Ontario's wine industry adjusts as smoke discourages tourists
Some wineries and wine tourism companies in southern Ontario are making adjustments to their operations for visitors concerned about the lingering wildfire smoke in the air.
Even as the smoke dissipates, Rich Mell, co-owner of Grape Escape Wine Tours in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., says he spent most of his Thursday taking calls from tourists asking to cancel upcoming bookings or looking at other options going into the weekend, especially for bike wine tours.
"This one kind of snuck up on me, I must admit," Mell said of the wildfire smoke.
He said he is offering alternatives, such as e-bikes and vehicle tours, and is being more flexible with tour lengths and his rescheduling policy.
Environment Canada's poor air quality alert continued into Friday with warnings that the conditions could persist into the weekend, as smoke from devastating wildfires in northwestern Ontario raised health concerns in southern parts of the province.
Mell said weekends are usually the busiest for his business — sometimes hosting as many as 200 visitors on a particular weekend day — but quite a few guests have already rescheduled.
"When we're doing the bicycle tours, people are concerned if they have maybe an underlying health issue," Mell said. "They are the people who are really more focused on rescheduling."
Paul Speck, co-owner of Henry of Pelham winery in St. Catharines, Ont., said he had to move a gathering indoors earlier this week as the smoke thickened, but mostly, his winery has so far been relatively unscathed because weekdays are not as busy.
As the weekend rolls in, Speck said there's room indoors for visitors to escape the smoke if it isn't gone by then.
"There's not a whole lot we can do," he said. "We have limited space, but we can accommodate inside."
Norm Beal hasn't fielded any booking cancellations at Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery in Beamsville, Ont. But he suspects people living in nearby towns might think twice about their day visits if the smoke persists.
He is hoping the wind shifts and clears up the smoky haze.
"We'll see what happens in the coming weeks. I know these fires are pretty extensive, so they're not going out any time soon," said Beal, who is also the chair of Ontario Craft Wineries.
Meanwhile, it was quiet at Colchester Ridge Estate Winery in Harrow, Ont., a day after the wildfire smoke reached its vineyards.
"We closed our patios, we closed the balcony and we are keeping everybody inside, and there is a slight difference in the attendance," said winery owner Bernie Gorski in an interview.
Gorski also gave his vineyard workers a day off on Thursday as the air quality deteriorated.
He is expecting fewer people to show up this weekend as haze impedes the view of the great outdoors. But he's hoping Saturday's potential thunderstorm will help settle some of the smoke and bring back tourists.
Summer is usually the peak tourism season for many wineries and vineyard tour operators but some say weather events such as extreme heat or persistent rain have dented business in recent years.
"We have had fewer wine tours in the last couple of years, especially this year because of the extensive heat we've had," Gorski said.
Tour operator Mell agrees. This year has been especially slow for tourism, partly because the weather has been more unpredictable.
"We seem to go from persistent rain in the spring to heat warnings last week, and then the smoke this week," Mell said. "It seems like Mother Nature's not quite on our side for operating bicycle tours this season."
