Fluent Essays

Watch this video on the Terroir of Bordeaux. Perhaps the most famous wine region in the world. After watching the video, use the model presented in class to compare the Bordeaux region in France to the what you know about of the Okanagan region.You will upload a 500-750 word document that outlines comparisons across the four key areas. Terroir, Miliue, Territory/Region, and Landscape. You should also address the geographic setting, and evolutionary stage of each region.Do some secondary research and include appropriate APA referencing. Define your key terms from the text and cite them.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TWK19s8g4E wine__tourism_and_identity_in_the_okanagan_valley.pdf Unformatted Attachment Preview FROM MERLOT TO NK’MIP: WINE, TOURISM AND IDENTITY IN THE OKANAGAN VALLEY Michael V Conlin & Jonathan Rouse Okanagan School of Business, Okanagan College Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada INTRODUCTION Although not a large producer of wine when viewed in the context of global output, Canada has a viable and growing wine industry and consumption is increasing significantly (The Canadian Wine Industry, 2012.; BCWI, 2012). While the growing of grapes and the production of wine can be found dispersed throughout much ofCanada’s southern regionbordering with the United States, the two predominant regions for wine production are Southern Ontario, mostly concentrated along the Niagara Peninsula,and British Columbia, mostly concentrated in the Okanagan Valley. These two regions produce most of the wine in Canada with the Niagara region accounting for approximately 80\% of national production (The Canadian Wine Industry, 2012).Of the production coming out of British Columbia, fully 96.35\% of grapes grown in the province come from the Okanagan Valley (Hira and Bwenge, 2011, 6). This chapter will examine the wine industry in Canada’s second major region, the Okanagan Valley, with particular emphasis on the challenges and opportunities the region faces in the context of terroir, tourism and identity. THE OKANAGAN VALLEY The Okanagan Valley is located in the south-central region of British Columbia, Canada’s most westerly province. The Valley is approximately 400 kilometers inland from the Pacific Ocean and lies in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains. It stretches north from the United States border at the town of Osoyoos to the town of Sicamous, a distance of some 250 kilometers and is bounded to the west by the Pacific Coast Range including the Cascade Mountains and to the east by the Okanagan Highlands and the Monashee Mountains (Super, Natural British Columbia, 2013). The region is lightly populated with approximately 350,000 people, most of who live in the three principal cities in the region: Kelowna/West Kelowna, Vernon and Penticton with populations in 2011 of 148,204, 38,150, and 32,877 respectively (Statistics Canada, 2013). Economic activity in the region is primarily found in the agricultural and viticulture, tourism, retail, light manufacturing, forestry and construction sectors (Our Okanagan, n.d.). The predominant geographical feature of the Valley is Okanagan Lake and nine smaller lakes, all of which were created by glacial activity in the Tertiary and Pleistocene eras with the retreat of ice coverage approximately 10,000 years ago (The Canadian Encyclopedia, n.d.). Okanagan Lake is a fjord style lake some 113 kilometers in length and ranges in width between 4 and 5 kilometers (Nasmith, 1962). The region enjoys a continental climate with dry, sunny summers (Super, Natural British Columbia, 2013). In addition to a favorable climate, “The complex geological history of the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys in British Columbia has created a wine growing region by way of diverse bedrock, soils, terrain and climate.” (Bowen, et al, 2005). Aboriginal people have lived in the Okanagan Valley for thousands of years. The Valley takes its name from them and they are part of the Interior Salish aboriginal group which populates large parts of the Pacific Northwest. Aboriginal people in the Valley are now organized in the Okanagan Nation Alliance which comprises the following: Westbank First Nations (in West Kelowna); the Lower Similkameen Indian Band (in Keremeos); the Upper Similkameen Indian Band (in Princeton); the Osoyoos Indian Band; the Penticton Indian Band; and the Okanagan Indian Band (in Vernon). The Osoyoos Indian Band is very active in the Valley’s wine industry and currently operates the Nk’Mip Cellars, widely considered to be North America’s first aboriginal owned and operated winery (Osoyoos Indian Band Development Corporation, n.d.). European exploration of the Valley dates back to the early 19th century with the first serious settlement taking place in 1859 when an Oblate mission was established by Father Charles Pandosy where the city of Kelowna now stands. Pandosy had a colorful career beginning with his education in France and culminating with numerous adventures throughout the Pacific Northwest in the period 1847 through to his death in 1891. Among the many facets of his life, Pandosy is credited with the