It's so funny how each state -- often, each county -- in the US has its own laws. In NY you can buy beer at the grocery/convenience store but not wine. You can only get wine at liquor stores. And no sales of either before noon on Sunday. And only recently was it permitted to sell wine/liquor on Sunday.

Back to BC, I'm not surprised they have a thriving wine industry. Look at Washington State, a big producer -- pretty much the same climate, no?