BC WINE AUTHORITY
The British Columbia Wine Authority (BCWA) is the non-profit society to whom the provincial government delegated the responsibility to implement the Wines of Marked Quality Regulation. BCWA is the regulator that implements the system of wine standards and authorizes wineries to use certain prescribed terms on wine labels, such as “BC VQA” and “Okanagan Valley” that assure the consumer that the wine is made from 100% British Columbia grown grapes and that the wine is free of specific faults.
Winery membership is voluntary but if a winery is not a member, it cannot use the prescribed terms on its labels and cannot vote on system governance issues. The BCWA is governed by its Board of Directors, all of whom are required to be completely independent of the wine and grape growing industries. The wine industry is involved through the Wine Industry Advisory Committee (WIAC) which is made up of five representatives elected by different segments of the industry. WIAC serves as the Nominations Committee for the Board and has the role to initiate any regulatory changes the industry may wish to propose to the provincial government.
One of the most significant roles of the BCWA is to operate the system of taste test panels that assess samples of wines to determine whether they are free of the specific faults set out in the Regulation to qualify to be labelled “BC VQA”. The panels consist of six trained judges, independent of the wine and grape growing industries, who assess the wines through taste and smell.
Contact: Randy Bertsch, General Manager
Unit #3, 7519 Prairie Valley Rd.
Summerland BC, V0H 1Z4
1-877-494-8896
info@bcvqa.ca / www.bcvqa.ca
Lorrie Zander, BC VQA Coordinator - lorrie.zander@bcvqa.ca
Tammey Hodgins, Membership Coordinator - tammey.hodgins@bcvqa.ca
BC WINE GRAPE COUNCIL (BCWGC)
The BCWGC is responsible for coordinating and facilitating research & education on viticulture & enology to broadly benefit the BC wine grape industry. It is set up through an order-in-council under the Farming & Fishing Industries Development Act. Membership to the BCWGC is mandatory for all mainland BC wine grape producers and annual levies are collected. The organization is run by a board elected at an annual meeting. The current levy is $10.00 per ton of grapes produced.
Contact: Kate Durisek, Executive Director
PO Box 1089
Penticton, BC V2A 6J9
250-809-7107
info@bcwgc.org / www.bcwgc.org
WINE GROWERS BC (WGBC)
The focus of WGBC is to raise the profile of the Wines of BC (the BC VQA brand) and the Wine Regions of BC, through a creative and strategic marketing and communications program, and to lobby governments to put in place policies that will create a better business climate for the wine industry. All of the Province’s BC VQA Wine Stores also fall under the umbrella of the BCWI.
WGBC has a voluntary membership of BC VQA producing wineries and grape grower partners. While the winery member fee is based on the amount of BC VQA wine sold in BC, grape grower partners pay a nominal annual fee of $100. Please feel free to contact us for more information.
Contact: Miles Prodan, Executive Director
Suite 470, 1726 Dolphin Avenue
Kelowna, BC V1Y 9R9
250-762-9744 or 1-800-661-2294
info@winebc.com / www.winebc.com
SUSTAINABLE WINEGROWING BC (SWBC)
SWBC is an ongoing project of the BC Wine Grape Council, managing sustainability certification, as well as providing educational resources and training to help vineyards and wineries establish sustainable practices. We share best practices and measure ongoing improvement. SWBC was created by a pro-active team of BC wine industry volunteers, who gathered local knowledge and expertise and learned from programs in other winegrowing regions.
Contact: Ruth King, Program Manager
Telephone: 250-575-6515
info@sustainablewinegrowingbc.ca / SustainableWinegrowingBC.ca