A deep freeze in early 2024 damaged vineyards across the Okanagan Valley, wiping out thousands of vines and leaving many small growers in trouble. For Jags Alfred, who runs 99 Rows vineyard with his family, it was a wake-up call.
"When you lose 1,700 vines practically overnight and have no income from grapes for the season, something has to change," said Jags. Instead of buying costly replacement vines from the U.S. — a process made even harder by rising tariffs — Jags built a solution right in his own greenhouse.
In spring 2025, he developed a custom hydroponic system to grow new vines from cuttings of surviving Pinot Gris plants. Over the course of three months in spring 2025, he propagated 983 Pinot Gris cuttings. Of those, 878 took root and were successfully replanted — an 89 per cent success rate.
"Farming in the Okanagan is changing," said Jags. "We need to be more sustainable, more self-sufficient, and more innovative, not just to survive, but to thrive."
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