Kelowna is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word kiʔláwnaʔ, referring to a female grizzly bear.
Kamloops is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, whose district offices are based here. The surrounding region is sometimes referred to as the Thompson Country.
The Okanagan, also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part of the Okanagan Country, extending into the United States as Okanogan County in north-central Washington. According to the 2016 Canadian census, the region's population is 362,258. The largest populated cities are Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon, and West Kelowna.
Peachland is a district municipality in the Okanagan Valley on the west side of Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1899 by John Moore Robinson, although the region had long been home to the Okanagan people. Peachland is approximately half-an-hour's drive south of the city of Kelowna and about a 20-minute drive north of Summerland. The Okanagan Valley is very narrow in the area and there are few terraces that mark former lake levels and the former lake bottom. As a result, the city is largely located on a steep sidehill. Like many other areas in the Okanagan, Peachland is rapidly growing, with new residents coming from all across Canada. Across the lake from Peachland is Rattlesnake Island, home of the legendary Ogopogo. Peachland is approximately 370 km from Vancouver, British Columbia, on the British Columbia south coast.
Armand de Brignac, known colloquially as Ace of Spades, is a French Champagne owned by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and LVMH. The brand is produced by Champagne Cattier and sold in opaque metallic bottles. The brand's first bottling, Armand de Brignac Brut Gold, is identifiable by its gold bottle with French pewter Ace of Spades labels.
The Nelson Brewing Company is a brewery in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada, not to be confused with The Nelson Brewing Company in Chatham, Kent, England. The original Nelson Brewing and Ice Company was founded in 1892 by Robert Reisterer. In 1956, the brewery moved to Creston, BC and became the Columbia Brewing Company, leaving the original building unoccupied for nearly 40 years. In 1991, a group of local businessmen reopened the Nelson Brewing Company in its original historical building and by 2006 became BC's largest fully certified organic brewery. While most beer from the Nelson Brewing Company is consumed in the Kootenays, it is available across British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.
West Kelowna, formerly known as Westbank and colloquially known as Westside, is a city in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley. The city encompasses several distinct neighbourhoods, including Casa Loma, Gellatly, Glenrosa, Lakeview Heights, Shannon Lake, Smith Creek, Rose Valley, Westbank, and West Kelowna Estates. West Kelowna had an estimated population of 34,883 as of December 31, 2018.
Benjamin Richard Stewart is a Canadian politician, who has represented the riding of Kelowna West in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia since 2018 as a member of the British Columbia Liberal Party. He previously represented the riding of Westside-Kelowna from 2009 to 2013.
The Okanagan Valley wine region, located within the region of the same name in the British Columbia Interior, is Canada's second-largest wine producing area. Along with the nearby Similkameen Valley, the approximately 8,619 acres of vineyards planted in the Okanagan account for more than 80% of all wine produced in British Columbia, and are second in economic importance for wine production to the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario. Some 182 licensed wineries existed from south to north in the valley in 2018, with many situated along the 135 km (84 mi)-long Okanagan Lake and its tributaries and downstream lakes, including Skaha Lake, Vaseux Lake, and Osoyoos Lake. The Okanagan has diverse terrain that features many different microclimates and vineyard soil types, contributing characteristics which are part of an Okanagan terroir.
Mission Hill Family Estate is a wine grower and producer based in West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, in the Okanagan Valley wine region. The winery is situated atop Mission Hill overlooking a 145 kilometre lake, mountains and vineyards.
Harold Peter "Herb" Capozzi was an athlete, businessman, professional sports team manager and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Vancouver Centre in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1966 to 1972 as a Social Credit member.
Sokol Blosser Winery is a vineyard, tasting room and winery facility located northeast of Dayton, Oregon in the Red Hills of Dundee in Yamhill County. It was founded by Bill Blosser and Susan Sokol Blosser in 1971 in what is now known as the Dundee Hills AVA. Sokol Blosser Winery is family owned and operated by second-generation co-presidents, siblings Alex and Alison Sokol Blosser, and is the 6th largest wine producer in Oregon. Sokol Blosser is considered to be “synonymous with sustainability,” and produces Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, proprietary blends Evolution White and Evolution Red, a range of other Evolution wines, and small quantities of single block Pinot Noirs, Rosé of Pinot Noir, White Riesling dessert wine, and sparkling wine.
Trump Winery is a winery on Trump Vineyard Estates in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the county of Albemarle. It is within the Monticello viticultural area and is among the 23 wineries on the Monticello Wine Trail.
Fort Berens Winery, aka Fort Berens Estate Winery, is a winery and vineyard based in Lillooet, British Columbia, Canada. Located in East Lillooet, near the site of the never-built Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Berens, it is the first successful attempt at a commercial winery in the area in the 20th Century and has won numerous awards for its wines. It is the only commercial winery so far in the newly designated Lillooet wine region, though there are established local vineyards which are non-commercial and a history of wine cultivation at nearby Fountain. It was founded by Rolf de Bruin, who immigrated to Canada with his family in 2008 from the Netherlands with his wife Heleen Pannekoek and their family. They chose Lillooet over the Okanagan because land values there were a quarter what they were in the Okanagan, which is the centre of the BC wine industry. Though the winery's first commercial vintage was made from grapes and wine brought in from the Okanagan, their first bottles made from grapes grown only in Lillooet were opened on April 30, 2012. The winery first started operations in 2009.
Gruet Winery is a New Mexico winery and family business founded in 1984. It specializes in Methode Champenoise sparkling wines using Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, and also produces some still wine. It traces its history to Gilbert Gruet's Champagne house, Gruet e Fils, which he established in 1952 in Bethon, France. After a visit to New Mexico in 1983 and meeting with a group of European vinters who had successfully planted vineyards there, Natalie and Laurent Gruet planted an experimental vineyard of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Engle, New Mexico about 10 miles from Truth or Consequences. The first release was in 1989, principally sparkling wine. In 1993, Gruet opened its own winery and tasting room in Albuquerque.
Tracy Gray is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Kelowna—Lake Country in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian federal elections. She served in both the 43rd and 44th Canadian Parliaments as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. As a Member of Parliament she introduced one bill, Bill C-283 An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act , which sought to utilize penitentiaries as addiction treatment facilities but it was defeated at second reading. Prior to her election in the House of Commons, she was a city councillor for Kelowna City Council.
Erin Pincott is a Canadian curler from Kamloops. She is the longtime third for Corryn Brown, having played together since they were six years old.
Lucian W. Dressel is an American winemaker and viticulturist. Dressel wrote the application to have Augusta, Missouri, designated as America's first officially recognized wine district by the federal government.
Robert Louie is a Canadian First Nations leader, lawyer, and business person. He is known especially for his role in negotiating the Westbank Self-Government Agreement, which granted his band control over land management, language, and culture.
