Holm works for the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance.
Change of AddressTo update your mailing address
send us an [email protected]
45 Fall 2013
FRUIT, WINE & BEER SUPPLIES
Visit our 5,000 sq.ft. Showroom6908 Palm Ave, Burnaby or Call 604-473-9463
WHERE THE PROFESSIONALS SHOP
Shop online at ecom.bosagrape.comWe Ship Anywhere!
It is good to have the posi-tive news of the opening of the modernized BC Tree
Fruits’ packing line.
There is no denying that in the history of Okanagan fruit growers the last 10 years are not going to be remembered as anything other than tumul-tuous and very challenging.
Much of the bad news and hard times came about from factors outside of the control of local growers and the man-agement of BC Tree Fruits, but it is also fair to say these kind of hardships will happen to every business, sooner or later.
The shock of events like worldwide recession, a land-base shooting upward in val-ue so quickly that it prevents young blood from entering the profession and competi-tion from other fruit growers around the border – espe-cially just south of the border, may be unique in some ways,
but they are also common to many businesses in other ways.
The co-operative’s investment in the new packing house line, the consolidation of the four tree fruit co-operatives into one and the leadership of Tree Fruit’s Alan Tyabji is all welcome news.
That last paragraph consoli-dates many events, and a lot of work on the part of many people over the last decade, but it is important to think about and acknowledge that work and all those people.
The new packing line will improve the cost and qual-ity of packing. It’s more effi-cient. If the world’s fruit sup-ply is growing and markets are stagnant then efficiency could mean the difference between survival and extinc-tion of the fruit industry in the Okanagan.
Those are essential responses to tough times in the com-modity business, but it is easy to overlook the response.
The provincial and federal governments are putting in $3.4 million into this packing line, the cold storage facili-ties and a brine chilling plant, but governments don’t run around looking for people to
give their money to.
It only happens when they are alerted, cajoled, talked to and harangued because for every dollar any government brings in there are a dozen people who want it for a variety of projects.
This means leadership at BC Tree Fruits and the BCFGA deserve praise for doing their job well.
Like the new equipment it-self, their successful efforts are important for more than just getting the job done.
These accomplishments set a tone of hope.
Talk to a farmer and you’ll usually get the no-nonsense response about working hard to get the job done, but if hard work alone were enough the last decade wouldn't have been so chal-lenging. Behind the tough talk, it’s not very easy to keep working at something that seems to be going down. The last decade it was easy to feel
the industry was going down.
Large startup costs aside, that feeling of pessimism is a very big reason why it’s been hard to attract youth into the farming industry.
That problem isn’t solved yet because the impediments to farming and fruit growing are still here, but new invest-ments, new ideas and new efficiencies send a signal that these problems can be over-come.
Maybe we don’t know how yet, but optimism is a power-ful drug.
Nothing breeds new ideas like a bit of success, so again, hats off to Alan Tyabji, Glen Lucas, Jeet Dukhia, the boards of the BCFGA and BC Tree Fruits and many other farmers and staff who have worked to put these successes on the table.
Devon Brooks is the editor of Orchard & Vine. Send your thoughts or comments to [email protected].
Turning a Corner? EDITOR’S VIEW | DEVON BROOKS
ROOT STOCKPlace your order by Fall 2013 for Spring 2014 delivery
Siberian C and Bailey Root Stocks
Please contact Billy [email protected]
46 Fall 2013
The fruit industry lost the irascible, always moving, helpful, consider-ate and hard working Joe Sardinha
when he passed away from a heart at-tack on Saturday, August 31.
His parents immigrated to Canada from Portugal before Joe was four years old. Later, as a young man and his enthusiasm for farming became evident, they helped him to begin farming when they leased land with him.
Joe farmed in Summerland on 11 acres with his wife Julie, where they raised two children, Brian and Katie. Being an active farmer and family man was, how-ever, only a part of the contribution he made to his community.
During the past few years all those in the orchard industry recognize just how difficult it has become to make a living, but the ever optimistic Sardinha pushed every opportunity he could from his vi-sion to sell off and reinvest money from unused packing buildings to pushing federal and provincial politicians to fight the dumping of apples from Washington state.
Norm Letnick was the MLA in Joe’s rid-ing and, until recently, the Minister of Agriculture for British Columbia. Letnick first met Joe in 2009, and quickly learned to respect the then-president of the BC Fruit Growers Association. Says Letnick, “He always liked to work with govern-ment, but he had no hesitation in advo-cating what was important for farmers and the whole industry.”
