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Sip, Savour & Summit at Mile High Wine & Food Festival

Silver Star Mountain Resort Hosts Popular Okanagan Summer Festival VERNON & KELOWNA – August 4, 2015 – This coming weekend new wine and culinary heights are in store at the breathtaking Silver Star Mountain Resort’s third annual Mile High Wine & Food Festival. The festivities kick off with an exceptional long table dinner by starlight, crafted by renowned Vancouver chef David Hawksworth and his team from one of Canada's top restaurants. The delectable five course feast is perfectly paired with BC wines selected by Bryant Mao, Vancouver’s Sommelier of the Year.

"My team and I are thrilled to once again partner with Silver Star Mountain Resort,” said Chef David Hawksworth. “We are looking forward to creating a celebrated summer dinner experience under the setting sun with Okanagan culinary enthusiasts.”

The signature wine tasting event, Mile High Wine and Music presented by Valley First – follows on the afternoon of Saturday, August 8. The ultimate mountain party, guests will enjoy an alfresco style tasting of crisp cool whites and rich robust reds from 30 Okanagan wineries, along with dreamy Canadian cheeses from Dairy Farmers of Canada, while the spirited modern Celtic band Cod Gone Wild perform on Main Street of the colourful mid-mountain alpine village.

Also on tap for the Festival are Winemasters' Dinners and the Sparkling up the Cheese in your Life seminar. The dinners offer a relaxing evening of elevated dining featuring some of the best food and wine the Okanagan summer has to offer. At the Lake Breeze Regional Dinner, guests can drink in breathtaking views of the Monashees along with wine pairings from the award-winning Naramata Bench winery. Diners will enjoy an exquisite four-course meal prepared by Silver Star’s new visiting chef, Scott Sanderson, accompanied by specially selected vintages. At the 1609 Arrowleaf Cellars Dinner, it is a night of culinary indulgence with a four-course meal by Chef Erik Fassbind and featuring Arrowleaf Cellars winemaker Manuel Zuppiger.

"Celebrating Okanagan sparkling wine in the breathtaking Silver Star scenery makes for fun education,” said Judie Barta, founder Meadow Vista Honey Wines. “I love sharing my enthusiasm for Okanagan wines that pair so perfectly with Canadian cheeses. I look forward to working with the cheese poet David Beaudoin on another entertaining and delicious Sparkling Up the Cheese Seminar."

Those with a taste for outdoor adventure can partake in Silver Star’s summer activities, which include 85 kilometres of downhill and cross-country mountain biking trails, hiking, wildflower tours, SkyChair rides, and more. A culinary treat, try foraging with wildlife expert and wildflower fanatic Kevin O’Donoghue as he guides you on your mountain trek. His scenic Lift Up, Stroll Down hike on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons is a guided mountain experience without the uphill battle. This tour takes you through mountain flower meadows, across berry patches and through bear country.

New this year, guests landing at Kelowna International Airport will enjoy a one of a kind preview of the Mile High Wine tasting. For the three evenings leading up to the Festival on August 5-7 various Okanagan Wine Festivals member wineries who are participating in Mile High, will pour wine samples to visitors and locals in the passenger arrivals area.

Accommodation and ticket packages are available. Stay two nights and add on any of the Summer Wine Festival events or activities and save 10% on accommodation. Tickets to the Summer Wine & Food Festival events can be purchased online at www.skisilverstar.com.

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[Suggested tweet: Sip, Savour, Summit @SilverStarMR Mile High #BCWine Tasting + breathtaking dining by @chefhawksworth + local chefs this weekend http://tinyurl.com/nowdu6y]

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 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 including the British Columbia Wine Awards. www.thewinefestivals.com

About Silver Star Mountain Resort

Silver Star Mountain Resort is nestled in the heart of British Columbia’s Thompson Okanagan region. Less than a one-hour drive from Kelowna International Airport (YLW), the year-round mountain destination offers 3,269 acres of varied skiable terrain with a snowfall of more than 700cm of dry British Columbia interior powder annually. Award-winning Silver Star is recognized as one of Canada’s best family resorts. An intimate, colourful, mid-mountain village provides true slope-side lodging. In summer, the Silver Star Bike Park is ranked as one of the premier downhill mountain bike facilities in North America.