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17th Annual Sun Peaks Winter Okanagan Wine Festival Sees Record Early Sales

KELOWNA & SUN PEAKS, BRITISH COLUMBIA – NOVEMBER 18, 2014:

Two of British Columbia's finest assets—winter recreation and wine—make for an inspired pairing at the Sun Peaks Winter Okanagan Wine Festival this January 16–25, 2015. Dubbed one of the Best Winter Parties in Canada by MSN Travel, the Sun Peaks Winter Okanagan Wine Festival offers something for every taste with exquisite B.C. wine, food, skiing, and riding. The Festival is unique in Canada, offering extensive wine and culinary festivities at the height of the winter ski season.

A boon to oenophiles, foodies and outdoor aficionados, festival guests can enjoy Sun Peaks Resort’s spectacular new terrain. The resort now ranks as the second largest in Canada, growing to 4,270 acres of in-bound ski terrain with the addition of over 500 acres for the upcoming season. Infused with mountain personality, the festival celebrates both the rough and tumble and the sophisticated sides of Canada’s Alpine Village. Not content to sample varietals around ordinary tables, the Festival’s famous Progressive Tasting takes over 650 participants into the mountain air and ski-through village to taste B.C. wineries’ diverse offerings. Plus, new this year are Vertical Goes Vino and I Heard It Through the Grapevine. Several events have already sold out, being snapped up shortly after they became available, including one of the traditional favourites Port, Chocolate & Cheese: After the Après Social and the brand new Explorer Series. Tickets are still available for the remaining 18 events but are going quickly. Guests are encouraged to book early to avoid missing out.

“The Sun Peaks Winter Okanagan Wine Festival is truly a quintessential British Columbian Festival to start your new year. After a fantastic day skiing at one of the world’s best resorts, the idea of relaxing to delectable B.C. wine and cuisine is proving to be very popular,” said Blair Baldwin, general manager Okanagan Wine Festivals Society. “It’s the perfect way to embrace winter in an intimate environment with the tastemakers behind our award-winning wines and food. And with advance sales looking their strongest ever in 17 years before the mountain has even opened for the season, this great winter party will definitely please the après ski gods.”

“Inviting dozens of B.C. wineries and hundreds of wine festival guests to explore our winter playground is a highlight here every winter,” says Brandi Schier, media specialist with Tourism Sun Peaks. “This year, we are looking forward to the inclusion of three of Kamloops’ newest wineries as well as guests discovering our new and challenging terrain in-between some of the exciting new events and traditional favourites.”

One of the largest winter gatherings of B.C. wineries with well over 100 different wines, the popular festival is showing ticket sales already 30% ahead of last year. Tickets range from $29 to $130, with packages including accommodation starting at $149 per person, per night. Early bird pricing is available until Sun Peaks Snowshoe Marshmallow Roast Photo by Kelly Funk November 22, with a 10 per cent discount off two and three night packages. For complete event listings go to: http://www.sunpeaksresort.com/wine-festival.

The B.C. wineries participating this year include: 40 Knots Vineyard and Estate Winery Inc. Bartier Family Vineyards Ltd., Bella Wines, Bench 1775, Cana Vines, Castoro de Oro Estate Winery, Covert Farms Family Estate, Dirty Laundry Vineyards, Fort Berens Estate Winery, Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery, Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery, Harper's Trail, Kismet Estate Winery, Little Straw Vineyards, Meadow Vista Honey Winery, Misconduct Wine Co., Mission Hill Family Estate, Moon Curser Vineyards, Monte Creek Ranch Winery, Privato Vineyard and Winery, Recline Ridge Vineyards and Winery Ltd., Rivers Stone Estate Winery, Road 13 Vineyards, Rollingdale Winery, Silkscarf Winery, Sonoran Estate Winery, Sperling Vineyards, St Hubertus & Oak Bay Estate Winery, Summerhill Pyramid Winery, Sunnybrae Vineyards and Winery, Tantalus Vineyards, Thornhaven Estates Winery, Volcanic Hills Winery, and Wild Goose Vineyards.

“We love participating in the Winter Okanagan Wine Festival! We get to connect with guests in a casual and fun environment and Sun Peaks Resort is such a beautiful venue. I can't think of a better midwinter getaway,” said Jane Hatch, general manager, Tantalus Vineyards.

[Suggested Tweet: Upcoming 17th annual #SunPeaks Winter @OKWineFests Jan 16-25, 2015 sees record early sales. Get your tix http://ow.ly/Eqw1s #BCWine]

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About Okanagan Wine Festivals Society

The Okanagan Wine Festivals Society is responsible for the development of the wine tourism sector in the interior of British Columbia. It is well known for producing two annual valley Okanagan Wine Festivals in spring to celebrate the bud break and in fall to celebrate the grape harvest. Its Winter Okanagan Wine Festival is run in partnership with Sun Peaks Resort near Kamloops. It is also responsible for Signature Wine Events and two annual wine judging competitions. www.thewinefestivals.com

About Sun Peaks

Sun Peaks is a four season resort community located in the interior of British Columbia. With the addition of two, new alpine ski zones for the 2014-15 winter season, it now ranks as the second largest ski area in Canada. Most recently declared the #2 Ski Destination in Canada by Canadian Living Magazine’s Reader Poll and Best Overall Resort #2 by the Editors’ Choice Awards in the SBC Resort Guide in 2013, Sun Peaks is continually rated one of the top ski experiences in North America. The award winning resort design features three mountains surrounding an intimate ski-in, ski-out village filled with shops, restaurants and hotels. In other seasons, Sun Peaks offers a diverse range of leisure activities including 18 holes of golf on B.C.’s highest golf course, both downhill and cross country mountain biking, lift accessed alpine hiking as well as numerous concert events and festivals. Sun Peaks Resort was the first ski resort in North America and still the only resort in Canada to receive the ISO 14001 designation recognizing the resort’s environmental policies and practices. Sun Peaks can be accessed by two airport gateways - Kamloops (45 minutes) and Kelowna (2.5 hours) and also by car; only a four hour drive separates Sun Peaks and Vancouver, B.C.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Lori Pike-Raffan, Public Relations Director, Okanagan Wine Festivals Society [email protected] / 604.808.6655

Brandi Schier, Media Specialist, Tourism Sun Peaks [email protected] / 250.318.3633