Greater Victoria wine connoisseurs explored over 380 wines from 113 different wineries across 18 countries at the Victoria International Wine Festival on Oct. 3 and 4.

Among the wineries at the festival were a handful from southern Vancouver Island, a region that is thriving despite recent challenges to the industry caused by climate change.

B次元官网网址淥ur pinot noirs are exceptional and getting better and better, and it's partly due to climate change,B次元官网网址� said Genevieve Charbonneau from Blue Grouse, a winery in the Cowichan Valley, an area which she says is B次元官网网址渦p and comingB次元官网网址�. 

B次元官网网址淥ther regions are becoming so drastically affected in a bad way, but for Cowichan Valley wine, it's actually been a beneficial thing,B次元官网网址� she adds. B次元官网网址淚 think in the future we'll see a lot of interest and a lot more wine and vineyards going in there [Cowichan Valley]."

In agreement about the rise of southern Vancouver Island wines was Elissa Harvey from Pender Island winery, Sea Star. 

B次元官网网址淲e really focus on grapes that we can grow here B次元官网网址� a lot of Germanic cooler climate grapes,B次元官网网址� said Harvey. B次元官网网址淲e grow some pinot noir and they grow really well here.B次元官网网址�

According to Blue GrouseB次元官网网址檚 Charbonneau, what makes Vancouver Island wine stand out from the crowd is its aromatic and crisp qualities, with a B次元官网网址渘ice mineralityB次元官网网址�.

B次元官网网址淭here's nothing I like better than talking about wine,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淪o, to be with a lot of other people [at the festival] who are also enthusiastic about wine is pretty fun. You generally get a higher level of knowledge, so you can kind of geek out on it a little bit."

More than 1,600 wine enthusiasts enjoyed the festivities across the two days.