B.C. vintners hope to capitalize on global wine shortage
B.C. Institute of Wine is targeting emerging markets, especially in Hong Kong
Vintners in B.C. are hoping to capitalize on a world-wide wine shortage by tapping into new markets overseas.
This week U.S. financial services firm Morgan Stanley released a report that found global wine production is at its lowest level in more than 40 years, mainly due to adverse weather for wine-making.
The firm estimates that current demand outpaces supply by about 300 million cases of wine.
Though B.C. makes up only a tiny fraction of global supply, Miles Prodan with the B.C. Wine Institute says winemakers in the province can capitalize on the shortage by producing wines that are popular in emerging markets.
“We’re never going to have enough to compete, but what we can do is take advantage of markets like China, specifically Hong Kong, where the B.C. Wine Institute has an initiative to get B.C. wine on the lists of four star restaurants,” he says.
According to Prodan, there are now about 250 wineries in B.C. growing grapes on about 10,000 acres, mostly in the Okanagan Valley, but winemakers are popping up in new regions across the province.
With files from the CBC's Robert Zimmerman