British Columbia wines regions of Canada

Canada's most western province, its coastline bordering on the Pacific Ocean. A land of diversity ranging from coastal beaches to the mountain ranges of the Rockies. From big cities ( Vancouver, Victoria ) to the small charming towns of Vancouver Island coastal inlets and the interior. The province is known for tourism, ski resorts, fishing, orchards, natural wildlife, spectacular forests, and wine.

B.C.'s total land and freshwater area is 95 million hectares, larger than France and Germany combined. Only 30 countries are larger. British Columbia occupies about 10 per cent of Canada's land surface.

The Okanagan Valley in central British Columbia is the largest and oldest grape growing region in BC.
The region has seen a dramatic increase in its product of red wine.

Recent years has see the development of other ares besides the now famous Okanagan. Theses include the
Similkameen Valley, Vancouver Island (and the Gulf Islands) , along with the Fraser Valley

Enjoy the wines of British Columbia. For additional information about BC wine standards

Number of wineries
136 grape wine wineries, with 14 licenses pending. 59 are members of the BCWI. BCWI membership represents almost 90% of BC grape wine production and 96% of total wine production in the province.*

~ Ratio of White to Red 48% to 52% ~ 2006 wine production 12,221,400 litres (estimated) *

* all information provided by The British Columbia Wine Institute (BCWI). The BCWI was created by an act of the provincial legislature, the BC Wine Act, in 1990. For more information about British Columbia's Wine standards please click here

History: In 1931, Calona Vineyards opened as the first commercial winery in the Okanagan. For more on history of BC click here

All British Columbia's wineries are listed in one of the following regions. I have created the unofficial regions
to display the wineries for easier review.

Fraser Valley	Lower mainland of BC
The Islands	Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands
North Okanagan	From the Shuswap to the southern end of Okanagan Lake
South Okanagan	South from Okanagan Lake to US boarder
Naramata Bench	Located on the south eastern side of Lake Okanagan
Similkameen Valley	From Osoyoos west along Highway 3 to the historic town of Princeton
Off the Beaten Path	Dedicated winemakers in other areas