Agriculture and Food
Fancy tasting a winner of London's Decanter World Wine Awards? Interested in meeting the people who produced a winning wine at the San Francisco International Wine Competition? Like to see where grapes that won at France's International Challenge du Vin were grown?
Visiting B.C. wineries can lead to all three. B.C. VQA wines won a staggering 1,037 awards between March and July 2011, including more than 900 at international competitions in Europe and the United States. B.C.'s VQA wineries produce slightly more red wine (51 per cent) than white wine, and red wines also win slightly more (53 per cent) of the awards. White wines account for 42 per cent of the awards, and icewine and late harvest wines combine for the remaining five per cent.
More than 60 varietals of wine grapes are produced in B.C. The most common reds are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, while the most common whites are Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Sauvignon Blanc. The varietals that have won the most awards in B.C. in 2011 are Merlot, Pinot Noir and Cabernet/Merlot blends for reds and Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Gris for whites. Overall, B.C. Chardonnay has won more than 125 awards this year and Merlot more than 120.
More than 65 B.C. wineries have won an award this year. To plan a tour to a B.C. winery, visit: www.winebc.com.
Quick Facts:
- B.C. has about 200 grape wineries and over 700 vineyards.
- Wines from each of the five wine regions have won awards this year. Vintners from Okanagan Valley, Similkameen Valley, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands have all had their wines on the podium.
- 2010 sales by B.C.'s 117 VQA wineries were $182 million.
- Total B.C. wine sales for 2010 were $304 million.
- B.C. VQA-designated wines are guaranteed to be made with 100 per cent B.C. grapes.
- In 2010, B.C. grape growers harvested more than 17,400 tonnes of grapes.
Learn More:
A list of the B.C. wines, the 1,037 awards and the competitions they won are at: www.winebc.com/awards.php
For information on planning a trip to a winery:
and www.winebc.com/tourbcwineregions.php
NOTE: As part of its BC Jobs Plan (bcjobsplan.ca) , the Province released a five-year agrifoods strategy entitled B.C. Agrifoods: A Strategy for Growth on March 16, 2012.
- What action can you take to inspire people to buy B.C. food? Won’t you join the conversation and share your ideas (engage.bcjobsplan.ca) .
Media Contacts:
Niki Pandachuck
Ministry of Agriculture
250 387-1693
Lindsay Kelm
BC Wine Institute
250 762-9744, ext. 103
lkelm@winebc.com