Letnick is impressed by how Joe handled himself in tough situations, when or-chardist returns were low. “He was al-ways a gentleman. He handled himself with integrity and was concerned for or-chardists and farmers.”
In 2000 Joe added to his plate by becom-ing a member of the BCFGA’s executive. For five years he worked in various posi-tions on the executive, then led by Penny Gambell. When Gambell stepped down Joe ran for the president’s position, which he held for the next six years.
His VP was Fred Steele. A few days after Joe’s passing Steele relates that in a con-versation with Julie he confided to her
that they had both lost their best friend. Steele says, “Joe and I talked every single day, usually at about 9:30 at night.”
Steele’s admiration is virtually unbound-ed because of the energy and enthusiasm with which Joe took on tasks coupled with his tact and insight. “Joe should have had a cape – he was a superman and was everywhere.”
Sardinha wanted to step down as presi-dent of the BCFGA after five years, but was persuaded to stay on for one more year. One of the things that impressed Steele was Joe’s foresight in handling people who could help the cause of farming. “He knew the principle rule of talking with politicians,” says Steele. “If you couldn’t get what you wanted, don’t put them in a place where the only thing they can say is ‘no,’ so that you can come back later and try again.”
Steele notes proudly that no one ran against Joe during his six year tenure. Of course, Steele admonishes, not everyone agreed with everything Joe did, includ-ing Steele himself.
“It was really a privilege to serve with him when he was president. We didn’t al-ways agree, but I think we each became the other’s second, sober thought.”
Echoing Letnick, Steele says Joe kept his
cool publicly, treating everyone respect-fully. “It wasn’t just the ‘Joe show.’”
After stepping down as president in 2012, Joe backed Steele’s bid to become president, which was derailed by the election of Kirpal Boparai, but by no means did that mean Joe was stepping away from service to the agricultural in-dustry. Joe was still serving with the BC Agriculture Council, ARPA and the Cana-dian Horticultural Council searching for ways to improve the living for all farm-ers, not just fellow orchardists. “That was the way he looked at it,” says Steele. “He didn’t just look at the orchardists, but for ways that all farmers would do well go-ing ahead.”
Steele says, softly, “We discussed the fu-ture everyday. He was really about the future.”
The future won’t be lucky enough to benefit from any more direct contribu-tions by Joe Sardinha, but the farmers of British Columbia have a better future than they would have because of his many thoughts, deeds and service.
Joe Sardinha was 52 years old.
Everyone at Orchard & Vine would like to pass on their sincerest condolences and sympathies to all the friends and family of Joe Sardinha.
Loss of a Fruit Industry Leader - Joe Sardinha
Phot
o by
Jul
ie S
ardi
nha
Joe Sardinha picking gala apples in his orchard in Summerland.
47 Fall 2013
Introducing…• 12 different models in stock to choose from• 5 year Power train warranty• Local Sales and Service
To Wal-Kat Lift Truck
In stock now! Visit our store today!
Wal-Kat Lift Truck2000 Barnes Street, Penticton, BC V2A 4C3www.pentictonforklift.caPhone: 250-492-6716 Toll Free: 1-888-492-5528
J Series
Vineyard Series XR3000 XR4000
48 Fall 2013
Built for vineyard and orchard work.
Narrow enough to work between the vines and low enough to get you under the tree branches. These narrow and compact tractors offer exceptional maneuverability and power. Available with 60, 70 or 85 Hp Kubota diesel engines; in either ROPS or Cab platforms.Do more with Kubota.
Kubota.ca Like us on Facebook.com/KubotaCanada
M8540NPK
M7040
M8540 Cab
See your nearest KUBOTA dealer or visit www.kubota.caABBOTSFORD Avenue Machinery 1521 Sumas Way 604-864-2665
COURTENAY North Island Tractor 3663 S. Island Hwy. 250-334-0801
CRESTON Kemlee Equipment Ltd. N.W. Boulevard 250-428-2254
DUNCAN Island Tractor & Supply 2928 Sprott Rd. 250-746-1755
KELOWNA Avenue Machinery Corp. 1090 Stevens Road 250-769-8700
OLIVER Gerard’s Equipment Ltd. Hwy 97 South 250-498-2524
VERNON Avenue Machinery Corp. 7155 Meadowlark Rd. 250-545-3355