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Pros Picked for this years British Columbia Wine Awards & Competition

KELOWNA, BRITISH COLUMBIA – July 13, 2017:  It’s that time again! While summer may have come late to the Valley, it packed a punch when it arrived - with extreme temperatures reaching the high thirties, and some well needed sunshine to help along the fruits of the Valley reach their peaks. While the vineyards were slow to start, the sun in June and heat in July are bringing our growing season back into balance. In the midst of the high tourism season, the 37^th Annual Fall Okanagan Wine Festival begins its planning for the celebration of the harvest, beginning with the British Columbia Wine Awards & Competition – which will be held on Thursday September 28^th. But before this exciting evening will commence, the judging must begin! This year’s esteemed panel of professionals bring experience from Canada’s coast to coast, as well as from the Pacific Northwest in the United States.  

The oldest B.C. wine competition, the British Columbia Wine Awards is also the province’s largest. This year’s wine entries will face the following acclaimed judges:

·         Gurvinder Bhatia – Edmonton, Alberta

·         Amelia Jung (apprentice) – Vancouver, British Columbia

·         DJ Kearney – Vancouver, British Columbia

·         David Lawrason – Toronto, Ontario

·         Tim Pawsey – Vancouver, British Columbia

·         Rhys Pender – Similkameen Valley, British Columbia

·         Brad Royale – Calgary, Alberta

·         Mark Shipway – Vancouver, British Columbia

·         Alistair Veen – Surrey, British Columbia

·         Paul Zitarelli – Seattle, Washington

To read more about each judge, check out this LINK for individual bios.

Mark your calendars! Wine entries for the British Columbia Wine Awards & Competition will open on August 1^st, 2017 and remain open until Tuesday September 5^th. This competition is open to all B.C. wineries that use 100% fruit grown in the province. Last years competition saw an impressive 620 entries – a record number, with the overall winner – the Premier’s Award for Best Wine in British Columbia – being awarded to SpierHead Winery for their 2014 Pinot Noir Cuvee. The Premier’s Wine Award is selected from all Platinum medals, and based on the judges’ consensus, it is named the Best Wine in British Columbia. This award was introduced in 2014 as a legacy for the sitting Premier to present annually, given the stature of British Columbia’s wine industry across the world.

Suggested tweet: Turn the heat up! #BCWA Competition opens Aug 1, we've got the esteemed panel to judge #BCWine, check them out here https://goo.gl/ZrvD4r

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About The 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 four seasonally inspired Okanagan Wine Festivals annually in Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Its Winter Okanagan Wine Festival is run in partnership with Sun Peaks Resort near Kamloops and its Summer Okanagan Wine Festival is run in partnership with Silver Star Mountain Resort. It is also responsible for Signature Wine Events including Cropped by Valley First, the WestJet Wine Tastings and others. It also produces and runs the British Columbia Best of Varietal Wine Competition and the Province’s most prestigious and oldest wine competition – the British Columbia Wine Awards. For more information visit www.thewinefestivals.com

For media enquiries, please contact:

Katia Plotnikoff, Public Relations & Marketing, Okanagan Wine Festivals Society

[email protected] / 250.861.6654.