Nationally ac-claimed wine judges will sample the best Summerland wines at a wine fair in September.
The Remax Summerland Wine Fair and Competition will include judging on Sept. 6 and a public tasting at the Summerland Fall Fair on Sept. 8.
Mike Stohler, organizer of the event, said it is a way to promote the community’s wines and wineries.
“The purpose is to hold Summerland’s wines up to an international standard,” he said. “It’s a showcase event to show we are competing at an international level.”
The judges are Terry David Mulligan, John Schreiner and Rhys Pender.
Mulligan, an actor and television personality, hosts Tasting Room Radio, a weekly one-hour radio show about food and wine. Schreiner is Canada’s most prolific writer of books on wine. Pender is a wine educator, writer and consultant to the wine industry.
New wineries will be included this year, with the addition of Silk Scarf and Sleeping Giant.
The public tasting event will be at the Summerland Arena mezzanine area on Saturday, Sept. 8 from 1 to 4 p.m.
Last year, when the event was held for the first time, there was considerable interest in it. “We didn’t anticipate how successful it would be,” Stohler said. This year, the number of tickets is doubled, with 300 available.
Summerland’s wine industry has grown significantly in the past two decades. Stohler said the wine competition will show the public the quality of the community’s wines.
“What B.C. is renowned for is the quality aspect,” he said.