December 2020 - Summerland Research and Development Centre

Bud Hardiness of Wine Grape Cultivars in the Okanagan Valley, BC

INTRODUCTION
Winter hardiness of grapevines is critical to the success of the wine industry in interior British Columbia.
Over-winter survival of fruit buds determines crop yield in the following year, and knowing the bud
hardiness of cultivars can help producers select suitable cultivars and planting sites appropriate to site
climate, and manage cold protection by installing and operating wind machines. To assist grape growers,
we monitored and reported the bud hardiness of several wine grape cultivars in the Okanagan Valley for
the last eight years. This multi-year data record allows us to rank cultivars by their hardiness at critical
periods during the dormant season, from fall to spring.

Carl Bogdanoff, Pat Bowen, Brad Estergaard, Steve Marsh, and Emmanuelle Jean, Summerland
Research & Development Centre, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada