Okanagan Spring Wine Festival is happening now

PENTICTON – The clink of wine glasses will be a common sound up and down the valley for the next nine days as the 21st annual Spring Okanagan Wine Festival is underway.

The Best of Varietal Awards and Reception was the first signature event in this year’s festival, kicking things off Thursday with the best of this year’s offerings at the Penticton Ramada, according to the event's website.

The Spring Westjet Wine Tastings on Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2 take place from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Rotary Centre for the Arts in Kelowna. Up to 250 wines can be tasted, all under one roof, from 60 valley wineries.

On May 8, join the Dairy Farmers of Canada for Comforts of Grilled Cheese and Wine at the Hotel Eldorado in Kelowna. Eight Okanagan wineries pair 16 different wines with eight uniquely Canadian grilled cheese sandwiches. Tickets are $55.

Mark May 9 on your calendar for the newest foodie event at the Festival. Four sommeliers will pair wines with five different samples of cheese along with local food. It's a competition between the sommeliers to convince their guests they have the best pairing.

It’s billed on the event website as a “marathon unlike any other that will build your stamina for great food and wine.” The best B.C. Sommelier will be declared on the basis of points awarded through a vote using social media. The Sommelier event takes place from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Okanagan College Atrium in Kelowna. Cost is $65 per person.

With more than 100 events taking place at wineries throughout the Okanagan, the 10 day festival has been called one of Canada’s best small festivals. This weekend’s weather promises to provide an excellent opportunity for residents and visitors alike to tour the valley and taste the best of what the region has to offer.

For further information and to buy tickets to the events throughout the valley visit the Okanagan Valley Wine Festival website. 

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.