British Columbia’s provincial government is extending its support for wineries still recovering from the freeze of January 2024.
The temporary vintage replacement supports, first introduced in 2024, will be extended to the 2025 production year. This allows eligible wineries to make wines in B.C. with grapes or juice from outside of the province.
“Last year’s freeze was the most devastating event to hit BC vineyards in decades. While 2025 gave us a strong harvest, it’s simply not enough to meet the scale of pre-freeze demand,” said Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture and Food.
“We’re stepping up for one more year to ensure BC’s wine industry has the stability they need to recover fully, protect jobs, and continue producing the high-quality wines British Columbia is known for.”
The cold snap in 2024 damaged much of the grape crop in British Columbia.
The 2025 growing season has been strong, but the BC Grapegrowers’ Association and Wine Growers BC both estimate the province is 10,000 tonnes short of the grapes needed to meet market demand.
Replanting is underway, but the new vines are not yet established and able to produce full capacity.
“This extension is a vital bridge from last year’s crisis toward a sustainable future for BC wine. Without this support, we’ve heard directly from wineries who were days away from having to lay off staff. That’s how real the pressure is,” said Jeff Guignard, president and chief executive officer of Wine Growers British Columbia.
He added that Wine Growers British Columbia is committed to promoting B.C. grapes first and is committed to the integrity and quality of BC VQA wines.
“Even with temporary supports extended, we’re still working to ensure industry looks local first so that every B.C. grape ends up on a bottle,” he said.
British Columbia’s wine industry generates around $3.75 billion a year and employs more than 14,000 full-time workers. The wine industry brings nearly 1.2 million visitors to the provinces 350 licensed grape wineries each year.
While the province is extending its temporary vintage replacement, the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen had earlier considered a resolution expressing concerns about this measure.
A draft, which was later removed from the agenda, said allowing the continued importation of low-cost U.S. grapes and juice would be a threat to local grape growers.
