Located just under an hour’s drive north of Kamloops, B.C. Sun Peaks Resort is perfectly suited for hosting a wine festival. The resort resembles a Tyrolean mountain village with a central core of ski-in-ski-out accommodations around a main promenade. Once you park your vehicle at Sun Peaks, you really don’t need to get back in it until it’s time to check out and head for home.
For the past two decades, the Winter Okanagan Wine Festival in mid-January was the go-to event for oenophile skiers (and just oenophiles) at Sun Peaks. But last season marked the changing of the guard with the debut of the Savour the Sun festival, a three-day event in early December featuring the winemakers of Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country. While it’s a lot shorter than its predecessor, Savour the Sun made a splash in its debut year with two strong evening events: Savour the Sun at Sunburst, a tasting held at the mid-mountain Sunburst Bar + Eatery, and Uncork Your Senses, a food-and-wine extravaganza that paired 12 wineries with specific dishes, revealing an impressive depth from the kitchen team at the resort, as well as in the offerings by the host wineries. While the inaugural Uncork Your Senses took place at the Annex lodge in the resort base area, plans are to shift it to the Sun Peaks Grand Hotel & Conference Centre for 2019.
With Savour the Sun at Sunburst, the elevated location provided an additional thrill. While all guests arrived at the venue by riding up the mountain on the Sunburst Express chairlift, confident skiers and snowboarders had the option of foregoing the lift back and riding down to the base by the light of complimentary headlamps, under the direction of a night-skiing guide. For most skiers, the route wouldn’t be considered challenging by any means. But even green runs can feel black in the dark of night — especially with a few glasses of wine in your system. You can see for yourself at the second edition of Savour the Sun at Sun Peaks, which runs this year from Dec. 5 to 8.
Avenue’s writers and editors are occasionally invited to experience dining or adventure activities as a guest, including some experiences in this story. Neither complementary experiences nor advertising are required for coverage in Avenue. Neither companies that advertise nor those that provide other incentives are promised editorial coverage, nor do they have the opportunity to review or approve stories before publication.