13.5% of all wines sold in the province
But today, B.C. wine grape acreage is just short of 10,000 acres and the number of grape wineries has expanded to 234 from a dozen.
Meanwhile, production at estate wineries making wine solely from B.C. grapes has risen to 8.3 million litres from 600,000. Sales of B.C. VQA wines now account for approximately 13.5% of all wines sold in the province – the largest single category after the bread-and-butter wines local vintners bottle that could contain local and international juice.
The growth has put the industry at a new kind of crossroads as the small and mid-sized wineries that represent much of the sector’s growth clamour for greater clout.
“It’s great to see the industry re-engaging,” said Cynthia Enns, co-owner with her husband David Enns of Naramata’s Laughing Stock Vineyards, a 10-year-old winery that launched as increasing investment fuelled the sector’s metamorphosis.
Laughing Stock is a nod to the Enns’ own journey from equities to oenology, and the entrepreneurial attitude that led many to set up shop with whimsical names and high ambitions.