International coverage about BC wine equals economic gold
This heavenly photo from BC wine country is featured in a major UK newspaper
An article this week from the UK Daily Mail glowed about BC wine country. It described the region as being "relatively unknown internationally" but you get the feeling after the recent bump by Huffington Post and now this recognition by the UK publication that anonymity may not last.
Why should BC winemakers, BC travel industry suppliers, and regional politicians care? The UK Daily Mail is the largest circulation newspaper in the United Kingdom, with a circulation over over 4.5 million! Here's an opening passage from the clearly charmed journalist Sarah Gordon:
British Columbia’s dramatic scenery seems to lend itself to vigorous pastimes, scaling mountains, kayaking lakes and taking to the sea for a spot of whale watching.
But as a very wise Rudyard Kipling once said, when talking about Canada’s westernmost province: ‘Such a land is good for an energetic man. It is also not bad for a loafer.’
So I don’t feel too bad about leaving the active pursuits to others and settling down instead for a glass of wine as I soak up the view across the Okanagan Valley, a lake-splodged landscape lined with snow-dusted peaks.
BC wine travelers will smile reading about her experiences. She visits Nk'Mip, Tinhorn Creek and Miradora Restaurant, sips wine with Laughing Stock Vineyards owners David and Cynthia Enns, and nibbles on Poplar Grove washed rind cheese paired with a glass of BC Cabernet Sauvignon.
As I stated in my 2011 BC wine industry retrospective, with every good bottle of BC wine comes a calling card for our region. Coverage like the UK Daily Mail feature can be economic gold for our region as it competes for talent and investment with the rest of the planet.
I've held for some time that BC's wine agri-tourism sector lacks "the big idea" that could benefit the whole province. Is there even a big idea out there? This is something I will be exploring in 2012. Stay tuned to BC Wine Lover for more of this discussion.
– post by Mike. Follow us on Twitter!