WEST KELOWNA, B.C. – When West Kelowna’s Kalala Organic Estate Winery’s Chardonnay Icewine won best in the world in March, the Okanagan business immediately began attracting international attention.
The top rated wine became the reason a delegation from the Solomon Islands, a collection of 999 islands in the South Pacific, paid a visit to the Okanagan winery this week.
“To be honest, I don’t know where it is. I had to look at Google,” said Kalala Winery proprietor Karnail Sidhu, with a laugh. “We thought, ‘That’s a good opportunity.’ We are looking for opportunity to export the wine.”
Anthony Veke, the new Premier for Guadalcanal Island in the Solomon Islands, visited Kalala Winery with the intention of opening his country to Canadian wine.
“It’s really about giving opportunities to the people of Solomon Islands: a taste of different wines from around the world,” said Veke. “There’s a growing need of different qualities and different tastes of wine in that part of the world.”
Solomon Island representatives are also looking to find importers for their goods, including young coconuts, coffee and cocoa.
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