Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars

A fact one doesn't expect to hear about British Columbians is their ranking as the highest wine consumers in North America (per capita). In the most productive area in the province, the Okanagan Valley, the family-run estate of Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars makes complex wines, European in style and international in caliber. It is a leader among the province's more than ninety wineries.

The Okanagan has long been known as a fertile agricultural area yielding fruit and produce that like hot days and Vineyards cool nights. Over 30 years ago, a handful of individuals became serious about growing wine grapes in this valley, recognizing the complex factors needed to produce great wines existed: soil quality, orientation, altitude and exposure. The climate parallels that of the Champagne, Alsace and Burgundy areas of France and the varietals grown there also thrive in the Okanagan.

Among the pioneers of the new industry was the Mavety family who had the fortune to acquire a site where they believed the geographic factors came together better than anywhere else in the valley. Named for the hazy blue mountains that frame the vineyards, the foundations for Blue Mountain were thus established in 1971.

Website: Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars