Ontario wine producers are pivoting to adapt to extreme weather events and other climate change effects that pose threats to their sensitive grape plants.
Vineyards in the Niagara Region took on extensive damage this year after a single-day cold event in January.
Bill Redelmeier of Southbrook Vineyards says his business' output will be reduced by 75 per cent this year due to the crop loss, and likely by 50 per cent next year.
However, he says the damage could have been much worse without the wind machines in his vineyard that push warm air onto the plants.
Technologies like wind machines help grape growers offset the worst of the damage but they are often costly, and not all business can afford to buy them.
Brock University grapevine biologist Jim Willwerth says extreme cold is one climate change effect Ontario growers need to worry about.
He says last year's cold event in Niagara was harder on the grapes because of unusually warm temperatures before the freeze, and a rainy fall that prevented the sensitive plants from building cold tolerances.
Willwerth says wine production is particularly sensitive to climate change because slight changes can impact grapes' flavour.
Debbie Zimmerman of the Grape Growers of Ontario says more financial support is needed from the federal and provincial governments to help producers rebound from such damage.