For B.C. grape growers, it’s the summer of Noir
It’s called the heartbreak grape, because it’s so difficult to make it well, but for a growing number of Okanagan winemakers, Pinot Noir is worth falling in love with.
It’s now the third most planted grape in B.C., overtaking Chardonnay for the No. 3 spot in 2014. And later this summer, at a day-long celebration of the grape in the Okanagan, 26 wineries will have a chance to convince one of the world’s most celebrated wine writers that Pinot thrives in this province.
At Meyer Family Vineyards’ Okanagan Falls operation, the last of the ubiquitous Merlot, still the valley’s most widely planted grape, was ripped out several years ago and replaced with Pinot. It was done at the urging of winemaker Chris Carson, who believes Pinot is the most promising red grape for the Okanagan.
Bank of Canada slashes overnight rate further, downgrades economic forecast for remainder of year
As expected by analysts, the Bank of Canada has once again cut the overnight rate by 25 basis points.
The rate is now 0.5%, down from 0.75% where it had been since January when it was cut from 1%.
The central bank has also downgraded its forecasts for 2015 gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Canada since its last monetary policy report in April, from 1.9% to 1.1%.
GDP is now forecast to shrink 0.5% in 2015’s second quarter, the bank said, after contracting 0.6% in Q1.
The bank said one of the major drivers behind the cut was a decreased long-term outlook for global oil prices, which has seen Canadian oil producers cut their business plans.
Franchisees urge Victoria to draft franchise act
Ian Jenkins and his wife, Deborah Jenkins, say they lost $750,000 when they walked away from their Go-Grill franchise at Central City Shopping Centre and chose not to open their planned second franchise at Vancouver International Airport.
There was a long list of problems during the four months that they operated their Go-Grill in Surrey before closing it at the end of April.
Jenkins is lobbying the B.C. government to draft a franchise act to protect entrepreneurs who buy franchises and to level the playing field when disputes arise between them and deep-pocketed franchisors.
The Ministry of Justice is reviewing public feedback it collected last year when government sought opinions on the proposed law and ministry staff is “in the process of preparing recommendations for next steps,” according to a statement the ministry sent to Business in Vancouver.
Heat wave costs continue to climb throughout the province
2015 is shaping up to be one of B.C.’s most devastating forest fire years on record, with the government already spending more than $97 million, far in excess of its annual $63 million forest-fire-fighting budget.
The active fire count stands at more than 180, and the B.C. government expects 30 new fires to start every day because of the unusually dry conditions.
Some forestry operations have shut down because of the fires. TimberWest, the largest private timberland owner in Western Canada, has suspended harvesting on its 800,000 acres of forest as well as virtually all harvesting on Crown land for which it has a licence to log.
Last year was the worst year on record for total hectares destroyed, said John Innes, dean of the forestry faculty at the University of British Columbia. Approximately 369,000 hectares burned, one-third of which was harvestable timber, totalling a loss of $1 billion.
How PlentyOfFish founder’s US$575m could spark Vancouver investment
Markus Frind estimates the most he ever invested in his company was $500.
“We were profitable from Day 1,” said the founder of the PlentyOfFish (POF) online dating service, “so [an investor] was not something I had to worry about.”
Frind’s biggest rival, the Match Group, announced July 14 it was buying POF and adding the Vancouver-based company to its portfolio of online dating services that includes Match.com, OkCupid and Tinder.
When POF’s sale closes later this year, Frind will have turned that $500 investment into US$575 million.
Frind is staying quiet about what he’ll do with the money, but Boris Wertz, founder of Version One Ventures, expects the local tech community to benefit.
“Markus has, in the last few years, developed into one of the most active angel investors, tech investors, in the city,” Wertz said. “[His] exit will at least keep that level and perhaps even accelerate his investment in Vancouver.”
