Why Chinese buyers are pouring into the BC Okanagan vineyards

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KELOWNA, B.C. — It’s harvest season in British Columbia’s Okanagan wine country. Among the yellowing vineyards, the crushing of grapes, and the tourists flocking to winery shops to sample and stock up on past vintages, Zhenzhen Fu is on a life-changing mission.

She wants to buy and run a winery.

The 28-year-old, who moved to Canada from Weihai, a seaside city in China’s eastern Shandong province, is on her fourth visit to Canada’s western wine region this year. She says her passion for wine runs deep. She can’t wait to make quality reds of her own — first to serve the local market, then for export to China, where red is considered a lucky colour.

“I am a wine lover,” says Ms. Fu, who became a Canadian citizen after moving here in her teens and completed a computer engineering degree from the University of Alberta, before settling in Vancouver.

“It’s the reason I want to get into this business. I want to make a wine that is special.”

Read more here.

Source: Financial Post by Claudia Cattaneo