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BC VQA Wines-by-the-Glass Promotion in 28 Restaurants by My VanCity posted on My VanCity

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BC VQA Wines-by-the-Glass Promotion in 28 Restaurants

  From July 21 to August 22, 2015 a vast selection of BC VQA wines-by-the-glass will be proudly showcased in restaurants through use of posters, menu cards, wineglass clips and apparel pins. And there is a $5,600 prize to be won!

  As part of The BC Wine Institute’s initiative to encourage British Columbians to show their local pride in supporting the Wines of British Columbia, starting today and running for one month, 28 of BC’s best restaurants are rallying together to celebrate the bounty that is BC VQA wine. Participating restaurants in Greater Vancouver, the Okanagan Valley and Victoria will be serving a minimum of three BC VQA wines by the glass during the promotional period (see participating wineries and restaurants below).

  To make this month-long promotion even more exciting, the BC Wine Institute is running a BC VQA Pour & Pair Contest on Instagram and Twitter (contest ends December 31, 2015) with a chance to win a fabulous five day multi-region BC Wine Experience for two (valued at $5,600). This amazing prize features Island-hopping on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands; float plane, paddle board and a Great Estates Okanagan tour in the Okanagan Valley; and a leisurely Similkameen River float wine tour. To enter, all you have to do is take a photo of your favourite BC VQA wine (including the label) paired with your favourite dish and post to either Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #BCVQAPourandPair. For full contest details, visit WineBC.com/PourandPair.

  The timing of this initiative, which increases accessibility of our own province’s wines, not only coincides perfectly with BC Day on August 3, it also surrounds the exciting Les Dames Summerdine fundraising event that occurs on August 12 – a fundraising initiative headed up by

Les Dames d’Escoffier BC to raise money to award scholarships to women who wish to pursue education in the culinary and related fields. The event is Canada’s largest concurrent dinner party, unfolding on one night only at more than 30 different wineries, restaurants, cooking schools and culinary venues across the province.

  The BC VQA Wines-by-the-Glass promotion is an exciting opportunity for British Columbians to experiment with different food and wine pairings in many of BC’s best restaurants, share in the delicious fun and enter to win one pretty fantastic prize.

  About the British Columbia Wine Institute (BCWI)

Since 1990, the BCWI has played a pivotal role in taking BC’s wine industry from a vision to an internationally recognized niche region producing premium wines and providing quality wine tourism experiences.

  Representing 149 member wineries throughout the province, the BCWI supports and markets the Wines of British Columbia (BC VQA), which gives consumers assurance they are buying a wine that is from 100% BC grapes. BCWI membership represents 95% of total grape wine sales and 94% of total BC VQA wine sales in British Columbia. The BCWI also markets the wine regions of BC; delivers quality trade, media and consumer tastings; and acts as the voice of BC’s wine industry by advocating to government on behalf of its members.

  Participating Wineries:

50th Parallel Estate

Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery

Bartier Bros

CedarCreek Estate Winery

Desert Hills Estate Winery

Dirty Laundry Vineyard

Fairview Cellars

Gray Monk Estate Winery

Haywire

Hester Creek Estate Winery

Hillside Winery & Birstro

JoieFarm

La Vieux Pin Winery

Laughing Stock Vineyards

Meyer Family Vineyards

Misconduct Wine Co

Mission Hill Family Estate Winery

Moon Curser Vineyards

Moraine Estate Winery

Mt. Boucherie Family Estate Winery

Orofino Vineyards

Osoyoos Larose Estate Winery

Painted Rock Estate Winery

Poplar Grove Winery

Quails’ Gate Winery

Sandhill

See You Later Ranch

SpierHead Winery

Stag’s Hollow Winery & Vineyard

Sumac Ridge Estate Winery

Summerhill Pyramid Winery

Tantalus Vineyards

Thornhaven Estates Winery

TIME Estate Winery

Tinhorn Creek Winery

  Participating Restaurants:

GREATER VANCOUVER

Blacktail

322 Water St. #200, Vancouver

Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar at the Sutton Place Hotel

845 Burrard St., Vancouver

Burgoo

4434 W.10th Ave Vancouver

Burgoo

3 Lonsdale Ave North Vancouver

Burgoo

3096 Main Street Vancouver

Burgoo

2272 W.4th Ave Vancouver

Canyon – Edgemont Village

3135 Edgemont Blvd North Vancouver

Edible Canada

212-1551 Johnston Street Vancouver

Fairmont Pacific Rim ORU restaurant

1038 Canada Place Vancouver

Fairmont Waterfront Hotel- ARC restaurant

900 Canada Place Way, Vancouver

My Shanti

15869 Croydon Dr, Surrey

Nicli Anitca

68 East Cordova Street Vancouver

Nicli Next Door

68 East Cordova Street Vancouver

Pear Tree Restaurant

4120 East Hastings Street, Burnaby

Provence Marinaside

1177Marinaside Cresc., Vancouver

Rustique Bistro – BOWEN ISLAND

433 Bowen Island Trunk Road, Bowen Island

Thai cuisine by Montri’s

2585 West Boadway, Vancouver

Wild Rice

River Market, 810 Quayside Dr. #122 New Westminster

ZEST Japanese Cuisine

2775 W 16th Ave Vancouver

  VICTORIA

Fairmont Empress The Bengal

721 Government St Victoria

Fairmont Empress The Veranda

721 Government St Victoria

Fairmont Empress Room

721 Government St Victoria

Spinnakers Gastrobrewpub

308 Catherine Street, Victoria

  OKANAGAN

Pilgrim & Pearl

1675 Abbott Street Kelowna British Columbia

Bonfire Restaurant

4205 Gellatly Rd, West Kelowna BC

Waterfront Wines, Urban Eats and Drinks

1180 Sunset Dr Kelowna BC

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The Wines of British Columbia, Celebration of BC Pinot Noir & Visa Infinite Welcome Steven Spurrier for Inaugural Okanagan Visit by My VanCity posted on My VanCity

