The Association of BC Grape Growers (ABCGG) was established on March 10, 1961. With permission of the provincial government, in 1970, the Association formed the BC Grape Growers Marketing Board (BCGGMB). The scope of the ABCGG and the BCGGMB has always been the support of viticulture; however, over time and through various administrative shifts, its focus has changed from table grapes to wine grapes.

The Board’s original mandate was to negotiate sales deals for grape growers by creating standard prices per ton by variety of grape each year. This was accomplished through the annual issuance of executive orders of the Board, with which member grape growers were to comply.

Over time, the organization has been composed of various committees such as the Viticulture Committee, which managed trials and research projects, most notably the Becker Project (1977-1985). The Becker Project experimented with plantings of vitis vinifera in the Okanagan Valley and attempted to improve the varietal’s hardiness in this climate. Key members of the Viticulture Committee included John Vielvoye, who was separate from the Association, but sat on the committee as a function of his work with the BC Ministry of Agriculture, and Lyall Denby representing the Summerland Research Station (Agriculture Canada).

Other activities included educational outreach to grape growers and advocacy for crop insurance.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Board played a role in the negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in its application to BC grapes. The implementation of NAFTA represented a key turning point for the organization in the Agreement’s influence over financing rules for the industry. As an outcome of NAFTA, events such as the Pull Out Program and the Replant Program took place under the provincial Social Credit government. By 1995, reference price had been discontinued. From that point, departing from the elimination of marketing negotiation space under NAFTA, the BC Grape Marketing Board dissolved.

The organization then experienced uncertainty in its mandate: service to wine, or grapes? This uncertainty coincided with the advent of the Farm Gate Retail model and the formation of BC Wine in the early 1990s. In 1997, some among the former Board who opposed a shift to wine called a meeting and agreed to continue, but have the association be composed only of independent growers, excluding licensed wineries. The organization was then renamed the BC Independent Grapegrowers’ Association.

This was short-lived in the face of opposition from wineries, who also wanted to participate in the research and education supported by the Association. A change in bylaws in the early 2004 saw licensed wineries readmitted, and the organization renamed again to the British Columbia Grapegrowers’ Association (BCGA), under which name it still operates.
As of 2023, the BCGA advances the objectives of supporting grape growers in BC, educating grape growers, building relationships with external stakeholder, and maintaining stable, profitable markets for BC grapes and wine. It has representation on the BC Wine Grape Council, Wine Growers BC, and the Interior Horticultural Sector Group (BC Agriculture Council).