News

Announcing the Lineup of Judges for the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor's Wine Awards

Announcing the Lineup of Judges for the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Wine Awards

KELOWNA, BRITISH COLUMBIA – August 6, 2019:  The Okanagan Wine Festivals Society’s 39^th Annual Fall Okanagan Wine Festival will be kicked off with the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Wine Awards – which will be held on Thursday, October 3, 2019. In preparation for this event, an esteemed panel of professional wine judges from across Canada and Europe have been selected to choose the best wines our province has to offer.  

“This is the second annual British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Wine Awards, and it looks like it’s going to be the best one yet,” says Okanagan Wine Festivals Society Judging Chair, Julian Scholefield. “This year we’re honoured to have judges from around the world join us in celebrating excellence in winemaking in our region. As one of our province’s oldest and most prestigious wine competitions, we feel so proud to represent the Okanagan and it’s diverse wine offerings.”

The British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Wine Awards replaced the Lieutenant Governor’s Awards for Excellence in B.C. Wine and the B.C. Wine Awards. In 2018, the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, with support from the Government House Foundation and The Okanagan Wine Festivals Society, announced a new partnership in recognizing the best of British Columbia wines with the creation of the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Wine Awards.

​The competition, presented by Farm Credit Canada, ContainerWorld and TricorBraun, is open to all licensed British Columbia wineries and will include fruit wines and mead. Bronze, Silver, and Gold medals will be awarded. The top one per cent of medal winners will receive Lieutenant Governor's platinum medals, with one wine receiving the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Best Wine in British Columbia.

This year’s wine entries will face the following acclaimed judges:

1. Barbara Philip – Vancouver
2. Brad Royal – Calgary
3. DJ Kearney – Vancouver
4. Emily Walker – Summerland
5. Geoff Last – Calgary
6. Gurvinder Bhatia – Edmonton
7. Iain Philip – Vancouver
8. Jamie Goode – United Kingdom
9. Matthew Landry – Vancouver
10. Michaela Morris – Vancouver
11. Rhys Pender – Kelowna
12. Sebastien Le Goff – Vancouver
13. Sid Cross – Vancouver
14. Tim Pawsey - Vancouver

So, mark your calendars! Wine entries for the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Wine Awards opened on July 3^rd, 2019 and will remain open until Friday, August 30^th, 2019 at 5:00 pm PST.

Suggested tweet: #BCLGWA Competition is now open and @OkWineFests brings esteemed, international panel to judge #BCWine. Enter here https://www.thewinefestivals.com/awards/register/bclgwa.

-30-

About The Okanagan Wine Festivals Society:

The Okanagan Wine Festivals Society is responsible for producing four seasonally inspired Okanagan Wine Festivals in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. It is also responsible for Signature Wine Events including Sensation, the fall wine finale by Valley First, the WestJet Wine Tastings, and more. It produces and runs two annual wine judging competitions: the British Columbia Best of Varietal Wine Competition, and the province’s most prestigious and oldest wine competition, the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Wine Awards. For more information visit, www.thewinefestivals.com.

Media Contact:

Jessica Tkachuk

Marketing and PR Manager

The Okanagan Wine Festivals Society

[email protected]

250 861 6654