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Environmental Analysis Of The Okanagan Valley In British Columbia

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The region that I will be picking for this report is the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. It is located in the southern part of the province. It is the second largest wine region with approximately 4000 hectares of vineyards (“Okanagan Wine”, n.d.). The region grows slight more red grapes compared to whites. According to a report by Bremmer (2014), white grape varieties represent 49%, whereas reds represents 51%. Some of the wines that are famous in this location include Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc. This location is also suitable to produce icewine every year despite of the excellent cold climate conditions that it has. Each region has different climate and therefore has slightly …show more content…

The Labrusca variety is the only local vines that they are easy to grow. However, it does not produce good quality wine like the Europeans did. Sooner, government prohibition had forced wineries to remove vines and to plan crops instead (“A Brief History of The Okanagan Wine Industry”, 2014). The prohibition was then abolished in 1921.
Commercial wine production was then re-established. The first commercial winemaker, Calona Vineyards in Kelowna has established during 1935. It used Labrusca vines to create dessert and fortified wines. During the 1960s, the wine industry moved away from fortified wines and focused on hybrid grapes (Hickton, 2005). Drinkers were being more specific in wine drinking. They search for wines that are suitable to drink and to pair with food. During the 1980s, winemakers believe that they have to produce quality wine in order to enter the competitive market. They then started to grow vinifera vines. From this point, the wine industry starts to grow and has been successful in the last few decades.
3. Appellation System
The appellation system in the Okanagan Valley is called the BC VQA, which stands for British Columbia Vinters Quality Alliance. It is established in 1990. It guarantees origin and to ensure wines meet minimum quality requirements (“What is BC VQA?”, n.d.). The wines are regulated under the Wines of Marked Quality Regulation in 2013. It is

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