Data Strategy

Description

Mandate: To support the development of a centralized, integrated data infrastructure for the BC wine grape industry that enables data-driven decision making, improved efficiency, and insight generation across the value chain.

Goal Statement: By 2027, BC’s wine grape industry will have made significant strides towards a standardized, user-friendly, and sustainable data infrastructure capable of integrating emerging technologies, such as AI and real-time collection systems. This system will set clear standards for data collection, governance and reporting; encourage sector-wide participation; and plan for long-term viability.

Working Group Members:

Randy Bertsch, BCWA (Advisory Committee Liaison)
Bailey Williamson, Enrico Winery
Bryan Penfound, Okanagan College
Mario Ramos, Iconic Wineries of BC
Susan Murch, UBC
Galen Barnhardt, Barn to Bottle Consulting
Stephanie Hoffman, Andrew Peller Ltd.
Anahita Pouget, TIME Family of Wines
Stacey Horneman, Blue Grouse Estate Winery

While our working group membership is currently full, if you are interested in joining the Working Group Community, please contact Lindsay Kelm at [email protected]. Community Members will receive early updates, be invited to provide feedback on draft ideas, and help guide the group’s direction through ongoing engagement.

Strategic Priorities

Data Audit & Infrastructure

SP1: We must audit existing data across the BC wine grape industry to identify gaps, redundancies, and inefficiencies. This includes clarifying what data industry needs; mapping sources; understanding how information is collected and shared; and benchmarking against other global wine regions for best practices. Outdated or duplicative processes must be identified, and lessons learnt from other commodity projects must be leveraged to strengthen our approach.

SP2: We must explore the creation of a centralized, integrated data system for industry, informed by and connected to existing BCWGC / BCWA systems. This system will unify industry data, eliminate redundancies, and link key datasets, supported by clear governance and data-sharing agreements to protect confidentiality and enable secure, coordinated access.

SP3: We must establish a long-term maintenance plan, with sustainable funding, capacity for ongoing updates to ensure the system remains resilient, adaptive and enduring.

Data Governance & Accessibility

SP4: We must ensure the data system is accessible, user-friendly and well governed. This includes selecting and implementing tools and technologies that make data easy to find, interpret, and share; establishing clear reporting standards and guidance; and addressing barriers to access through inclusive design and support. Governance and ownership structures must be defined to manage and maintain the system effectively.

SP5: We must establish clear, standardized data collection and input procedures to ensure consistent, accurate, and timely data. Procedures will ensure key industry data is robust, comparable across operations, and valuable for decision-making, planning and coordinated industry action. Minimum data quality standards should be defined and enforced.

SP6: We must enable industry participants to interpret and act on the data through training, dashboards and tailored reports. This includes delivering inclusive, practical training for diverse users; creating reports and visualizations that meet stakeholder needs; communicating insights broadly; and supporting ongoing use, feedback and continuous improvement.

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