Good BC wine country coverage in USA

Tourism BC picked up the tab for the production. Is it money well spent?

This video circulated over Twitter a few weeks back. It’s an episode of a San Francisco based program titled Eye on the Bay devoted to telling Californians about wine travel in BC. It’s actually an enjoyable segment that lasts about 22 minutes, so pull up a chair and have a look. I’ll only dock them points for the cheeky use of the Nighthawk, WA border crossing station over the larger facility at Oroville.

From the credits we can see that Tourism BC sponsored the episode, likely picking up the costs of the program to come visit the Okanagan and tell our story to folks in the USA. The beauty of these shows is that they often get repeat airings to fill up the TV schedule. Thousands of folks in the Bay Area will see that we’re making fine wine in BC, as well as providing a worthwhile travel destination for those who like to golf, cycle or sip wine.

Tourism BC have been doing a lot of advertising in the San Francisco market lately, so we can assume that their market research shows a lot of growth potential among Californians for BC travel. However, with Napa and Sonoma Valley in their backyard it’s clear they’re not starved of wine experiences.

I’ve always felt that oenophiles from the USA and the rest of the world always see Canada as The Great White North, producers of icewines that we make in our igloos. Changing that perception cannot happen overnight, but perhaps this investment by Tourism BC is a good start.

– post by Mike