encouragement of fruit cultivation in the Okanagan and introducing the region’s aboriginals to agriculture (Thomson, n.d.). The early history of European settlement in the Okanagan Valley is dominated by attempts to develop an agricultural economy. Initial attempts were focused on cattle rearing due in part to the abundance of cheap gazing land and the ease of moving cattle to railheads for transportation to markets. The expansion of rail access to the Valley near the end of the 19th century led to serious moves toward fruit farming, led in part by ambitious developments by Lord and Lady Aberdeen who acquired large tracts of land and began planting fruit trees. Nonetheless, the fruit industry struggled in its early days due in no small part to the level of investment needed to develop a successful fruit farming business. However, advances in cultivation techniques, experimentation with fruit varieties, and growing experience eventually resulted in a viable industry by the middle of the 20th century (Garden of Eden, n.d.). The initial attempts at wine production grew naturally from the development of the fruit farming industry with early attempts to produce fruit wine. THE OKANAGAN VALLEY WINE INDUSTRY The wine industry in the Valley can trace its origins back to the 19th century but this early activity was not commercial in a contemporary sense. For the most part, it consisted of peripheral attempts at making fruit wine and some grape cultivation that produced low quality wines which were normally fortified and made into sherry and port. The prevailing view up until the 1930’s was that fruit farming was more viable than grape cultivation because it was more resistant to climatic conditions, and in particular, the Valley’s winters (Nichol, 1983, 128 & 136). The Valley’s modern wine industry date from the 1930’s when Eugene and Virgil Rittich arrived in the region and established a winery in Kelowna. Commenting on development of the wine industry prior to their arrival, VirgilRittich said in 1940: After ten years of experimenting with my brother, I have found that the Okanagan valley is not only perfectly suitable for European grape growing, but its climate is in many respects superior to most vine-growing countries in Middle Europe. It seems to me that the early growers neglected chiefly two things: (1) They did not secure varieties which were suitable to our northern climate and, (2) they did not develop a training method which makes it possible to produce high quality grapes. With my brother I imported about fifty different varieties and planted them on our trial plot (Bell, 2013). The development of the industry throughout the 1930’s through to the 1960’s was characterized by increasing consolidation of wine growing and making under corporate umbrellas. The earliest was the Grower’s Wine Company, started in the late 1920’s and for whom Eugene Rittich was the winemaker for many years. Other participants in the industry during this period included Casabello Wines in Penticton, Mission Hill Wines and Calona wines in Kelowna and Uncle Ben’s Industries in Westbank (now West Kelowna). Grower’s Wine Company was purchased in 1966 by Castle Wines which was a subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco, at that time, one of the largest corporations in Canada. The focus of this early commercialization was the production of cheap, low quality wine: The general orientation of both the BC and Ontario vineyards was towards mass production of low cost, high alcohol content wines to serve local markets, call “jug” or “plonk” wine (Hira and Gwenge, 2011, 9). The consolidation continued throughout this period such that by the late 1970’s, the Valley’s wine industry was dominated by 4 wineries: Calona which was owned by Standard Brands; Jordan and St. Michelle owned by the brewer Carling O’Keefe Ltd.; Casabello Wines now owned by the brewer John Labatt Ltd.; and Uncle Ben’s Country Winery (Hira and Gwenge, 2011, 10). The production from these wineries was sold regionally with 85\% being sold in British Columbia and the other 15\% being sold in other Canadian provinces (Hira and Gwenge, 201l, 12). THE INDUSTRY IN TRANSITION Two changes to the operating environment of the wine industry following the consolidations leading up to the late 1970’s have shaped the current industry in the Valley. First, significant changes to the way in which the Provincial government regulated the production and sale of wine in the province helped to lay a regulatory foundation for the creation of smaller wineries producing higher quality product. Much of this regulatory change was based on a comprehensive focus on the role of wine in an overall tourism economy. In short, the regulatory changes were: …closely tied to an idea of an agri-tourism basis for the industry. The already existing bounty of skiing, hiking, golf and beaches provided the conditions to make the OKV a world class tourism spot. The original idea, then, was that the wineries would combine forces with the fruit stands, including pick your own, country markets, etc., to provide a bucolic experience for urban tourists (Hackett, 1998, 57-8 as quoted in Hira and Bwenge, 2011, 14). In 1978, the provincial government passed legislation that allowed the establishment of small wineries that could sell directly to consumers (Hira and Bwenge, 2011, 13). Early entrants into the industry as a result of these changes to the regulatory environment included: InkameepWines in Oliver (1975), the precursor toNk’Mip Cellarswhich initiated the first commercial plantings of vinifera vines in the Valley; Sumac Ridge Estate Winery in Summerland (1981); Mission Hill Winery in West Kelowna (1981);Grey Monk Estate Winery in Lake Country (1982) which was also an earlier experimenter with vinifera vines along with Inkameep Wines; and Cedar Creek Estate Winery (1986) in Kelowna. These new wineries benefited from the relaxation of regulations which had previously constricted the sale of wine through the province’s government controlled distribution system but also from the changing tastes on the part of consumers. In short, the Valley’s future became timed to the development of higher quality wines and increasingly to wine tourism. At the same time all of this change was impacting the wine industry, the passage of The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1988 paradoxically motivated the change in production with a new focus on higher quality wine, as described below in the 2004 Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry Report ‘Value Added Agriculture in Canada: In the 1970s, Canadian wines were generally produced from lowquality grapes and carried a stigma of being of lesser quality. The industry was protected by preferential tax treatments. In 1989, following the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and a General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) panel ruling, the preferential tax treatments were eliminated, forcing the wine industry to adapt to a new competitive environment. A strategy was implemented to position Canadian wines as a premium product. The cultivation of higher-quality grapes helped Canadian wineries move to premium markets. Wineries adopted an industry quality standard: Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA). The VQA imposed stringent production, labeling and quality standards similar to those adopted in France, Italy and Germany; for example, VQA wines are made entirely from Canadian grapes and are subjected to a tasting panel. Over time, the quality of Canadian wines was transformed, and Canadian VQA wines are now acclaimed domestically and abroad as high-quality wines (2004, 16). Canadians were beginning to follow a global trend of increasing appreciation of wines (The Canadian Wine Industry, 2012) with the VQA appellation standard in 1990 becoming the voice of British Columbia’s wine quality and authenticity, ensuring all British Columbia wine is produced exclusively in the province from locally sourced grapes. The British Columbia Wine Institute was later founded in 1990 by the provincial government as part of a strategy to move the industry toward higher quality production by promoting the wineries that complied with the VQA system and collaborating in the marketing of their product s (BCWI, n.d.). As a result of these efforts dating back some thirty years, the Valley now boasts British Columbia’s largest acreage dedicated to wine growing at approximately 10,000 acres, as depicted in Table 1 with the regions of Oliver, Osoyoos, Kelowna/Kelowna West and Pencticton/Naramata being the most significant respectively. Table 1 BC Vineyards/Grape Acreage By Region (2012 British Columbia Wine Institute Annual Report) The second change that the Valley’s wine industry experienced in the past thirty years has been the growth in significance of what is now called Nk’Mip Cellars, the aboriginal winery established in 1968 as part of a collaboration between the Osoyoos Indian Band, the Department of Indian Affairs and Andres Wines (Anderson, et. al,n.d.). As has been noted above, this collaboration resulted in the first commercial plantings of vinifera vines in the Valley. The winery has grown significantly to the point where it is now considered an iconic part of the Valley’s wine industry. In addition to being a pioneer in the planting of vinifera vines, the Osoyoos Indian Band has also pioneered the move towards a fully integrated wine tourism product. Nk’Mip Cellars, created in 2002 from the original Inkameep Winery, has grown into a world class wine and aboriginal tourism cluster in the southern part of the Valley in the town of Osoyoos. Called the Nk’Mip Resort, the complex includes Nk’Mip Cellars (wine), Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort and Spa (accommodation and fractional ownership), the Sonora Dunes Golf Course, the Nk’Mip RV Park and the acclaimed Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre (Nk’Mip, n.d.). The Osoyoos Indian Band’s entrepreneurial approach to the wine industry has been an example for the Valley’s wineries in general. Since the 1990’s, significant development of wine tourism product has occurred in the Valley. Although too numerous to discuss in detail here, several examples are world class: the 2002 $35 million expansion of Mission Hill Winery; the expansion in 2008 of the Burrowing Owl Estate