And the list just keeps on growing... Up Front


By Bryden Winsby A s the evolution and


sophistication of this province’s wine industry continues apace, it’s not easy to keep track. New names pop up on a regular


basis through starts-ups, mergers and acquisitions. Making sure our mailing list is up to date is a regular challenge, especially when some of the changes are virtually unannounced. And it’s not just the names and number of individual operations that are a work in progress, so too are the various regional groups that have sprung up in recent years, as efforts are combined, however loosely, to give the best to and get the most from a key element of the the industry’s success: the winery visitor.


Enter the Oliver Osoyoos Winery Association, the subject of our cover story by Associate Editor Judie Steeves. Arguably the best-known (I dare not say most popular) of B.C.’s wine-producing regions, the area south of Okanagan Falls to the U.S. border has, as OOWA organizers point out, geographic and climatic factors that make it unique. They’ve chosen picturesque McIntyre Bluff as the northern extremity.


It’s all about marketing, of course, which is is so very important, whether you’re selling


Gewurztraminer or Aurora Golden Gala apples.


As Susan McIver explains in this issue, the latter are being promoted through a ‘value chain’ strategy developed by the Okanagan Plant Improvement Company. It’s a response to consumer demand for the variety, particularly at higher-end retail outlets.


Ah, but is success really all about marketing? Not quite. Although fruit growers here stand to benefit from the effects of a disastrous spring in orchards around the Great Lakes, it likely will be a one-shot windfall. Marketing efforts, however inspired, can fall flat if the product isn’t right. Replanting to more competitive varieties, as we know, is one way of dealing with that. And although the provincial government’s contribution of $2 million for a three-year program is appreciated, comments from industry leaders that


4


much more support is needed came as no surprise.


The money is a significant amount from the ag ministry’s total budget of some $66 million for this year, but that total ranked at the bottom of


16 ministries in the government’s estimates of more than $31.7 billion in total spending.


As has been pointed out frequently, B.C.’s financial support for farming is the lowest among Canadian provinces. Elsewhere in these pages you’ll find some coverage of this year’s horticultural symposium, where Pacific Agri-food Research Centre’s Peter Toivonen talked about some interesting technological advances and provided advice to cherry growers on how to ensure quality by handling their product carefully, whether picking or packing. Another PARC researcher, Denise Nielsen, got a first-hand look at what drought really means and how the experiences of Australian growers provide dramatic proof that being prepared in advance is the best strategy.


Meanwhile, coping with dry conditions is also on Peter


Waterman’s horticultural mind as he describes how moisture monitoring, types of irrigation systems and close observation of plant and soil conditions and responses are essential to the growing of quality tree fruits and grapes.


On the high-tech front, we’ve got a


story about a wireless sensor network being tested in Okanagan orchards that could be adapted for multiple tasks, including release, as needed, of a pheromone to help control codling moth in apples.


And for winemakers who’ve had to wrestle with the hit-or-miss methods of adding just the right amount of oxygen to their wines, Gary Strachan provides detail on micro-oxygenation (a.k.a. micro-ox or MOX) —the controlled and measured addition of small amounts of oxygen to wine. The process was invented in France as a method to soften the sensory impact of harsh tannins, and has now spread to most of the wine producing regions of the world.


Have a great summer!


Everything you need, carried in stock: - Stock corrugated produce boxes - Handi-paks - Customizable boxes and labels


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Summer 2012


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