Several award wins and achievements have been announced recently for both Kelowna and area tourism businesses and for the region.
Wine & Cider
Mission Hill Family Estate was named Canadian Winery of the Year at the 2019 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada. This was the fifth win for the winery since 2001, making Mission Hill the most awarded winery in this category. In addition to being named Canadian Winery of the Year, Mission Hill also took home 18 additional medals for its wines. Other local wineries included in the Top 25 Wineries in Canada included CedarCreek Estate Winery (7), Arrowleaf Cellars (8), Quails’ Gate Estate Winery (15), SpearHead Winery (16), and the hatch wines (18).
BC Tree Fruits Broken Ladder Apple & Hops tied for Best Cider of the Year, alongside Twisted Hills Tangled Rose.
Click here for the full list of winners.
Culinary
The recently opened Home Block Restaurant at CedarCreek Estate Winery is one of 35 nominess on Air Canada’s long list for Canada’s Best New Restaurants presented by American Express. The Top 10 will be announced at an event in Toronto on October 24, 2019. For more details on how the restaurants were selected and to see the other nominees, click here.
Golf
Every two years, ScoreGolf ranks Canada’s public golf courses. This year, two Kelowna courses were included in the Top 59 Public Courses in Canada list. Tower Ranch was ranked at number 23, while Gallagher’s Canyon came in at number 45. Click here to view the full list, which included 18 BC courses in total.
Okanagan Valley
The Thompson Okanagan recently won a 3-year bid to host the World Travel Awards, which will see 300 international delegates travel to Vernon’s Predator Ridge Resort in October 2020 for the North American Gala ceremony (part of the World Travel Awards Grand Tour). This will be the first time that the awards will be hosted in Canada. The host city for the second and third years will be announced in Spring 2020 and Spring 2021, respectively. For more information, click here.
The Okanagan Valley is one of only two Canadian destinations in the running for USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice awards for Best Destination for Fall Foliage. Voting ends on Monday, August 26, at noon ET. Click here for more info and to vote.
Congratulations to all the winners and good luck to all those still in the running! Please share your award wins or notable achievements by emailing Melissa McCluskey, Social Media & Communication, at melissa@tourismkelowna.com.
