History of French wine of Aquitaine and the future King Henry II of England brought a large portion of southwest France under English rule. When Henry's son John inherited the English crown, he sought to curry favor among the Gascons by bestowing upon them many privileges-the most notable of which was an exemption among Bordeaux merchants from the Grand Coutume export tax. With this exemption and favored treatment in London, Bordeaux wine became the cheapest wine in the London market and gained immense popularity among the English, who call it claret. For over the next 300 years much of Gascony, particular Bordeaux, benefited by
Okanagan Valley (wine region) Okanagan Valley (wine region) The Okanagan Valley wine region, located within the region of the same name in the British Columbia Interior, is Canada's second-largest wine producing area. Along with the nearby Similkameen Valley, the approximately of vineyards planted in the Okanagan account for more than 90% of all wine produced in British Columbia and are second in economic importance for wine production to the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario. Vineyards can be found all along -long Okanagan Lake and many of its neighbouring lakes, including Osoyoos Lake, Skaha Lake and Vaseux Lake. The Okanagan has diverse terrain that features many