Despite the chill of winter, Quails’ Gate Winery is embracing innovation with the introduction of infrared technology, all aimed at safeguarding its vineyard during the cold months. The West Kelowna winery is testing an infrared vacuum LED tube, which is expected to provide sustainable heat to the vines during cold snaps.
According to Rowan Stewart, the winemaker at Quails’ Gate, the device functions as "a light sourcethat produces more heat than light," with the goal of warming the vines themselves rather than simply heating the surrounding air. Stewart explained, "The idea is to heat the vine itself rather than the air around it, above thecritical freeze temperature.”
What makes this technology particularly intriguing is its ability to create a temperature difference; the infrared technology can raise the vine temperature by approximately 6 degrees Celsius compared to the surrounding air. This is particularly important to stave off potential bud loss, which can be catastrophic for grape production. Stewart pointed out, "-24 C is usually where you would see 50 per cent bud death and afterthat it progresses pretty quickly to 100 per cent, so if you warm -25 C to -20 C you could save yourharvest.”
Investing heavily upfront, the fill-out cost for outfitting a vineyard with this technology ranges from $10,000 to $20,000 per acre. Nonetheless, Stewart believes this one-time investment is worth it. He noted, "You savethat crop in one year and you’re close to paying it off, and that's not even considering the wine itmakes.”
This initiative emerges against the backdrop of two recent cold snaps which resulted incatastrophic bud loss across the region. The BC Grape Growers Association has pointed out the pressing needfor wineries to explore both global and national solutions to combat extreme temperatures and climate variability, though Stewart cautions it might take time to identify the appropriate methods.
Reflecting on the unique climate conditions faced by wineries, Kullman, another expert voice, emphasized the importance of deploying the right technology. "I think we need to be really careful about thetype of technologies we bring over because we’re a unique wine-growing region. I can’t think ofmany wine-growing regions in the world where it would be -25 C in the winter and 45 C insummer,” Kullman stated.
With climate change prompting wineries to innovate and adapt, the combination of traditional practices and modern technology might just be the key to preserving the future of wine production. Sufficiently warming the vines and protecting them from the harshest conditions could prove not only beneficial for the producers but also significant for the industry as it adjusts to increasingly unpredictable climate challenges.