For many years, wine production has been part of the Okanagan Valley.
The earliest record of wine production in the region was from Father Pandosy鈥檚 Okanagan Mission in 1859. There is no evidence of wine production at Father Nobili鈥檚 St. Joseph Mission (1845) at Garnet Lake (Priest Camp Historic Park.)
READ ALSO:
READ ALSO:
According to Nobili鈥檚 letters, he did write about a crop of beets. He was described as being 鈥渆xcessively fond of beets.鈥�
In Summerland, Harry McWatters founded Sumac Ridge Estate Winery with partner Lloyd Schmidt in 1980. He was also the founding chair of the British Columbia Wine Institute and of Vintner Quality Alliance Canada, the standards for wine quality levels.
McWatters, who died peacefully in July, 2019, was known as the grandfather of the province鈥檚 wine industry. He received many awards an honours for his work.
Today, the province鈥檚 wine industry contributes an estimated $2.8 billion annual to the provincial economy. There are a total of 370 licensed wineries in the province, with 284 licensed grape wineries. More than 80 grape varieties are produced at 929 vineyards, with more than 4,100 hectares of planted land.
To report a typo, email:
news@summerlandreview.com.
news@summerlandreview.com
Like us on and follow us on .
