2011 BRITISH COLUMBIA WINE AWARDS SET TO START SEPTEMBER 25TH IN THE OKANAGAN
Over 400 British Columbia Wines to Be Judged
The British Columbia Wine Awards – one of the most prestigious wine competitions in Canada – starts in earnest this coming Sunday September 25 at Kelowna’s spectacular Manteo Waterfront Resort. These awards are jointly sponsored by the ContainerWorld, Farm Credit Canada, Meyers Norris Penny and Richards Packaging.
Rhys Pender, Chair of the British Columbia Wine Awards states “This wine judging competition is an important tool for our industry and it is gratifying to see such a strong number of entries from throughout the Province. With over 170 wineries in BC, the judging is open to all wineries in BC that make wines from 100% BC grown fruit and we have over 500 wines entered this year from wineries throughout B.C.”
The judging will take place over three days at Manteo Waterfront Resort in Kelowna featuring nine of the best wine judges to be found in North America. Chosen for their experience and judging in prestigious wine competitions, the judges will start on Sunday afternoon September 25 and will finish on Wednesday afternoon September 28. Jim Martin of Waterfront Wines in Kelowna is the only Okanagan wine judge selected this year and looks forward to this wine competition. Jim noted “I will have a huge smile on my face as I taste each one of the entries. It makes me proud to judge the wines and remember that less than a quarter century ago, the wine industry was virtually unknown. And to be at the table with the roster of wine judges put together from across North America, it is a very nice honour. ”
After three days of intensive judging, the 9 judges will go to a medal round where only the best wines will qualify for either a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal and there will also be awards for Best Overall Red, Best Overall White, Best Overall Dessert and Best New Winery. The presentation of the medals and a public tasting of award winning wines will take place at the British Columbia Wine Awards reception and tasting on Thursday September 29 at 7pm at Kelowna’s Rotary Centre for the Arts. The reception and tasting will allow guests and media to mix and mingle with winery owners and winemakers and best of all be the first ones to taste the award winning wines.
The nine judges selected to preside over the British Columbia Wine Awards include: Jim Martin (Kelowna); Jurgen Gothe (Vancouver); Kurtis Kolt (Vancouver); Barbara Philip MW (Vancouver); Eric Degerman (Tri-Cities); DC Flynt MW (Louisiana); Bill Zacharkiw (Montreal); DJ Kearney (Vancouver); and Barbara Ritchie (Toronto).
With one of the premier wine festivals – the 31st Fall Okanagan Wine Festival running from September 29 through October 9. The British Columbia Wine Awards are a great way to start your fall wine vacation.
