A ‘Wine’ Look Back on 2018

The dawn of a new year is a good time to pause and look back at the year that was.  I think that, like Thanksgiving, it is a good time to express some gratitude for our burgeoning BC wine industry.  So, with this in mind, I raise a glass and say, “Cheers!” to the following:

1. The winery owners and investors who have the courage to follow their dream.
2. The farmers, the vineyard workers and the pickers. Where would we be without them?
3. Those who supply our wineries with equipment – tanks, hoses, valves, barrels, bottles, corks . . . . . . .
4. Those who supply them with services such as mobile bottling, branding and promoting.
5. The delivery companies who ship their wines to eager customers.
6. Tasting room staff, the front-line people who are the ‘face’ of the company and sign up fans for their wine clubs.
7. The accountants and office staff who keep the business ticking.
8. The winemakers, assistants and ‘cellar rats’ who do all the grunt work (and there is a lot of it, believe me).
9. The agents and shop keepers who make the wine available to us.
10. The tour companies who ensure safe delivery of wine country tourists.
11. To any others, I have inadvertently omitted.

Like the idea that, “It takes a village to raise a child,” it takes a lot of people, who are seldom recognized, to sustain a viable industry and bring us those wonderful wines we enjoy so much.

I thank you all.