Red Icon receives global accolade

Congratulations to Painted Rock Estate Winery for the considerable achievement of having its 2017 Red Icon wine included in Decanter's January 2021 wine of the year edition, the only Canadian wine to be selected.

Decanter wine experts worldwide, and the Decanter team, nominated wines that impressed them most in 2020 to be further judged for the annual accolade. It's a tremendous achievement given the competition, and to have it happen in London should continue to open export doors for B.C. wine.

Maybe we don't need Alberta, Ontario and Quebec to lift their petty blockades on B.C. wine!

The novel coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the B.C. wine scene, essentially closing the import market to anything new or interesting while decreasing wine diversity in our market.

It is also contributing to the consolidation of buying power as if a monopoly needs any more. As a retailer, the BCLS is closing in on 500 exclusive listings, with 100 of them selling for less than $13 after applying the 85 per cent provincial markup — as well as hefty retail markup.

These are wines no one else in the market is allowed to access. Sadly, the vast majority of these wines are dross, but they are significant competition for local wines that can't come close to matching the price. It's a perfect storm for a rush to the bottom that will have long-lasting effects on the wine market's vitality in B.C.