Article content It is all B.C. wine today as part of our run-up to the holidays.
It’s been a crazy year for local producers with devastating losses in the vineyard and unknown timelines to get back up to total production, but most are facing the challenges. It is probably best to wait for the spring before we take a deeper look at what the future holds, but know that a number of key individuals have left their jobs, some pushed out, others unsure what their future might be and are proactively leaving in search of work further afield. These are worrisome departures for a young, inexperienced industry that wants to compete at the top end of the business.
Several wineries have decided to bring in grapes or juice from outside the country, although, despite a lot of talk about transparency, we see very little at this point about who is doing what. It would be nice to know which land-based wineries have applied and are approved to operate as commercial wineries, thus becoming eligible to import grapes or juice. Also, how these wines will be labelled is as clear as mud to consumers who will be faced with wines made from grapes grown outside B.
C., possibly crushed outside B.C.
, but bottled inside B.C. They won’t be allowed VQA status, but they will likely reside on store shelves beside VQA wines or, worse, in the foreign section of retail stores based on where the grapes originated, but more on all that in 2025.
Let’s get started on B.C. wine suggestions for the holidays.
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