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Wine Tourism Season Ends with a Bang

Those loud cracks you hear in the vineyards may scare the birds away but they also sound the end of the 34^th Fall Okanagan Wine Festival. It seems like just yesterday that wine tourists were flooding the vineyards of the Okanagan enjoying the broad spectrum of events that mark the last Okanagan Wine Festival of the year. In reality, this year’s festival wrapped up 2 weeks ago but the fabulous weather has led to a tremendous grape harvest and it is now time to reflect on a beautiful wine tourism season in the Okanagan noted by a successful Fall Okanagan Wine Festival.

The grand kick-off of this year’s Fall Wine Festival was the British Columbia Wine Awards. The event that had a record attendance this year, and offered a great opportunity for consumers to mingle and interact with the winemakers, winery owners, and other industry elite. 2014 also saw the introduction of the Premier’s Wine Award for the Best Wine in British Columbia presented by Premier Christy Clark. The prestigious prize went to See Ya Later Ranch for their 2012 Rover Shiraz-Viognier blend, a wine that was selected from amongst 540 entries. Best of all, the winning wine sold out within hours!

Other highlights of the 2014 Fall Okanagan Wine Festival included:

• WestJet Wine Tastings - A popular event among the young, urban set with two sold-out nights of wine sampling fun
• Festival of The Grape - The South Okanagan event was incredibly successful with a huge attendance of over 3,500 people
• Hester Creek Garlic Festival - The 3rd Annual Garlic Festival attracted some 2,500 people to take in the sights, sounds, and flavours of the South Okanagan
• The Young Chefs - An incredible night of cheese-centric dishes, young culinary talent, and tasty Okanagan wine saw a record number of young chefs enter the competition and was a sell-out event
• Grand Finale Tastings - The “fireworks finale” of the Fall Okanagan Wine Festival, the Penticton-based Grand Finale Tastings event welcomed new innovations this year, including a Pinot Bar, two live bands, and over 80 wineries. It was popular to say the least!

On the heels of the Fall Okanagan Wine Festival, excited winter enthusiasts are looking forward to what has been rated as one of the Top Winter Parties in Canada (msn.ca). The 17^th Winter Okanagan Wine Festival at Sun Peaks Resort is held over 10 days in from January 16-25. Whether you ski, board, Nordic, snowshoe or just love apres ski, Sun Peaks Resort offers a delectable experience of wine, skiing, food and dining. In fact, tickets for the festival events are available now, so click the button below and buy early before they sell out!

Hint: Winter Okanagan Wine Festival at Sun Peaks tickets make a great Christmas gift or stocking stuffer…

View Events and Buy Tickets for the 17th Annual Winter Okanagan Wine Festival