Spring wine festival kicks off in Okanagan

The 18th Annual Spring Okanagan Wine Festival kicked off Thursday in Kelowna.

This year there are 112 wineries and more than 85 events planned over the next 10 days at venues between Osoyoos and Vernon.

Blair Baldwin with the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society say celebrating wine in the spring is a novel idea, “Because its bud break season. The grapes are growing. There are a lot of new releases at this time of year. So, many of the wineries are releasing their new whites from 2011. So there’s a great reason to kick this off with a celebration of spring.”

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Thursday’s opening event was the Best of the Best Awards and reception which recognized the 22 best varietals in the Okanagan Valley.

For details on who won and for a complete listing of wine fest events go to http://www.thewinefestivals.com