January 22, 2014 - San Francisco, California, United States - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
For the second year in a row, the Province's international trade and investment network and the British Columbia Wine Institute are teaming up to promote B.C. VAQ's award-winning wines and vintners at one of the world's most prestigious food and beverage shows.
Last year, during the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, a guided tasting of select VAQ wines resulted in a partnership between the British Columbia Wine Institute and Good Company Wines based in Sonoma, California, giving U.S. consumers access to premium B.C. wines. Currently, four B.C. producers are listed on the company’s website WineBCUSA.com: Black Hills Estate Winery, Laughing Stock Vineyards, Meyer Family Vineyards and Painted Rock Estate Winery.
Following on the success of last year’s showcase, select VAQ wines from B.C. will be featured again this year at a key gathering for the California wine trade for sommeliers, restaurateurs and media. Tonight’s event will include a multi-course dining experience featuring British Columbia ingredients paired with award-winning B.C. wines. The event will be guided by B.C. Executive chef Trevor Bird of FABLE Restaurant and Food Network’s Top Chef Canada, and will include remarks from Cassie Doyle, Consul General of Canada, San Francisco-Silicon Valley.
The event is co-hosted by the B.C. Wine Institute, which builds and markets the Wines of British Columbia brand, and the Province's trade and investment office in Palo Alto, California. British Columbia's international trade and investment network works to open and expand markets for the province's goods and services. California is a key market for B.C. VAQ wines and the United States is the world's largest retail wine market – and one of the fastest-growing. Americans consumed over $34.6 billion worth of wine in 2012, the 19th consecutive year the market expanded.
The three-day Winter Fancy Food Show, which draws over 18,000 attendees and features 80,000 of the world's finest foods and beverages, wraps up today.
The promotion of B.C. wines and food at the Show received funding from the federal and provincial governments under the Growing Forward 2 agreement (2013-2018), a $3 billion investment in innovation, competitiveness and market development in Canada’s agriculture sector. The funding includes $2 billion cost-shared on a 60:40 basis for programs delivered by provinces and territories (a 50 per cent increase in cost-shared funding), as well as $1 billion for federal-only strategic initiatives.
Media Relations
(B.C.) Ministry of International Trade
Minister Responsible for the Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism
778-997-0298
Jeff English
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Gerry Ritz
613-773-1059
Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
613-773-7972
1-866-345-7972
Follow us on Twitter: @AAFC_Canada
