Search KelownaNow
In the mood for some mid-mountain wine sipping?
If so, the inaugural Silver Star Summer Wine Festival, Thursday through Sunday, is for you.
Of course, Silver Star Mountain Resort, 22 kilometres northeast of Vernon, is a ski destination in the winter.
But in the summer it's also a hotspot for mountain biking, alpine hiking and, now, the summer wine fest.
Most of the fest activities are halfway up the mountain in the village at 3,780 feet elevation.
Destination Silver Star has teamed up with Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country to put on this reimagined fest of wine-paired dinners, outdoor tasting with live music, Sunday brunch and options to stay overnight and ride the gondola to alpine hike.
The fest kicks off Thursday with restaurants offering wine specials.
On Friday, the Riedel outdoor long-table dinner in the village centre is already sold out.
However, there are still some last-minute tickets available for the $145 Savour the Sun Wine Dinner at Black Pine Social restaurant at OliverOsoyoos.com.
Chef Jarred Sauve will whip up international alpine dishes to pair with wines from Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country member wineries Gold Hill, Kismet and vinAmite.
While it's not a ticketed event, there's also Dutch-Thai-Indonesian-West-
On Saturday, the main event is the Uncork Your Senses outdoor tasting in the village centre, 1-4 pm.
Tickets are still available for $95 at OliverOsoyoos.com.
Numerous wineries from Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country and other Okanagan wine regions will have booths to pour you samples.
There will also be non-wine options like LVL Vodka Seltzer, Third Beach Tropical Cocktails and Tea Bash Hard Iced Tea.
During the tasting, international star and Vernon resident, Andrew Allen (signature hit: Loving You Tonight), will perform a concert along with special guest Josh Bogart.
Before the tasting you can check out the special pop-up Polson Artisan Market or take the gondola to the top of the mountain for some alpine hiking.
On Sunday, there's a bubbles brunch at Red Antler restaurant and a free Sister Speak concert, 4-6 pm.
If you want to tie it all together with discounted overnight stays, quote the code: SAVOUR for Vance Creek Hotel and Chilcoot Lodges at 1-800-610-0805 or Silver Star Mountain Resort at 1-800-663-4431.
If you get value from KelownaNow and believe local independent media is important to our community we ask that you please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter.
If you appreciate what we do, we ask that you consider supporting our local independent news platform.