| The Okanagan - Wine Fine Appellation in Canada's Bristish Columbia | | | | By: C. L. \'Lee\' Corpening |  Page 1 of 4 next >> |
The Okanagan
Canadian Wine Region on the Rise!!
Be Among the First!!
Where
There have been countless articles about the traditional wine regions of the world – Napa, Tuscany, Rioja, Bordeaux and Burgundy to name just a few. But, if you want to experience a wine region in its infancy, then you need to consider the Okanagan!!
The Okanagan is a region located in the Canadian province of British Columbia about 200 miles from the Pacific Ocean. The long narrow Okanagan Valley runs from the 49th Parallel – its southernmost border with the state of Washington – north for about a hundred miles to roughly the 50th parallel. The region takes its name from the aboriginal people, known as the Okanagan Nation, which lived off the land for thousands of years before the first settlers arrived in the early 1800’s. Fur trading, missions, ranchers, gold mining and agriculture, primarily fruit, drove the development of the valley. Today, fruit is still grown but the new gold being mined is grapes for wine making!!
This writer had barely heard of the Okanagan until the summer of ’05 when visiting Oregon’s Willamette Valley, he ran into two California winemakers who were on their way to visit the Okanagan to investigate establishing a winery there. The thought occurred that with all the rush to visit the traditional wine regions of the world, wouldn’t it be nice to visit one that was a bit off the beaten path and was still in its youth but whose wines were being recognized internationally?
Today, the Okanagan has about 5000 acres under vine and that supports over 70 wineries.
History
Although the first vineyards were planted with the early missions in the mid 1800’s, it was the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which, in 1988, opened the market and put pressure on wine growers to focus on quality. Grants incentivized growers to replace undesirable varietals with premium vinifera vines in order to compete. Shortly after, BC adopted the Canadian VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) as its wine ‘law’ standard. Among other requirements, VQA wines must be produced from 100% BC grapes and are screened by professional tasters for any faults. The VQA standard is BC’s answer to the European ‘Appellation of Origin’.
Like any ‘terroir’ driven wine region, soil types, rainfall and sunshine define a ‘terroir’ and determine the type of grapes grown; and, it is those differences that determined the five Okanagan grape growing regions. On its west, The Okanagan is bordered by the coastal mountain ranges and on its eastern side by the Rockies. Like the Voges Mountains which shelter France’s Alsace Region, the coastal mountain range keeps the Okanagan relatively dry with rainfall from about eight inches in the south valley to about 12 inches in its north. Similarly, the ‘degree days’ vary from 1200 in the north to 1500 in the south. And, with such a northern parallel, daybreak can start as early as 5AM and nightfall can be as late as 1030PM; thus, enhancing grape riping. Cooler climate varietals – Chardonnay, Riesling – dominate the northern end of the valley and warmer climate varietals – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah – the southern end.
Also, the region is dominated with several lakes that run its length and help to moderate the winter temperatures; thus, allowing vinifera to flourish this far north.
Okanagan Black Sage Wineries
The Pacific Agri-food Research Centre (PARC) has identified five sub-regions in the Okanagan which run from the northern end of the valley to its southern end. Because the ‘degree day’s are higher in the Black Sage, Bordeaux varietals predominate. This writer visited five wineries over two days in the Okanagan’s southern end which is referred to as the Black Sage. What is uniquely unique about this sub-region is that it contains what is referred to as a ‘pocket desert’! The area that lies between the towns of Oliver in the north and Osooyos in the south is the northernmost tip of the Sonora Desert which begins on the Baja Peninsula in Mexico!
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