An Okanagan wine tour company has received a prestigious award.
West Kelowna Wine Tours has been awarded Luxury Travel Guide’s Wine Tour Operator of the Year.
Owner-operator Melanie Evans said the win came as a surprise.
“My heart was pounding; I was so excited. I was also very nervous. It felt very surreal,” she said.
Evans said she receives tourists from around the world, and one of those world travellers nominated her company for the award.
Officials called to say she won the title for B.C. and then the award for the Americas as well, she said.
That put her in the next category: Best of the Best for the global title. In November, she travelled to London, England for the awards ceremony, she said.
“It’s a moment in time I will never forget,” Evans said of the moment when her name was called as the winner.
West Kelowna Wine Tours beat out operators in France, South Africa, Greece and Portugal to win the top award.
Lindsay Kelm, Quails’ Gate Winery’s marketing manager, said the honour helps put the Okanagan’s wineries on the map.
“This is going to be amazing for the Okanagan valley on a worldwide scale in order to get wine and culinary travellers to our region,” Kelm said.
Kelm thinks West Kelowna Wine Tours was recognized for excellent service because Evans customizes her tours to each group.
“She’ll look at each individual group and see where exactly they want to go, what are their interests, which wineries would best suit their personalities and really taking that time to give that personalized, sort of concierge service,” she said.
Evans offers everything from helicopter tours where couples say their vows in the air to lake cruise stagettes.
“The award means the bar is now set high, and we’ve got to keep it that way,” Evans said.
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