Winery in Oliver to include a 10 room guest house and restaurant; and the expansion during the early 2000’s of Quail’s Gate Winery to include the Old Vines Restaurant and enhanced cellar door sales facilities. These are just three examples among many of enhanced development of wine tourism by the Valley’s wineries. In addition, the Valley has seen dramatic growth in wine tourism products allied to the vineyards. Wine tours, packages that include tours, dining and tasting, wine museums and festivals, and most notably, the various events organized by the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society, all contribute to the visitor experience in the Valley. As such, the wine industry in the Valley incorporates the three key elements necessary for successful wine tourism: excellent reputable wines; a critical mass of wineries which cater to wine tourists; and a wide range of complimentary services and events (Hall and Macionis, 1998). All of this development has produced a relatively viable and as importantly, a vibrant wine industry in the Okanagan Valley. Its wineries win more than their share of regional, national and international awards. Consumption is of their wines is increasing along with their reputation. Wine tourism is now considered to be a fundamental element in the tourism offering for the region. So with all this apparent success, what does the future hold for the Valley’s wine industry? FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES The future of the Okanagan Valley wine industry is framed by both opportunities and by challenges. The following discussion will focus on three specifics which offer both opportunities and challenges: the industry’ scope for addressing the strategic and operational challenges recently identified in the report to the American Association of Wine Economists; the capitalization of the projected expansion of cool climate wine growing regions around the work, including the Okanagan Valley; and the refinement and exploitation of the concept of an Okanagan Valley terroir and specific identity. Hira and Bwenge (2011) who have already been referenced earlier in this chapter, undertook a major study in 2011 of the wine industry in British Columbia and determined that it was vulnerable to nine significant challenges: (1) market saturation, and in particular the growth of wineries in the Okanagan Valley; (2) the increasing cost of land and primary inputs to winemaking; (3) the lack of alternative markets for British Columbia wine; (4) a heavy reliance on tourism as support for the industry; (5) dependence on regulatory protection; (6) lack of export expertise; (7) lack of co-ordination and co-operation among wineries in the Okanagan Valley; (8) poor co-ordination of supply chains; and (9) poor training and weak research in the Valley.The authors describe the state of the wine industry in the province as being virtually dominated by the Okanagan Valley and so their findings were not directly applicable to the outlier wineries in other parts of the province. They also describe the industry as being a ‘very flat pyramid with a few (<10) large wineries, a few more (<20) estate wineries , and the rest being very small operations (Hira and Bwenge, 2011, 19). As of 2004, they estimated the number of very small wineries at over 80 but that number is now approaching 200. All of these challenges are important. Market saturation is clearly a danger for the industry. Current levels of grape production already suffice the needs of wineries and any further growth is estimated to overwhelm demand resulting in ‘huge unsold inventories’ (Hira and Bwenge, 2011, 30). The authors also note that growth in demand for imported supply is greater than the demand for domestic supply. At the same time, somewhat paradoxically, most wineries are reporting increased profits over the past five years. The level of profitability will suffer, however, for new entrants into the industry given the rapid rise in the price of land in the Valley, the industry’s second vulnerability. From a low of $2,000/acre in the early 1990’s, prices are now in the $90,000/acre range in most wine regions of the Valley. This puts a significantly greater strain on the ability to generate satisfactory returns on investment for new entrants. Vulnerabilities 3, 4 and 6 are linked. Most of the estate and small wineries in the Valley are heavily dependent upon tourism for sales, either at the cellar door or through restaurants. While the growth in the British Columbia market has been sufficient to date to absorb supply, any variation in demand will be a problem since most of the wineries do not have expertise in exporting or seeking alternative markets. In short, they are too heavily dependent on one client sector. The impact of the provincial government’s regulatory regime on the industry is a true paradox. British Columbia wines are currently provided with a range of preferential practices and regulations in production and sales of product when compared with imported product. At the same time, the authors found that wineries were unanimous in their desire for the government to ‘stay out’ of ... Purchase answer to see full attachment