maturity, pick date, berry composition, grape variety, maceration intensity and duration, use of pectinase, duration of skin contact, fermentation temperature, and so forth.


In addition to these factors, the ratio of anthocyanins to phenolics is often higher in hybrids. This situation contributes to deep initial colour in hybrid wines but diminished astringency and mouth feel.


In my experience, hybrids often have a higher than average titratable acidity, perhaps linked to their vigour and yield. Excess of either astringency or acidity can contribute to an out-of-balance character for a wine. Because of this, winemakers may be apprehensive of increasing tannins because of concern that a wine with above average acidity would be even more out of balance if the astringency were increased. With any luck, a malolactic fermentation may lower the titratable acidity enough to make increased astringency acceptable. Just to add that touch of whimsy that the moment lacked, the pH may climb to an unacceptable level after a malolactic fermentation. This will not only affect wine colour but will also accelerate oxidative loss of varietal character and increase sulfite requirement. With hybrids, just assume that all of the tannin management strategies that apply to vinifera wines must be enhanced for hybrid wines.


I prefer to increase the tannin content of hybrids by extraction of spent vinifera skins, but that may not be enough to bring the palate into balance, and enological tannin may be required pre or post fermentation. Typically, if the palate has a pleasing balance of astringency and acidity, colour stability will drop into line. If the palate is dominated by acidity, and astringency is low, then the colour will probably be unstable.


It has only been in recent years that research has given us fresh insight into the factors affecting wine colour development. We used to take it for granted that we had little control over colour extraction except for the length of time we fermented on the skins. We now know that colour development often reaches a maximum and then declines during skin contact and that colour stability in the bottle is affected by factors which we can control during fermentation . . . and the fat lady hasn’t sung yet.


— Gary Strachan’s profile is posted on Linked In.


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Summer 2014 31 KELOWNA PUBLIC ARCHIVES PHOTO NO. 3689


Coldstream Ranch orchards and chicken coops, circa 1903.


By Wayne Wilson B


eginning in the early 1890s, Lord and Lady Aberdeen’s Coldstream Ranch east of Vernon played an important role in the development of the Okanagan region’s tree fruit industry. Comprising well more than 10,000 acres, the estate clearly had the land base to establish a viable orcharding enterprise that could be backed up by other crops and livestock income to help level out the cash flow. The influence of the Lord and Lady went beyond their actual orchards, mixed farming operations and cattle ranching interests, however. First, parts of their ranch were subdivided into orchard lots and sold to a largely British Isles immigrant group. Each of these new orchardists, in turn, brought their own financial investment and business


expertise to the region. Second, the sheer dimensions of the Coldstream Ranch brought significant income to the north Okanagan. Finally, serving as Canada’s Governor General in the mid 1890s, Lord


Aberdeen’s connection to the region would almost certainly have had a positive influence on the emerging agricultural potential of the entire Okanagan Valley.


Curiously, there is historical argument about just how successful the Coldstream Ranch’s orchard operations were in the end. There is much more agreement, however, that the ranch played a critical role in shifting the region’s agricultural economy from from cattle ranching and grain growing to the tree fruit industry.


If you have photos or artifacts of our rich agricultural heritage, please contact the B. C. Orchard Industry Museum at 778-478-0347. — Wayne Wilson is the former executive-director of the Orchard Industry Museum and the B.C. Wine Museum.


Looking Back


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