RED WINE MEETS ITS MATCH
Spin on paella makes for tasty pairing
The face of British Columbian wine is getting a much need facelift later this year with the addition of four new wine regions, otherwise known in the arcane world of wine terminology as areas of Geographic Indication (GIs).
It’s been over a quarter century since B.C’s original wine regions were delineated and the province is more than ready for a new map.
Back in 1990 the original GIs were defined under then VQA rules. The term “British Columbia” was approved for wine grown and made at any location in B.C. The Fraser Valley GI covers the land within the watershed of the Fraser River basin, south and west of the town of Hope and north of the 49th parallel. The Okanagan Valley covers the watershed of the Okanagan water basin, while the Similkameen Valley blankets the Similkameen River watershed.
Across the Salish Sea, Vancouver Island is linked to the geographical limits of Vancouver Island while the Gulf Islands speaks to the lands of neighbouring islands in the area bounded by the waters of the Pacific Ocean west of British Columbia’s mainland coast, north of the Canada-US. border, and south of the 50th parallel.
Last week the Ministry of Agriculture announced the founding GIs — now governed by the Wines of Marked Quality — will be joined by the emerging wine regions of the Thompson Valley, Shuswap, Lillooet, and Kootenays.
Time will tell as each region explores its quality potential, but we know identifying more production zones will help to fuel regional wine pride not to mention adding some additional vineyard land to B.C.’s wine bank for budding winery owners, viticulturists and winemakers.
There is also the osmosis effect of living in or encountering wine from a new region, which furthers basic wine knowledge among consumers.
My experience globally is that healthy regional rivalries — think Napa-Sonoma, PiedmontTuscany, Bordeaux-Burgundy — help raise the quality of wine and keep quality wine prices in check. Multiple regions will help fill out the B.C. wine story and garner respect, especially outside of the province.
There is no guarantee all the wines will be great out of the gate, but you can bet they will be much further ahead in style and quality than the wines issued in the early days of VQA.
The change is one of several submitted to government by the B.C. Wine Appellation Task Group in 2016. The industry-led group was formed to propose amendments to the Wines of Marked Quality Regulation. Other changes will be executed soon, including as a condition of having a winery licence, producers of 100 per cent B.C. grown grapes will require membership in the British Columbia Wine Authority and their output will undergo audits conducted and enforced according to the regulation.
Nothing is perfect, but after 25 years of infighting the thought of moving forward on the same page must be considered a turning point for B.C. wine. Imagine where we might be today if all the energy spent on debating the merits of regulating B.C. wine were focused on research, education and travelling the world telling our unique story.
As for the new regions, it is time for producer to get into a room, design a map, hire some geologists and historians, and craft the story of their region as it relates to them, and their consumers. The power of telling your own story, over and over, cannot be underestimated. Where is it? What is the size? How did it all begin? What is the geology, the geography and the climate? The answers are key to establishing your identity within the larger family of B.C. wines.
For consumers, this month’s announcement is just one more reason why it’s always worthwhile reading the label, front and back, before you buy any wine. In the end you will be making the ultimate quality assessment with your wallet, and the more information you gather going into the process the better informed your decision.
Best of all, the next time you encounter these wines in stores you will be able to put a face to the name and the place. In the business of wine, you can’t ask for more.