Viticulture: Grapes for Icewine are harvested at -8° Celsius or lower, and often by moonlight.

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

Terroir: The Okanagan Valley has five officially recognized sub-regions — Kelowna, Naramata, Okanagan Falls, Golden Mile, and Black Sage/Osoyoos.

Expansion: There are now 160 grape wineries in BC and several licenses pending, up from just 13 in 1984.

History: In 1931, Calona Vineyards opened as the first commercial winery in the Okanagan.


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

  
 
 

Put very simply, the BC VQA designation on the Wines of British Columbia is a guarantee that you’re purchasing 100% BC Wine.

Introduced in 1990, the BC VQA is an “Appellation of Origin” system that guarantees authenticity of origin and stipulates minimum quality standards for Canadian wines. BC VQA defines and mandates standards for wine production and certification.

With the BC VQA system, Canada joined other leading wine-producing countries in developing a body of regulations and standards for its wines.

Participation in the BC VQA program is voluntary and now regulated by the BC Wine Authority (BCWA). The BCWA brings all wineries under a single set of regulations and a single body charged with enforcing those regulations. In 1990, BC VQA wines sales in BC totaled 600,000 litres. In 2008 they totaled approximately 6.6 million litres!
BC VQA STANDARDS – GUARANTEEING QUALITY.
 
BC Wine Standards: The Wines of Marked Quality Regulations
 

Quality standards
The BC VQA controls minimum Brix levels at harvest, states acceptable oenological practices, prohibits the addition of water, limits the levels of chaptalization (chapitalization is the practice of adding more sugar to the 'must' than was developed naturally in the grapes that have been crushed), controls the use of sweet reserve wine additions, and prohibits the practice of fortification other than in wines labeled as such.

Geographic region
Only wines made from grapes grown exclusively in a specific region such as the Okanagan Valley, Fraser Valley, Similkameen Valley, Gulf Islands or Vancouver Island can display the name of the region on a wine label.

Vineyard designation
Only grapes grown exclusively from a designated vineyard can be named on a wine label.

Estate bottled
Only wines made exclusively from grapes grown, produced and bottled on an estate may be labeled as “estate bottled”. This can be land owned, or controlled, by a winery.

Wine category
Determines how the wine is made and labeled: Table Wine, Icewine, Botrytized, Late Harvest, Nouveau, Sparkling, Fortified or Liqueur.

Labeling guidelines
Determines if a wine is to be labeled as a single varietal, dual varietal, blend, vintage dated, and includes sugar content and sweetness descriptors. Labeling regulations also control the use of Geographic Indicators.
CERTIFICATION PROCESS
 

Application
Each application for BC VQA must be accompanied by a signed affidavit that the wine has been made according to BC VQA standards from 100 per cent BC grapes. It is signed by the winemaker and the company officer.

Winery audits
Wineries must keep production records for each wine and make them available to the BC Wine Authority upon request.

Laboratory analysis
Wineries must submit a laboratory analysis with each submission to the BC VQA panel.

Label approval
Each wine application must be accompanied by a label, which is reviewed for accuracy.

Packaging
BC VQA wines must bear "BC VQA" on the principal label and be closed with cork or another approved closure.

Wine audits
At the discretion of the BCWA, wines bearing BC VQA are independently audited to certify wine quality.

Tasting/Evaluation Panel
All wines are tasted blind by a six-person panel of trained judges. The wines are screened for defects and character.

Icewines
Icewine must be made exclusively from British Columbia grapes, and from authorized grape varieties. The grapes must be naturally frozen on the vine, and processed while the air temperature is minus 8 degrees Celsius or lower.

Artificial refrigeration of the grapes or the juice, must or wine for the purpose of increasing must weight is prohibited at any point in the production process except for temperature control during fermentation and cold stabilization prior to bottling.
 
© 2006 British Columbia Wine Institute.  All rights reserved.