Wines of British Columbia’s Best of BC Wine Country Award Winners Announced!

The Wines of British Columbia is proud to announce the winners of the second annual Best of BC Wine Country Awards 2018. From July 23 through August 17, winery-goers took their time, sampled and savoured what wineries have to offer within BC’s nine acclaimed wine regions, and have made their choices.

The Best of BC Wine Country is a crowdsourced online survey curated by the BC Wine Institute, inviting the public to vote on their favourite BC wine experiences from a variety of “Best of” categories: Best of BC Wine; Best of BC Place; Best of BC Experience.

“It was about learning first hand from winery-goers what keeps bringing them back, and the participation from both the public and wineries was outstanding,” notes Maggie Anderson Director of Communications and Content of the BC Wine Institute. “In its second year, we received more than three times as many votes than last year, but what really impressed us was the engagement we saw on social media.”

Travel expert and best-selling author of Travel Best Bets, Claire Newell supported the awards on social media blogging, “Here in BC they are essentially the people’s choice awards of wine. Winners are voted on by tourists and locals – not wine experts making this a truly consumer-based award.”

Votes indicated that beyond general enjoyment of BC wines, the local culinary and educational experiences, culture and scenic views at wineries are encouraging people to explore beyond their usual BC wine experiences.

“The results show authentic recommendations from the public on what to do and where to go for the best wine touring experiences throughout BC’s diverse wine regions, and we are thrilled to share their choices!” notes Anderson.

From the coastal regions of Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands and Fraser Valley, to regions with desert-like conditions including the Okanagan Valley and Similkameen Valley and beyond to our new official appellations (Thompson Valley, Lillooet, Shuswap and Kootenays) and sub-appellations (Okanagan Falls and Golden Mile Bench), BC wineries continue to expand their wine touring experiences for visitors to enjoy all year-round.

With grape harvest 2018 upon us and sunny days ahead, there is much to experience in BC’s wine regions this fall. Here are the winners of the Best of BC Wine Country Awards 2018 as voted on by the public.

For the full list of regional winners visit: WineBC.com/Bestof

BEST BC SPARKLING WINE
Summerhill Pyramid Winery Cipes Brut, Okanagan Valley

BEST BC RED WINE
Black Hills Estate Winery Nota Bene, Okanagan Valley

BEST BC WHITE WINE
Wild Goose Vineyards and Winery Autumn Gold, Okanagan Valley

BEST BC ROSÉ WINE
Quails’ Gate Winery Lucy’s Block Rosé, Okanagan Valley

BEST BC WINE TRAIL
Naramata Bench Winery Association, Okanagan Valley

BEST BC WINERY ACCOMMODATION
Burrowing Owl Estate Winery, Okanagan Valley

BEST BC WINERY RESTAURANT SHOWCASING LOCAL FOOD
Quails’ Gate Winery Old Vines Restaurant, Okanagan Valley

BEST BC WINERY PET
Ali the Mastiff at Desert Hills Estate Winery, Okanagan Valley

BEST BC WINERY TOUR
Mission Hills Family Estate Winery, Okanagan Valley

BEST BC WINERY TASTING ROOM
Silver Sage Winery, Okanagan Valley

BEST BC SPECIAL EVENTS
Concerts at Mission Hill Family Estate Winery, Okanagan Valley

BEST BC VIEW
Mission Hill Estate Family Winery, Okanagan Valley

Plan your next trip to BC Wine Country here: Explore.winebc.com

Find out what BC Wine events and activities are happening in wine country this harvest season at WineBC.com/events.

Quick facts about the BC Wine Industry:

• BC is home to 929 vineyards, including more than 350 licensed wineries
• There are more than 10,500 acres (4,250 hectares) of wine grapes planted in British Columbia
• BC has nine official appellations and two official sub-appellations
• BC’s grape wine industry has grown from just 17 grape wineries in 1990 to more than 275 today
• BC’s wine industry employs about 12,000 people and has an economic impact of $2.8 billion annually
• Each year, BC’s wineries welcome more than 1,000,000 visitors
• Wines of British Columbia Trip Planner offers visitors an interactive touring app with personalized itineraries to explore the character of each wine region