Brix: A measure of sugar in grapes: one degree Brix equals 10 grams of sugar per litre. Mature grapes are typically 21 to 25 Brix, equating to 11 to 13 percent alchohol after fermentation.*

Geography: The southern Okanagan Valley in the area between Oliver and the border is classified as part of the Sonora Desert, which runs south to the Baja Peninsula in Mexico.

VQA: VQA=100% BC - All British Columbia wines bearing the VQA symbol must be made from 100% BC grown grapes. The wines are screened by a professional tasting panel and wines found faulty cannot be sold as VQA wines.

Varietal: When the grape variety in the wine is named on the label (Chardonnay, Merlot), the wine is a varietal.*

Organic: A technique for growing grapes without using chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides or commercial fertilizers.*

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

 
 
  Great wines come from the places around the globe where winemakers still take the time and consideration to make the kind of wine only that region can. Where wine is craft first and ‘product’ second. British Columbia is one of those places. The Wines of British Columbia strive to express what’s distinctive about our natural and agricultural heritage. Creating wines that are uniquely BC.
NORTH IS BEAUTIFUL
 

We are at the northernmost tip of wine making and vine growing. Here, grape quality is ultimately enhanced by the vines’ struggle to give forth ripe fruit in a shorter growing season. To some, it might seem miraculous that grapes can thrive here, but they do, and they do special things.
TRADITIONS BELONG TO THOSE WHO CREATE THEM
 

As a young region, we don’t carry the burden of hundreds of years of tradition, but we do reap its benefits. We borrow best practices from around the world and attract skilled winemakers from across the globe, but as an emerging region we have the freedom to find and establish our own way.
HANDS-ON IS CRAFTSMANSHIP
 

We are a small wine-producing region. There are single vineyards in some parts of the world that produce more wine than all of ours combined. But we believe wine made on a small scale offers greater access to the strengths of the land. To reveal what natural history has provided through attention to nuance and duty to craft.
OUR LAND, REVEALED
 

Take home one of the Wines of British Columbia and you’re taking home British Columbia–something that can’t be made anywhere else in the world. Because you can’t duplicate our sun, our soil, our water and our people who strive to do justice to this place in their wines. Who strive to make every bottle, Our Land, Revealed.

 
© 2011 British Columbia Wine Institute.  All rights reserved.