Prunings
year’s WineAlign National Wine Awards, with 17 of Canada’s top 25 wineries in the Okanagan. The awards are judged by Canada’s leading wine writers and judges, who award platinum, gold, silver and bronze medals in two dozen categories. Judge and columnist Anthony Gismondi calls the awards a snapshot in time of the state of Canadian wine. It’s the 15th year for the awards, and 1,408 wines were entered from 205 wineries. Mission Hill Family Estate won its fourth Canadian Winery of the Year award, with gold medals for its 2013 Reserve Riesling, 2012 Compendium, 2012 Reserve Cab Sauvignon, 2011 Quatrain and one of only 14 platinum medals awarded, for its Reserve Vidal Icewine. Mission Hill brought home six silver and 10 bronze medals as well. On the heels of Mission Hill was Lake Country’s Arrowleaf Cellars, which brought home five gold, two silver and two bronze medals, with the 2013 Pinor Noir, 2014 Riesling Ritchie Vineyard, 2013 Zweigelt, 2012 Solstice Pinot Noir and 2014 Pinor Gris on top. Third was Road 13 Vineyards from Oliver, with two platinum, two gold and 10 bronze. Their top wines were the 2013 Syrah Malbec, 2013 GSM, 2013Syrah Mourvedre, 2011 Sparkling Chenin Blanc and 2012 Syrah. Sixth was Church and State Wines, followed by C.C. Jentsch Cellars, both of Oliver; then Quails’ Gate Estate Winery of West Kelowna eighth and CedarCreek Estate Winery of Kelowna ninth. The 11th winery was Haywire of Summerland, followed by Deep Roots Winery of Naramata; then 15th was Tightrope Winery of Naramata, with Stag’s Hollow of Okanagan Falls 16th and Jackson-Triggs Okanagan 17th. In 19th place was Joie Farm of Naramata, followed by Tinhorn Creek and Burrowing Owl, both of Oliver. In 23rd place was Daydreamer Wines of Naramata, followed by Wild Goose of Okanagan Falls...
T
Well-known Lake Country orchardist Marc van Roechoudt died in August. He was born in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1935 and spent his early years living in the Haute Savoie region of France. During the Second World War, his family escaped occupied France in a canoe on Lake Geneva, while being shot
he B.C. wine industry has reason to boast. It’s just been confirmed by the results of this
at. They stayed in Switzerland until the end of the war when his father found horticultural work on an Agricultural Experimental station in the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). From there the family immigrated to Canada and came
Marc van Roechoudt
straight to the Okanagan. In 2009, the family’s Dorenberg Orchards won the industry’s Golden Apple Award, and in recent years many medals from the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto came home to B.C., thanks to the quality of their
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Royal Galas and Ambrosias. His daughter Madeleine served on the board of the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association, and Marc was vice- president of the Ambrosia council, as well as serving on BCFGA committees and the Lake Country Water Advisory committee. Although van Roechoudt was a geological engineer, he returned home to run the family orchard instead of continuing in his chosen field. His father, who purchased the orchard in 1949, was also the recipient of a prestigious industry award, the Compact Orchard Award, in 1967. No funeral service was held, but there will be a celebration of life at a later date... If you want to start a new farm, expand your farm, market your product better, reduce your risks or use water and other resources wisely, you want AgriService BC, and you can connect online, by phone or in person. Whatever information you want, questions you’d like answered or programs you’re looking for, can all be accessed through the new service, with experts available in a wide variety of sectors. Provincial agriculture minister Norm Letnick says this will provide valuable information to ensure there is a strong future for farming in B.C. He notes there are 20,000 family farms in the province’s agrifoods sector, from primary production in agriculture, sustainable aquaculture and commercial fisheries to the processing of food and beverages. The sector generates nearly $12 billion in
British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Fall 2015
combined gross revenues and in 2013, the province exported $2.7 billion worth of products to more than 140 markets. To connect, go to
www.gov.bc.ca/agriservicebc; phone 1- 888-221-7141; e-mail
AgriServiceBC@gov.bc.ca or visit a ministry of agriculture office... The B.C. Wine Institute has received a further $100,000 of Buy B.C. funding to market BC. VQA wines in the province. The BCWI is celebrating 25 years of B.C. VQA this year, with the message to consumers to be label conscious and support wines made entirely from B.C.-grown grapes. ‘You could call it B.C. DNA’ is a slogan of the promotional campaign. Part of the funding will go toward sending hospitality and wine retail workers to the Wines of B.C. Ambassador Program put on by the wine institute, which represents nearly 150 wineries. The B.C. wine industry has an economic impact of $2 billion, with each bottle of wine produced in the province generating $42 in economic impact. Wine-related tourism brings in three million visitors annually, generating $1.2 billion in tourism revenue and employment...
Summerhill Pyramid Winery
CEO Ezra Cipes is spearheading a drive to convince Kelowna council to join the Right to a Healthy Environment campaign, part of the David Suzuki Foundation’s Blue Dot project. Cipes is asking that groups throughout the city send him letters of support to present to council, asking for recognition of Kelowna’s beautiful natural environment and for its protection by declaring that all Canadians deserve to breathe fresh air, drink clean water and eat healthy food. He hopes to conclude the campaign by Sept. 27...
The 16th annual Enology and Viticulture Conference and Trade show held July 20-21 in Penticton was an outstanding success, thanks in large part to Louise Corbeil, who is set to retire in the spring. During her 16 years of service as administrative officer for the B.C. Grape Council, Corbeil has played a major role in organizing the conference, which has grown from 60 to 300 delegates. Perhaps her most significant contribution was the initiation and continued organization of the trade show, which has become an integral and vibrant addition to the conference...
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