business backgrounder | trade
“( The grapes) would have ended up going on the ground at the end of the season.”
— Jeff Andrews, co-owner of Coyote Canyon Vineyard
The event was bound to affect most if not all of B. C.’ s 350 licensed wineries that employ more than 14,000 workers, according to BC Gov News. That’ s to say nothing of the $ 3.75 billion generated by the industry annually.
In a neighborly move, Washington stepped up to help. That move turned out to be mutually beneficial to both sides of the border.
Washington has 400 wine grape growers with 50,000 acres of 80 varieties, according to the Washington Wine Commission. In 2024, the vineyards produced 150,000 tons of grapes.
The Washington Winegrowers Association was one of the first to take action following the freeze. In March 2024, the nonprofit trade association published an eight-page guide for exporting grapes into B. C.
The Association of Washington Business followed by bringing awareness to the issue during its June 2024 trade mission to Vancouver and Ottawa, where employers, lawmakers and state agency heads met with their Canadian counterparts.“ To make wine, we need Washington grapes,” Kubek told the delegation. By July, the B. C. Liquor Distribution Branch, responsible for wholesale distribution and retail sale of beverage alcohol, created an exemption to one of its primary requirements for land-based wineries— only B. C. grapes for B. C. wines.
The use of“ foreign” grapes grown outside the province means up to an 89 % markup on bottles of wine— a cost passed on to the consumer.
The exemption, through the 2024 Vintage Replacement program, applied to grapes purchased through March 2025, said Sara Higgins, the Winegrowers Association executive director. Once the program was in place, the association started advocating for it, making it known to its membership and providing information on how to participate, she said.“ We’ re neighbors,” she said of the province. The association’ s Grape and Wine Dating Service, which had already been in place for years, proved especially useful. The free service lists what entities in the industry want to sell and buy, specifying product type, vintage and variety, as well as American Viticultural Area.
AVAs are specific appellations of origin or regions where wine grapes are grown in unique geographic conditions, soil and climate. There are 21 AVAs in Washington.
Higgins understands 30 % of B. C. wineries bought Washington grapes for their 2024 vintage, and 4,000 metric tons of grapes were exported from the state.
Grapes from the 2020 harvest at Coyote Canyon Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA spill over containers. The winery provided approximately 300 tons of surplus grapes to B. C. wineries in 2024.
Ben Bryant, left, and Jeff Andrews of Coyote Canyon Vineyard prepare to load grapes for shipment to Bryant’ s 1 Mill Road Winery in the Okanagan Valley. winter 2026 51