It’s a special milestone that would make any wine lover proud.
This year marks 30 years since the BC Vintners Quality Alliance (BCVQA) was established in the province.
The alliance was created in 1990 to ensure that BC wines were made completely out of BC grown grapes.
“This anniversary is a celebration of the success and growth of BCVQA Wine over the last 30 years,” said BC Wine Institute president Miles Prodan.
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“BCVQA Wine would not be what it is today without the incredible vision, collaboration and determination of our industry”.
Before 1990, the institute said that most BC wineries were focused on hybrid wines and mass production. With the help of BCVQA, farmers were given the option to remove their vines and plant new grape varieties by the B.C. government during free trade negotiations between Canada and the U.S..
“This had a huge impact on the industry,” said BC Wine Institute founder Lanny Martiniuk,
“We realized we had to do something that would help us produce better grapes and convince the public that we were producing better wine.”
During the first thirty years of BCVQA’s existence, the number of licensed grape wineries has increased from 19 to 282. 2,100 BC wines also now carry BCVQA designation, up from 157 BC wines in 1990.
In 2016 alone, the B.C. wine industry generated $2 billion worth of economic impact to the province.
To learn more about BCVQA, you can visit its website.
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