So we published this in our newsletter, but wanted to also share our thoughts here. This was a challenging piece to write, and one that certainly is short on answers and long on opinion and supposition. As a company, I want Vintality, to be a positive and useful place for our industry. And I also want us to be able to talk openly and honestly about our industry. I really want Vintality to be a hub... Source ..read more

Well, this is going to be controversial. The StorySarah Marsh of Club Oenologique takes BC Pinot Noir through an absolute thrashing. This might be the most critical article on BC wine I’ve yet read. After all “there’s more than enough cash sloshing around the valley to bring a sense of bling to the wine trade here” yet “Okanagan Pinot Noir currently lags behind Ontario in terms of finesse. Source ..read more

We gave a talk at #bcwine‘s Insight conference on “Drones, Satellites, and Other Futuristic Vineyard Technology”.The topic came up because of requests from members to hear more about the state of tech and where we’re going for vineyards.We primarily covered:1. Vineyard Spraying 2. Irrigation Systems 3. Multispectral (eg. NDVI)We spent less time on major capital investments like automatic tractors... Source ..read more

Should we be increasing vine trunk height? This study says: Yes. (https://oeno-one.eu/article/view/53650)It also says cover crops may cause a bigger temperature problem than we thought. The trunk height part grabs my attention because many winegrowers we talk/work with are thinking about training systems. (Especially with all the new vineyards being planted). “Should we stick with VSP? Source ..read more

It’s been a major struggle to write my Christmas reflections this year. I’m 5 hours in and I’ve written and deleted over seven drafts and can’t seem to capture what has been captivating and troubling me this holiday season. I write this message each year, the last couple of years shared here (here’s 2020’s), as a means of encouragement (both for myself and you, the reader). And yet, this year I’m... Source ..read more

“Oh, the summer night, Has a smile of light, And she sits on a sapphire throne.“ ― Bryan Procter ― So, it’s been a few weeks! I hope the season has been treating you well. I know many of you have been catching up on a bit of vacation before harvest. Tasting rooms have been busy and, even with a wet spring, it looks like we’ll have a good year. And, well, we’ve been busy!First of all... Source ..read more

We can never stop asking “Where are we going?” If you stop and think about how many of your conversations, especially around our work in the wine industry, focus on this very question. And there’s conflict in the asking. Should we go here or there? Is the answer in the past, a sign we passed along the way, or is it in a new, uncharted future? The Spanish writer Miguel de Unamuno captures this... Source ..read more

One night, the soul of wine was singing in the flask: “O man, dear disinherited! to you I sing This song full of light and of brotherhood From my prison of glass with its scarlet wax seals. … For I feel a boundless joy when I flow Down the throat of a man worn out by his labor; His warm breast is a pleasant tomb Where I’m much happier than in my cold cellar. Un soir, l’âme du vin chantait dans les... Source ..read more

I recently re-read a favourite essay of mine by the author Paul Kingsnorth. (I’d also highly recommend his and enthralling novel The Wake, written in an ‘updated’ Old English. It’s a wonderful novel to read aloud).The title is of course controversial. But Paul isn’t anti-environment, he has instead become anti-environment movement. This is, after all, a man who taught himself to use (and sharpen)... Source ..read more

The American Society for Eonology and Viticulture put out a great piece on the challenges for implementing precision viticulture.“Precision viticulture” (PV) is the use of technology or techniques that increase grape yield or quality while reducing environmental impact. It’s new cm-accurate GPSs, UAVs, moisture sensors, etc. This new technology means we no longer must treat vineyards as a... Source ..read more