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18th Annual Sun Peaks Winter Okanagan Wine Festival Returns With New Events

Elevate your Palate in Canada’s Alpine Village

KELOWNA & SUN PEAKS, BRITISH COLUMBIA – NOVEMBER 25, 2015:  The Sun Peaks Winter Okanagan Wine Festival returns with an expanded roster of delectable events, January 14 to 24, 2016. Now in its 18th year, the festival has built on two of our province’s best assets, winter recreation and British Columbia wine, growing into one of Canada’s premier winter events. This growth is not only defined by an increase in attendance, but also by the number of unique Festival wine and culinary offerings, which continues to attract thousands of guests to Canada's second largest ski area.

“Each year it redefines the experience and expectation of traditional wine festivals,” says Christopher Nicolson, president of Tourism Sun Peaks. “From its modest beginnings of a weekend Icewine event, the festival has progressed into a fantastic ten day experience that is truly one of our premier winter celebrations. It showcases the unique combination of B.C.’s best wines and the adventure of Canada’s Alpine Village”.

“The Festival is a testament to the phenomenal regional wine culture in the province, which has now surpassed $1 billion in wine sales annually, with BC wine comprising the largest market share of any region’s wines sold in the province,” said Blair Baldwin, General Manager, The Okanagan Wine Festivals Society.  “With 50 British Columbia wineries and a number of unique Canadiana inspired wine and culinary events like Coureur Des Bois Repas, which celebrates the famous ‘runners of the woods’ and the superb Comforts of Grilled Cheese and Wine, we offer an inspired pairing of the best of British Columbia for those that enjoy fine wine, skiing, food and riding in a spectacular mountainside setting.”

Much of this success is attributed to the steady expansion of unique experiences offered. This year the festival is introducing six new events to its schedule: The Sun Peaks Wine Crawl, Coureur Des Bois Repas, Welcome to the Kamloops Wine Trail, Dessert Wines and Aromatic Cheeses, The Breadth of British Columbia Riesling and The Spirited Après. Each event has been added in direct response to feedback received from event attendees and/or an emerging trend in the market.

One of the largest winter gatherings of B.C. wineries, the popular festival is showing strong 2016 ticket sales with three events already sold out.  Tickets range from $39 to $90, with packages including accommodation starting at $259 per person for the weekend.  For complete event listings go to: http://www.sunpeaksresort.com/wine-festival. Tickets can be purchased through Tourism Sun Peaks’ Central Reservations at 1-877-212-7107.

The B.C. wineries participating this coming year include: Covert Farms Family Estate,
 Baillie Grohman Estate Winery,
 Bartier Bros.,
 Bench 1775,
 Blind Tiger Vineyards,
 Blasted Church Vineyards, Cana Vines, 
CC Jentsch Cellars,
 Conviction Wines & Calona Vineyards,
 Culmina Family Estate Winery,
 D'Angelo Estate Winery,
 Dirty Laundry Vineyard,
 Evolve Cellars, Forbidden Fruit Winery,
 Fort Berens Estate Winery, Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery,
 Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery,
 Gray Monk Estate Winery, Harper's Trail, Heaven's Gate Estate Winery, 
Hester Creek Estate Winery, 
Hillside Winery & Bistro
, Indigenous World Winery, Intrigue Wines
, Kismet Estate Winery
, Little Straw Vineyards, 
Living Water Certified Organic Vineyard, 
Meadow Vista Honey Wines, Mission Hill Family Estate
, Monte Creek Ranch Winery, 
Montakarn Estate Winery, Moon Curser Vineyards, 
Noble Ridge Vineyard & Winery, Okanagan Crush Pad Winery, Perseus Winery, Quails’ Gate, 
Recline Ridge Vineyards and Winery, 
River Stone Estate Winery, 
Road 13 Vineyards
, Rollingdale Winery
, Rustic Roots Winery, Sagewood Winery, 

Sandhill Wines
, Serendipity Winery, Sonoran Estate Winery, 
St Hubertus & Oak Bay Estate Winery
, Summerhill Pyramid Winery, Sunnybrae Vineyards & Winery, 
Tantalus Vineyards, 
Thornhaven Estate Winery
, Therapy Vineyards, Volcanic Hills Winery, 
Wayne Gretzky Okanagan
, and Wild Goose Vineyards.


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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 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 including Mile High Wine & Music at Silver Star and two annual wine judging competitions including the British Columbia Wine Awards. 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                            

Kyle Taylor | Media Specialist | Tourism Sun Peaks| [email protected] | 250.318.3633