Results are in! BC Best of Varietal Awards & Competition kicks off the 23rd Spring Okanagan Wine Festival.

MAY 4, 2017 – Penticton, British Columbia – The 2017 British Columbia Best of Varietal Wine Awards were announced tonight by the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society, marking the official launch of the 23rd Spring Okanagan Wine Festival. The competition featured 26 different varietal categories, with over 550 wines entered. Fourteen respected judges narrowed the selection down to 141 finalists with one overall clear winner being declared THE BEST in each category. New this year, wines were separated into price categories; with an Under $19 and Over $19 category for white varietals and an Under $25 and Over $25 category for red varietals where there were a minimum of 10 entries per price category within each varietal.“The Best of Varietal Wine Awards is the first major Provincial Wine Competition of the year and really signals the start of the wine touring season in the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys,” said Luke Whittall, Board Member and Judging Chair, The Okanagan Wine Festivals Society. “It was an honour to have such a talented, knowledgeable, and diverse group of judges participate in this year’s competition. We are very fortunate to have this high level of talent selecting the stand-out wines for this year’s Best of Varietal, especially with the spectacular run of vintages, the competition to be the best could not have been any tougher.”The British Columbia Best of Varietal Wine Awards are open to all licensed British Columbia wineries that use 100% fruit grown in the province. An exceptional aspect of the judging is that judges are chosen from the trade including renowned sommeliers, restaurateurs and recognized wine media from across western Canada and features a unique judging process that allows each panel of judges to evaluate all of the wines in any given category enabling a direct comparison for selecting the best wines.“Judging for the Best of Varietal Awards was a great experience,” said Shanyn Ward, Sommelier, Cask and Barrel. “With training like WSET it is great to be able to sit down and taste the wines blind, so you can have an unbiased tasting to see what grapes really represent the Okanagan. Competitions like these really allow us to share the knowledge about what wines our region represent really well.”The Best of Varietal Wine Awards is managed under the professional eye of Marjorie King who has over 20 years of wine competition experience with the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society as well as the National Wine Awards of Canada. This year’s judging featured the following judges:

1. Shanyn Ward – Cask and Barrel, Kelowna
2. Juliana Hayes – Vine Living, Kelowna
3. Audrey Surrao – RauDZ Regional Table, Kelowna
4. Dennis Dwernychuk – BC Signature Liquor Store, Kelowna
5. Mark Filatow – Waterfront Wines, Kelowna
6. Matt Wentzell – Experience Wine Tours, Kelowna
7. Jeannette Montgomery – Okanagan Writing, Penticton
8. Kayla Sahara – British Columbia Wine Information Center
9. Martin Lewis- Bad Tattoo Brewing, Penticton
10. Shelley Boettcher – CBC Radio, Calgary
11. Grant de Montreuil – The Savoy, Nelson
12. John Schreiner – Wine Historian & Writer, Vancouver
13. Troy Townsin – Wine Blogger & CBC Radio, Victoria
14. Samantha Rahn – Araxis, Whistler

And here are the award winners for the 2017 British Columbia Best of Varietal Wine Awards:British Columbia Best of Varietal Wine Awards – Wine of the YearWild Goose Vineyards & Winery – Mystic River Gewürztraminer, 2016Best Cabernet FrancBench 1775 Winery – Cabernet Franc 2013Best Cabernet SauvignonNk’Mip Cellars Winery – Qwam Qwmt Cabernet Sauvignon 2014Best Chardonnay $19 and Over50^th Parallel Estate – Chardonnay 2015Best Chardonnay Under $19 Nk’Mip Cellars Winery – Chardonnay 2015Best Dessert Style WineNorthern Lights Estate Winery – Seduction 2016Best GewürztraminerWild Goose Vineyards & Winery – Mystic River Gewürztraminer 2016Best IcewineVolcanic Hills Estate Winery – Riesling Icewine 2014Best MerlotCassini Cellars – Nobilus 2013Best Pinot BlancKraze Legz Vineyard & Winery – Skaha Vineyard Pinot Blanc 2016Best Pinot Gris $19 and OverHillside Winery – Unoaked Pinot Gris 2016Best Pinot Gris Under $19 Arrowleaf Cellars – Pinot Gris 2016Best Pinot Noir $25 and OverPrivato Vineyard and Winery – Grandé Reserve Pinot Noir 2012Best Pinot Noir Under $25 Arrowleaf Cellars – Pinot Noir 2015Best Red Blend Other – $25 and OverCassini Cellars – Quattro Collector’s Series 2012Best Red Blend Other – Under $25 Monte Creek Ranch Winery – Hands Up Red 2015Best Meritage Blend $25 and OverSandhill Vineyards Estate Wines – Small Lots Two 2014Best Meritage Blend Under $25 Wild Goose Vineyards & Winery – Red Horizon 2014Best Riesling $19 and OverKitsch Wines – Riesling 2015Best Riesling Under $19 Arrowleaf Cellars – Riesling 2016Best Rosé $19 and OverTinhorn Creek Vineyards – Oldfield Reserve Rosé 2016Best Rosé Under $19 Arrowleaf Cellars – Rosé 2016Best Sauvignon BlancGehringer Brothers Estate Winery – Dry Rock Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2016Best Single Red Varietal Other – $25 and overBlasted Church Vineyards – Holy Moly 2014Best Single Red Varietal Other – Under $25 Thornhaven Estates Winery – Pinot Meunier 2014Best Single White Varietal Other – $19 and OverWild Goose Vineyards & Winery – Morio & Friends Muscat 2016Best Single White Varietal Other – Under $19 Inniskillin Okanagan – Chenin Blanc 2016Best SparklingNoble Ridge Vineyard and Winery – The One 2012Best Syrah Black Hills Estate Winery – Syrah 2014Best Syrah Based BlendCedarCreek Estate Winery – Senator’s Red 2013Best ViognierRed Rooster Winery – Rare Bird Series Viognier 2016Best White Blend $19 and OverInniskillin Okanagan – Viognier/Gewürztraminer Discovery Series 2016Best White Blend Under $19 Thornhaven Estates Winery – Brooklyn’s Blend 2016The full list of finalists is available on our website:www.thewinefestivals.comCo-sponsored by:Farm Credit CanadaGrant ThorntonContainer WorldTricorBraun Inc.-30-Suggested Tweet: Best of Varietal #Wine Awards 2017 winners announced @OkWineFests 23rd #SpringOKWineFest kicks off!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. 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.comFor media inquiries, please contact:Katia Plotnikoff, Public Relations & Marketing CoordinatorOkanagan Wine Festivals Societypr@thewinefestivals.com / 250-861-6654 ext 6.