(Wines&Vines) - British Columbia’s first subappellation is in sight, paving the way for additional proposals for new geographical indications in one of Canada’s primary wine regions.

The three-member board of the B.C. Wine Authority (BCWA) last week asked the province’s agriculture minister to formally approve and establish the Golden Mile Bench Designated Viticultural Area (DVA), the first subappellation within the larger Okanagan Valley DVA.

Government is unlikely to act contrary to the recommendation of the authority, which oversees the province’s wine industry on its behalf.

Ten wineries submitted an application to the BCWA for the new designation in May (see “Wineries Bid for B.C.’s First Subappellation”). BCWA board members undertook a review of the application and consulted stakeholders through the summer. 

Where is it?

The proposed subappellation includes approximately 1,580 acres south of Oliver, B.C., within the Okanagan Valley, one of six legally recognized appellations within British Columbia. Approximately half the area, or 790 acres, is planted to grapes, including properties home to well-known wineries such as Hester Creek Estate Winery, Inniskillin Okanagan, Road 13 Vineyards and Tinhorn Creek Vineyards.

The new area occupies benchlands to the west of Highway 97 in an area long known as the Golden Mile. Running approximately 6.7 kilometers north to south at an elevation of between 1,066 feet and 1,673 feet above sea level, it is roughly bounded by Reid Creek and Testalinden Creek.