British Columbia's beautiful Okanagan Valley has become the mecca of quality wine production in British Columbia. The proliferation of wineries has resulted in almost 150 quality producers of vinifera grapes, with fruit ranging from Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Merlot which represent the top of the old world red varieties to a full array of whites, from Chardonnay to Riesling. Numerous awards in international competitions reflect the top notch abilities of the vintners who use the latest scientific advances to achieve top results. This high quality was not always the case and we should look at a little history to put things in perspective.

For many decades, the valley was primarily a fruit growing area with the grape crop consisting of Hybrid North American grape varieties that were hardy but created the type of jug wine that sold for a low price and had no appeal to true wine lovers. You may remember the grapey, sweet concoctions of the 1960's, '70's and '80's that got a lot of underage teens in trouble back in those days.

This all started to change in around 1989. Free trade meant that cheap U.S. hybrid grapes started to flood the market and our government leaped into action. They decided that Canadian growers could not compete and they paid growers to pull up their low class vines and plant other crops that could compete with the Americans. Most growers grabbed the money and moved on to other crops. Luckily, a few growers decided to gamble on high end grapes and planted the delicate European varieties that had not worked well in the past. These entrepreneurs had noticed that the temperatures in the valley had been rising over the past few decades and they were betting that this would continue. They were right.

From the mid 1940's to the present time the average temperature in the Okanagan has risen by about 5 degrees and the growing season has increased by almost two weeks. Furthermore, the freezes that happened on a regular basis during the growing season had virtually disappeared. All of a sudden, warm temperature grapes like the Shiraz could be grown in certain southern parts of this 150 mile long valley. The quality wine boom started to take off in 1989. Conversely, this warming trend is making some Californian, Spanish and Australian areas too hot for future production and creating an opportunity for Canadian growers.

Initially, the early Okanagan wineries had a hard time being taken seriously by the Europeans and Australians. Canada was not the first place to come to their minds when thinking about quality wines. After all, wasn’t Canada the "Great White North'? The early wineries such as Grey Monk Estate Winery did not have a lot of initial success but as the vines matured the Okanagan became known for its balanced and palate friendly products. The medals started to roll in.

The Okanagan Valley runs roughly north-south in the interior of Southern British Columbia. It lies between the Cascade Mountains on the west and the Monahee Mountains to the east. Lake Okanagan is the largest lake in this valley that also includes three smaller lakes in the south. They are the Skaha, Vaseaux and Osoyoos. These lakes ensure the viability of wineries even in the extreme south at Osoyoos which is classed as a desert climate area and is able to produce hot weather grapes like Shiraz.

The valley has the added advantage of consisting of a variety of micro-climates that make the cultivation of numerous varieties of grapes possible. Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon grow in the south and Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris thrive in the more northerly part of this valley.

Wonderful winery tours, samplings, superb restaurants and choice lodgings await the visitor and we highly recommend touring this extremely beautiful Lake District. Sample some world class wines and eat some of the best food anywhere. Cheers!!!