When the decision was made to hold the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference in Canada, a unique opportunity presented itself, and that was to feature only wines of British Columbia during the Live Wine Blogging sessions of the conference. Thanks to a lot of coordination and support from the Wines of British Columbia, this opportunity is becoming a reality, and attendees of the conference will have a chance to taste a selection from 30 different B.C. wines during each Live Wine Blogging session!
There are 5 main wine growing regions within British Columbia: Okanagan Valley, Similkameen Valley, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, and the Gulf Islands. Over 60 varietals are planted on more than 9,800 acres of land across the Province, and of the 214 total grape wine wineries licensed in British Columbia, 132 of them are members of the BCWI representing 95% of wines sold.
The Wines of British Columbia website is a fantastic resources for anyone looking to learn about the regions, the varietals, planning a trip to the area, and exploring what B.C. wines are all about. The site is beautiful and expertly put together and organized. Here are some quick facts from the website based on the five main regions:
Okanagan Valley
- 121 Licensed Wineries
- Top Varietals Planted: Merlot, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay
- 1931: 1st winery opened
- 8060 acres planted
Similkameen Valley
- 12 Licensed Wineries
- Top Varietals Planted: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay
- 1984: 1st winery opened
- 691 acres planted
Fraser Valley
- 22 Licensed Wineries
- Top Varietals Planted: Blattner Reds/Hybrids, Blattner Whites/Hybrids, Pinot Noir, Bacchus
- 1991: 1st Winery opened
- 63 acres planted
Vancouver Island
- 35 Licensed Wineries
- Top Varietals Planted: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Ortega, Maréchal Foch
- 1992: 1st Winery opened
- 432 Acres Planted
Gulf Islands
- 9 Licensed Wineries
- Top Varietals Planted: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Ortega, Maréchal Foch
- 1995: 1st Winery opened
- 115 acres planted
As you can see, the Okanagan Valley dominates production of wine out of B.C., and representation during the Live Wine Blogging sessions will reflect these demographics.
To see a list of each participating winery during Live Wine Blogging, visit our Sponsor Page or download this PDF.
If you are familiar with Live Wine Blogging, you know things move fast. In one short hour, you’ll get a one-on-one introduction from a select number of B.C. wineries and their wines. It is an excellent way for bloggers to get personal introductions from wineries and for wineries to make small-group presentations to bloggers.
To best prepare, we recommend spending some time ahead of the LWB sessions on the Wines of British Columbia website learning about the regions and individual wineries, engaging with wineries ahead of time (especially ones that you have a specific interest in), and coming with charged devices and a cleansed palate!
To make things easy, here are two Twitter Lists for you to one-click follow to keep track of all participating wineries:
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