THE COMPETITION HEATS UP AT THE 2024 BRITISH COLUMBIA WINE AWARDS
The 45th Annual Okanagan Spring Wine Festival will kick off with the British Columbia Wine Awards –BC TOP 50 on Friday, June 7, 2024. In preparation for this event, an esteemed panel of professional wine judges from British Columbia will embark on the tasting component of the competition.
The 2024 awards are taking a different approach with the recognition of the BC Wine Awards. For the first time, in place of the traditional medal system, the wines with the highest average scores will be recognized as the BC TOP 50. This new format presented an opportunity for BC wineries to select their absolute best wines for submission with the aspiration to be one of the TOP 50 wines in the province.
Over ninety BC wineries have submitted close to four hundred wines and the highly anticipated blind tasting will take place May 27 and 28 in Penticton.
The results of the blind tasting will remain top secret and presented on Friday, June 7, 2024, at an Industry Awards Ceremony, with the BC TOP 50 Grand Tasting directly following the reception. This will be the first time that the coveted Top 50 wines, as well as additional wines that were selected by the wineries, will be available at an exclusive tasting. Tickets are available HERE.
“We felt that it was time to create a new format for the competition. This recognition is an opportunity to set the British Columbia Wine Awards apart from the numerous wine award competitions held annually. We are extremely excited to provide our wine consumers and industry partners with this progressive change to the British Columbia Wine Awards,” says Okanagan Wine Festivals Society General Manager, Kimberly Hundertmark. “Once again, we are honoured to have an esteemed panel of judges join us in celebrating excellence in grape growing and winemaking. The BC Wine Awards is the province’s oldest and most prestigious wine competition, and we are excited to keep the legacy meaningful throughout the province and beyond.”
The competition is presented by ContainerWorld along with supporting partners, TricorBraun, Mission Bottle Wash, and Boulevard Magazine.
The competition is open to all licensed British Columbia wineries and will include fruit wines and mead. Along with the BC TOP 50, the top-scoring wine will be recognized as the Wine of the Year in British Columbia.
This year’s wine entries will face the following acclaimed judges.
About The Okanagan Wine Festivals Society:
The Okanagan Wine Festivals Society is responsible for producing three seasonally inspired Okanagan Wine Festivals in Winter, Spring, and Fall. It is also responsible for Signature Wine Events including the Grand Tastings held in Winter, Spring, and Fall. It produces and runs the annual wine judging competition: the province’s most prestigious and oldest wine competition, the British Columbia Wine Awards. For more information visit, www.thewinefestivals.com.
