COVER STORY l Back to British Columbia
British Columbia welcomes U.S. to revisit world-class wines By Allison M. Markin If you’ve never been to any pocket of British Columbia wine country, there’s an obvious reason why this is the summer to head to the border and hop over. The American dollar is so far in your favour that loose change might come close to buying a good bottle of B.C. vino. (On June 1, a U.S. dollar was equal to $1.27 Canadian.) And if it’s been a while since you ventured across the 49th parallel and stocked up on your favourite aromatic white wines, you’ll be pleasantly surprised — possibly overwhelmed — by the number of new tasting rooms, farmto-table bistros and ruggedly charming inns and guest houses that have risen up, not to mention the stellar red wines now being produced and garnering recognition worldwide.
Okanagan Crush Pad in Summerland 22 | greatnorthwestwine.com
“Our fellow Canadians came here during the pandemic because they couldn’t go anywhere else,” notes Ellen Walker-Matthews, CEO of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA), the association responsible for marketing a vast stretch of the southern interior of British Columbia, where major draws are culinary tourism and wine-driven experiences. When it comes to U.S. visitors, Walker-Matthews says, “We want to welcome them back to experience the depth and breadth of what we have to offer. The Indigenous history and culture, amazing food and wine and outdoor adventures they can’t find anywhere else.” Many winery experiences have been paired for years with culinary offerings featuring ingredients sourced from neighbouring producers and growers. You will see “Buy BC” stickers and logos on everything from apples to wine bottles, neatly identifying British Columbia products. And similar to other wine regions around the globe, pandemic shutdowns and mandated service changes caused the B.C. wine industry to pause, reflect and slow down. In a sense. Walk into an Okanagan tasting room prepandemic at the height of tourist season and you might be four-people deep at the tasting bar, jockeying for position to get a pour in your glass, with little information provided by the hurried staff. During the pandemic, the industry went through waves of restrictions and seemingly endless changes from British Columbia’s now well-known ProvinPHOTO BY LIONEL TRUDEL cial Health Officer
— Dr. Bonnie Henry. Some of these changes came as last-minute shocks to businesses serving alcohol; restaurants in the province had mere hours to adjust to restrictions on popular revenue drivers such as New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day. Winery owners and their agents definitely took it on the chin when it came to restaurant sales as liquor sales and seating capacity were reduced temporarily. But almost without exception, when speaking to wineries in different parts of the province, the pandemic proved ultimately to be a positive game-changer.
