Media Releases

For Immediate Release:
November 2, 2017

Suggested Tweet: 30 somms, media & wine pros worldwide come to BC for inaugural #BCWine #BootCamp2017 Nov 5-8

British Columbia – The BC Wine Institute presents its inaugural Wine BC Bootcamp in the heart of BC Wine Country November 5-8, bringing together top wine professionals from around the world and across the country to share, taste, talk, learn and celebrate the Wines of British Columbia.

“The 2017 Wine BC BootCamp represents an unparalleled opportunity for the British Columbia wine industry to host 30 key national and international sommeliers, wine trade and media to experience first-hand the diversity of premium BC VQA Wine – meaning wine 100 per cent grown and made in BC,” notes Miles Prodan, President and CEO of the BC Wine Institute.

Over four days, invited attendees will sample more than 200 BC wines as they network with top BC wine professionals including masters of wine, master sommeliers, winemakers, viticulturists, wine educators, and esteemed BC chefs. Led by Master of Wine (MW) Rhys Pender and Master Sommelier (MS) John Szabo, the week will include a series of educational masterclasses, regional tastings and dinners, panel discussions, interactive wine and food pairings and keynote presentations focusing on the history, progress and future of BC’s wine industry.

“The goal of this event is to showcase the very best of what BC’s wine regions have to offer at a premium level,” says Prodan. “Inviting Master of Wine Rhys Pender, Master Sommelier John Szabo, celebrated wine writer Michaela Morris and acclaimed Chef Mark Filatow of Waterfront Wines to participate on a Wine BC Bootcamp Wine Selection Committee was one way of ensuring the program included the best examples of BC wine that represent the diversity of our province’s terroir, styles and varieties of wines.” notes Prodan.

“We have put together a program based on our most positive experiences from events we’ve attended around the world,” says Szabo. “The lineup of masterclasses will go deep into the heart of BC wine, covering everything from micro local geology to BC’s place in the greater world of wine, delivered by top-level experts and underscored by a range of handpicked wines that tell the full story. Attendees will leave the Okanagan with a detailed picture of BC wine, and they’ll have some fun along the way, too.”

“BC is starting to get noticed for the quality of its wines in BC, Canada and internationally. BC wines have a freshness and brightness that comes from the unique climate, and this is a style that the world is gravitating too. It is a great time to expose key wine influencers to our world-class wine industry.” notes Pender.

Acclaimed BC chefs Matthew Stowe, Winner of Top Chef Canada Season 3; Lee Humphries, Liquidity Bistro; Ken Nakano, Shangri-La Hotel; and Jeremy Tucker, CedarCreek Estate Winery’s Terrace Restaurant will team up with attendees to compete in a pairing challenge, selecting two BC VQA Wines to feature with the finest locally grown and sourced ingredients, to earn the award for BC’s Best Pairings dish. Chefs will prepare their dishes and teams will present their pairings at a four-course private dinner at Liquidity Bistro the following evening. Teams will be awarded points for use of a local ingredient in some component in their dish, creativity and the success of the wine pairing.

“You can always take a region’s wines to key markets, but it is much more exciting to bring influencers to a region. That way they can experience the beauty of BC wine country and gain a deeper understanding of the people, terroir and unique wine and food culture that make up all of the exciting things happening in BC wine.”

The BC Wine Institute is proud to represent this vibrant industry by organizing opportunities like this to increase global awareness of British Columbia as a premium wine region, and to open new markets around the world. Access to Wine BC BootCamp is by invitation only. For more details on Wine BC BootCamp events and list of attendees, visit WineBC.com/BootCamp.

If you are a wine professional or media interested in attending next year’s Wine BC BootCamp, register your interest here.

PARTICIPATING WINERIES:

50th Parallel Estate

8th Generation Vineyard

Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery

Bartier Bros. Vineyard and Winery

Bella Wines

Bench 1775 Winery

Black Hills Estate Winery

Black Sage Vineyard

Bordertown Vineyard & Estate Winery

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery

C.C. Jentsch Cellars

CedarCreek Estate Winery

Church & State Wines

Clos du Soleil Winery

Covert Farms Family Estate

Culmina Family Estate Winery

Daydreamer Wines

Dirty Laundry Vineyard

Ex Nihilo Vineyards

Fitzpatrick Family Vineyards

Fort Berens Estate Winery

Gray Monk Estate Winery

Harper’s Trail Estate Winery

Hester Creek Estate Winery

Hillside Winery

House of Rose Winery

Howling Bluff Estate Winery

Inniskillin Okanagan

JoieFarm

Laughing Stock Vineyards

Le Vieux Pin Winery

Liquidity Wines

Little Farm Winery

Maverick Estate Winery

Meyer Family Vineyards

Monster Vineyards

Monte Creek Ranch Winery

Moon Curser Vineyards

Moraine Estate Winery

Niche Wine Co.

Nk’Mip Cellars

Okanagan Crush Pad Winery

Orofino Vineyards

Osoyoos Larose Estate Winery

Painted Rock Estate Winery

Perseus Winery

Pipe Dreams Vineyard and Estate Winery

Poplar Grove Winery

Quails’ Gate Winery

Sage Hills Estate Winery

See Ya Later Ranch Winery

Sperling Vineyards

Spierhead Winery

St Hubertus & Oak Bay Estate Winery

Stag’s Hollow Winery and Vineyard

Summerhill Pyramid Winery

SunRock Vineyards

Tantalus Vineyards

Terravista Vineyards

The View Winery

Thornhaven Estates Winery

TIME Winery

Tinhorn Creek Vineyards

Township 7 Vineyards & Winery

Upper Bench Estate Winery

Vanessa Vineyard

Wild Goose Vineyards & Winery

PARTICIPATING CHEFS

Jeremy Tucker, Chef CedarCreek Estate Winery Terrace Restaurant
Ken Nakano, Executive Chef Shangri-La Hotel
Lee Humphries, Chef The Sonora Room at Burrowing Owl, Director of culinary operations for Vintage Hospitality’s properties
Matthew Stowe, Joseph Richard Group, Vancouver – Winner of Top Chef Canada Season 3

QUICK FACTS – BRITISH COLUMBIA WINE INDUSTRY

Exports of BC Wine have grown from $5.7 million in 2011 to $19.3 million in 2016 – an increase of 237 per cent.
There are more than 10,200 acres (4,130 hectares) of vines in British Columbia’s five geographical indications.
BC’s wine industry has grown from just 17 grape wineries in 1990 to 278 today.
Approximately one million tourists visit British Columbia wineries annually.
The BC wine and grape industry contributes $2.8 billion in provincial economic growth annually.
The BC wine and grape industry creates 12,000 full-time BC jobs every year