Hybrid: Grape varieties developed, typically by crossing European varieties with native North American varieties. The plant breeder’s objectives include developing varieties that ripen early, resist disease or are winter-hardy.*

Botrytis: A fungus that attacks grape skins. In favourable conditions, it dehydrates grapes, allowing the production of intense dessert wines.*

Geography: Lake Okanagan, at 144 kilometres long and 3.5 kilometres average width, is the source of much-needed water for irrigation for vines in the Okanagan Valley.

Acreage: British Columbia currently has an estimated 9,100 acres under vine, up from just 1,000 acres planted in 1989.

Geology: Mt. Boucherie (near Kelowna), home to a number of wineries, is an extinct volcano.


*Schreiner, John - British Columbia Wine Country, Whitecap Books Ltd., 2003

 
 
  Number of wineries
157 grape wine wineries, and several licenses pending. 82 are members of the BCWI. BCWI membership represents 95% of BC VQA sales, 95% of the total wine production in the province and produce 88% of 100% BC grape wine production.

  
  Five wine regions (designated viticultural areas)
Okanagan Valley
Similkameen Valley
Fraser Valley
Vancouver Island
Gulf Islands		  
  Number of vineyards
710 (wineries and independent growers)		  
  Grape varietals produced
60+		  
  Top ten white varietals (by acreage planted)
Pinot Gris
Chardonnay
Gewürztraminer
Sauvignon Blanc
Pinot Blanc
Riesling
Viognier
Ehrenfelser
Semillon
Bacchus		  
  Top ten red varietals (by acreage planted)
Merlot
Pinot Noir
Cabernet Sauvignon
Syrah (Shiraz)
Cabernet Franc
Gamay Noir
Marechal Foch
Malbec
Petit Verdot
Zweigelt		  
  Ratio of White to Red
49% to 51% 		 
  2007 wine production
13,394,757 litres (estimated)		  
 
Harvest and Estimated Production (Historical)
Year
Harvest
(short tons – 2,000 lbs)
Production (litres, est.)
2008
22,200
14,996,100
2007
19,777
13,394,757
2006
20,369
13,802,563
2005
14,084
8,450,400
2004
16,642
9,985,200
2003
16,897
10,138,200
2002
15,523
9,313,800
2001
14,137
8,482,200
2000
10,022
6,013,200
1999
10,957
6,574,200
1998
10,188
6,112,800
1997
6,603
2,961,800
1996
6,102
3,661,200
1995
8,108
4,864,800
 
 
Grape Acreage
2008
9,100
2006
6,632
2004
5,462
1999
4,200
1994
2,149
1990
1,476
 
  Value of 2007 grape crop
$36,856,597 Cdn		  
 
Growth in Number of Wineries
Year
Number of Wineries
2009
160
2008
154
2007
134
2006
131
2005
119
2004
102
2003
87
2002
74
2001
66
2000
60
1995
32
1990
17
 
  BC VQA share of BC market
BC VQA wine became the second-best selling category in BC last year, with 20 per cent (dollar sales) of the market, ahead of all wine-importing countries, and behind only cellared-in-Canada non-VQA wines.		  
  Icewine
420 tons harvested in 2008, yielding an estimated 126,000 litres.
515 tons harvested in 2007, yielding an estimated 155,000 litres.
500 tons harvested in 2006, yielding an estimated 150,000 litres.
253.4 tons harvested in 2005, yielding an estimated 76,020 litres.
525 tons harvested in 2004, yielding an estimated 157,500 litres.
Top varietals are Ehrenfelser, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Gewürztraminer.		  
 
Growth in BC VQA Sales
Year
Dollar Value
Litres
Dollar Increase
in %
Litre Increase
in %
$/Litre
$/750ml *
2008/09
160,881,514
6,637,387
3
1
24.24
18.18
2007/08
156,730,109
6,594,213
4
-3
23.77
17.83
2006/07
151,220,894
6,783,234
7
5
22.29
16.72
2005/06
141,390,804
6,472,816
23
16
21.84
16.38
2004/05
114,891,745
5,571,100
25
18
20.62
15.47
2003/04
91,998,375
4,728,612
11
12
19.46
14.59
2002/03
83,051,239
4,233,458
18
14
19.62
14.71
2001/02
70,418,708
3,717,452
22
24
18.94
14.21
2000/01
57,638,465
2,999,807
18
16
19.21
14.41
1999/00
48,740,017
2,585,217
16
7
18.86
14.16
1998/99
42,143,199
2,420,599
6
6
17.41
13.05
1997/98
39,758,907
2,324,068
22
11
17.11
12.83
1996/97
32,397,296
2,093,324
3
3
15.48
11.61
1995/96
31,321,592
2,035,877
22
15
15.38
11.54
1994/95
23,666,799
1,775,580
57
38
13.33
10.00
1993/94
15,306,430
1,289,672
45
32
11.87
8.90
1992/93
10,559,586
977,030
54
31
10.81
8.11
1991/92
6,846,183
748,196
-
-
9.15
6.86

Please note that the average rate of increase in the price of BC VQA wine is 0.1% less than the rate of inflation.

Source: BC Wine Institute from data from the BCLDB

  
  Highlights of the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) standard
Wines bearing the label designation “Product of British Columbia” must be produced from 100% British Columbia grown grapes. 
Wines bearing the name of a viticultural area are derived from a minimum of 95% of the grapes grown in the named area.
Where a vintage date is stated on the label, at least 95% of the wine is obtained from the designated year of harvest.
Wines labeled as “estate bottled” are produced from grapes grown in a vineyard owned or controlled by the winery, and all processing steps from crushing to bottling are performed at the winery.
As a final check on quality, the wine-tasting panel tests and approves each wine. 		 
 
© 2006 British Columbia Wine Institute.  All rights reserved.