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The Wines of British Columbia, Celebration of BC Pinot Noir & Visa Infinite Welcome Steven Spurrier for Inaugural Okanagan Visit

THE WINES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, CELEBRATION OF BC PINOT NOIR & VISA INFINITE WELCOME STEVEN SPURRIER FOR INAUGURAL OKANAGAN VISIT

  The BC Wine Institute, Celebration of BC Pinot Noirs and VISA Infinite are proud to welcome renowned wine judge and writer Steven Spurrier to BC Wine Country this summer!

The secret is out: BC is producing world class wines and this summer, Decanter consultant and Editor Steven Spurrier is flying from London, UK to find out first-hand what all the fuss is about!

Through a collaborative effort, Spurrier’s inaugural visit to BC Wine Country comes at an opportune time, as the Wines of British Columbia celebrate 25 years of BC VQA and the BC Pinot Noir Celebration announces a major expansion with VISA Infinite for their third annual event.

“It’s an absolute honour to bring Steven Spurrier to the Okanagan and a dream we’ve had for years! It’s an exciting time for the BC Wine Industry, as we celebrate our 25th anniversary of BC VQA and we are thrilled to have Steven here to experience the amazing quality wines we are producing,” says British Columbia Wine Institute Marketing Director Maggie Anderson.

Steven Spurrier, a champion of French wines and famously recognized for his role in organizing the original Judgement of Paris Wine Tasting in 1976, as portrayed in the Hollywood blockbuster “Bottle Shock,” will be touring wineries in the Okanagan Valley and tasting over 100 of British Columbia’s finest wines from all over the province.

“I have tasted and enjoyed a number of British Columbia wines over the years and am looking forward to visiting this emerging wine region first hand,”  says Spurrier. “Seeing the vineyards, the cellars and especially the people involved adds another dimension to every wine, great or small, so for me this will be a fascinating voyage of discovery.”

“His exceptional wine knowledge, international awards, accomplishments and innovative ideas make him the ideal wine critic to showcase how far our industry has come within the last 25 years,” Anderson says.

In 2014, Pinot Noir was the third most grown grape by acreage in BC, gaining recognition around the world for intense, lively flavours and winning international awards for their premium quality.

Three years ago, Meyer Family Vineyards in Okanagan Falls hosted the first BC Pinot Noir Celebration to gather winemakers, Pinot Noir lovers and a talented panel of special guest speakers to showcase the best Pinot Noirs in the province. Last year, the BCWI was proud to bring renowned wine author Karen MacNeil (The Wine Bible) to present the key note address for the event held at Tantalus Vineyards in Kelowna. This year, the celebration taking place in Kaleden on August 22 is shaping up to be yet another major success, with Mr. Spurrier in attendance.

“We are honoured to have one of the UK’s top wine critics and reviewers, Steven Spurrier, as our key note speaker this year. We’ve also increased the number of BC Pinot Noir producers at the event, with 26 wineries participating, which were selected through a blind tasting led by CAPS (Vancouver Chapter of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers) earlier in the year. With the help of VISA Infinite and the BCWI we’re able to elevate the event in only its third year to what we hope will become one of Canada’s premier wine events,” says Meyer Family Vineyards proprietor JAK Meyer.

In honour of the third annual BC Pinot Noir Celebration, VISA Infinite is inviting cardholders to meet and interact with Spurrier over a sumptuous multi-course dinner with chefs Rob Walker, Vikram Vij, Trevor Bird and Dilan Draper at Liquidity Winery, as part of their Wine Country Program on August 21.

VISA Infinite’s Wine Country Program offers cardholders exclusive benefits at 38 participating wineries in British Columbia, which include enjoying advanced access to one-of-a-kind winery experiences and exclusive dining events featuring Canada’s leading chefs.

The BC Pinot Noir Celebration, held on August 22 in Kaleden’s Linden Gardens, will involve interactive breakout sessions alongside top BC winemakers; salon tastings with 26 of BC’s best Pinot Noir producers, a canapé competition with Okanagan Chefs Jason Leizert, Alex Sielmann, Chris Van Hooydonk and Calgary Chef Dilan Draper; a family style dinner by Artisan Culinary Concepts; and live music with local band The Young’uns.

For tickets and details on the BC Pinot Noir Celebration, visit BCPinotNoir.ca.

For information on VISA Infinite, their Wine Country Program and the Celebration of Pinot Noir event at Liquidity Winery, visit VisaInfinite.ca.

For details on BC VQA and the Wines of British Columbia visit WineBC.com or the BC Wine Institute’s trade and media website, WineBC.org. To stay up to date on all the summer happenings, like the Wines of British Columbia Facebook page or follow @WineBCdotcom on Twitter.