If the predictions for another hot, dry summer in most parts of British Columbia materialize, it will be good news for B.C.’s wineries – provided it doesn’t result in another disastrous forest-fire season in the Okanagan Valley where most of B.C.’s 85 wineries are located.

“We’re producing another stellar vintage,” says Peggy Athans, executive director of the Kelowna-based British Columbia Wine Institute (BCWI), which is based in B.C.’s largest wine region, the Okanagan Valley.

The valley’s vineyards are already 10 days to two weeks ahead of normal, says Athans.

There are four viticultural areas in the province, including the Okanagan Valley and Similkameen Valley regions, which currently produce 95 per cent of B.C. wine. The fastest-growing region is Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, currently with 13 wineries but headed for 30 when pending licences are granted. The fourth viticultural region is the Fraser Valley.

Although last year’s forest fires in the Okanagan Valley didn’t have much of an impact on actual wine production – there was a decrease in production of only about two per cent, says Athans – the real impact was felt in the wineries’ onsite shops, their major profit centre. Sales were down dramatically because tourists stayed away from the region.

The winery that was hit hardest by the fires, St. Hubertus Estate Winery just south of Kelowna, reports that it is 99 per cent back to normal.

“It’s going to be a little bit of a reduced crop this year because we have to be very cautious not to over-stress the plants, but so far most of them seem to be recovering quite well,” says co-owner Andy Gebert.

Gebert estimates that a maximum of 500 of the vineyard’s 5,500 plants were severely damaged or killed. It will supplement production with grapes from other wineries, which also supplied them last year when the August 22 fire destroyed all of its crop.

The fire also destroyed the home of Gebert’s brother and winery co-owner Leo, as well as the winery and all the equipment, although a warehouse storing the bottled 2002 wine was spared.

The fires caused an estimated $2 million in damage, but Gebert says everything that was destroyed has been replaced and modernized. “It’s sort of a blessing in disguise,” he says. “It forces you to make changes. In the long term, it definitely isn’t as bad as it looked last year.”

Another positive that came out of the experience was the publicity St. Hubertus received when it started giving wine as a thank-you to the firefighters who came to help.

They labelled two of their wines Fireman’s Red and Glowing Amber. “We figure the loss we took at the winery, which was underinsured by about $300,000, we got back in publicity,” Gebert says.

If the warm weather does produce the excellent vintage the wineries are predicting for this year, they can look forward to continued international accolades.

Athans says B.C. wines were recognized for 1,203 awards in 2003, and for the third year in a row Wine Access magazine named a B.C. winery the winery of the year. Jackson-Triggs Okanagan won the 2003 honour.

Already this year, the Okanagan Valley wine region has received a lifetime achievement award at one of the largest international wine competitions in North America, held at the Los Angeles County Fair.

“I would say we have a profile equal to Ontario now, definitely out west,” says Athans. “Our wines are very much embraced by the western consumer.”

A lack of volume means there is limited selection in Canada east of Manitoba, she says.

BCWI says that the B.C. grape and wine industry provides more than 1,200 direct and 1,100 indirect jobs, while investment in winery processing facilities, vineyards and tourism facilities is estimated at nearly $800 million.

The BCWI was established in 1990 as an initiative of the provincial government and the wine industry to create an internationally competitive wine industry. Athans says its current focus is the domestic market, with promotion and awareness a major objective. To that end, it has adopted the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) program, also used in Ontario, which has strict standards for the production and labelling of wine carrying the VQA designation. There are now 17 VQA wine stores provincewide, staffed with people who are knowledgeable about the B.C. product.

“We like to think that they bring wine country to the consumer, so if you can’t make it up here to visit the wineries, we’ll bring it to you,” says Athans.

Robert Lau, one of the principals of the Bellevue Wine Company, a VQA wine store in West Vancouver, says the difference between VQA stores and other wine outlets is the knowledge displayed by the staff.

“We are more like a promoter of B.C. wines, more than a retailer,” he says. “This is really a gathering place to learn more about our wine.”

Lau, who previously worked with world-renowned Moët and Chandon, part of the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessey empire, adds, “We feel that B.C. wine has come a very long way and they are making lots of award-winning wines now.”

Lau says he believes B.C. wines are better than those made in the Niagara region in Ontario, the only other major wine-producing area of Canada. He adds B.C. wine has been undervalued by consumers, albeit for good reason.

“Ten years ago you wouldn’t want to drink any of it,” he says. “We have definitely come a long, long way.”