We want to recognize and celebrate some of the award wins and highlight notable news from our local tourism industry that occurred over the past few months.


Award Wins


WINEALIGN 2021 NATIONAL WINE AWARDS OF CANADA

Several Kelowna area wineries took home top honours at the 2022 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada, with CedarCreek Estate Winery taking the top spot as Winery of the Year and SpearHead Winery winning Best Performing Small Winery and placing third overall. Also on the list of Top 25 Wineries in Canada was Mission Hill Family Estate, which secured the number 4 spot, and Quails'​ Gate Winery, which came in at number 11.

Numerous other wineries from Kelowna and the Central Okanagan also took home medals in the competition—a complete list of winners in each category can be on the Wine Align website.

2022 Canadian Brewing Awards

Bad Tattoo Brewing Co., which recently opened a location in Kelowna, took home several awards at the 2022 Canadian Brewing Awards, including two Gold medals in the Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale and North American-Style Lager categories. Kelowna's original microbrew pub, Freddy's, took home a Silver medal in the Brown Ale category for its Sandbagger Brown Ale. A full list of winners can be found here. 


10th Annual Best of the Northwest

Sip Magazine announced the winners in its 10th Annual Best of the Northwest awards, which included several winners from in and around Kelowna:

  • Gray Monk Estate Winery took home top honours (Platinum) in two Best of Wine categories, Proprietary Red Blend for their 2019 Monk's Blend and Unoaked Chardonnay for their 2020 Unoaked Chardonnay. They also won a Silver medal in the Pinot Gris category for their 2020 Pinot Gris. Sandhill Winery also won a Silver medal in the Rose Blend category for their 2020 Rose Terroir Driven Wine.

  • Upside Cider took home four awards in the Best of Cider, including two Platinum medals in the Heritage category for their Winter Banana cider and in the Hopped category for their Apple & Hops cider. The cidery also took home a Double Gold in the Wood-Aged category for their Perry Oaky cider along with a Silver medal in the Rose category for their Plum Rose. 

  • Forbidden Spirits Distilling Co.'s Rebel Vodka was awarded Double Gold in the Best of Spirits Vodka category.

Click here for the full list of winners. 


Condé Nast Traveler's 2022 Readers' Choice Awards


Notable News


Community
Industry
  • The Province renewed the Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) program for the City of Kelowna for another 5-year term, with Tourism Kelowna as the designated destination marketing and management provider.
  • The Delta Hotels by Marriott Grand Okanagan celebrated its 30th anniversary on August 15, celebrating the milestone by hosting its annual Root Beer Float Day fundraiser, in support of the BC Children's Hospital Foundation and Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Looking ahead, the hotel will be undergoing a full-scale renovation, with new rooms ready for summer 2023.  Orchard Park Shopping Centre’s new entrance is officially open and now you can enter through the Peach entrance.
  • KF Centre for Excellence officially opened its doors on August 30. The 60,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art centre, which is shaped like a classic airplane, is the world's first mass-timber building.
Sustainability
Food & Drink
  • Certified Chef de Cuisine, Chef Bernard Casavant, has joined the team at Lakehouse to lead their cooking school program when it opens later this fall. 
Recently opened:
Coming soon:

Join us in congratulating all the award winners and recognizing all those who achieving great things and delivering exceptional experiences to visitors and locals alike!

Have an award win, achievement, or notable news to share? Email us all the details so we can include the information in our next roundup.