Hot on the heels of being named one of the world’s top wine touring regions, the Okanagan is getting even more international exposure, thanks to a Lifestyle TV series set to air in New Zealand this Fall.
The six part series, “Ventures in Wine Country,” follows three Okanagan wineries through the 2014 vintage, chronicling a grape-to-glass account of winemaking in the valley. It features Covert Farms Family Estate in Oliver, Painted Rock Estate in Penticton, and The Hatch in West Kelowna.
The first four episodes are already airing on Optik TV to more than a half-million viewers in B.C. and Alberta, with the Canadian public release slated for December 4th. Now, thanks to its first distribution deal, the series will also be airing on The Country Channel in New Zealand.
“It’s very gratifying to get this kind of response,” says series creator and producer, Kenton Gilchrist of Asymetriq Productions Inc., adding that overseas broadcast hadn’t even crossed his mind two years ago when he began the project.
“We think we have a great product, but it’s always validating to have others think so too,” adds Gilchrist, who is also excited by what the added exposure will mean for the valley that he and his family call home.
“Everyone benefits from something like this – wineries, tourism, real estate,” Gilchrist says. “Exposure in the news, or in industry publications is fantastic, but a Lifestyle series reaches an entirely different audience. And to have it picked up overseas in one of the world’s top wine regions is really amazing.”
Gilchrist and business partner Jon Hunwick, who are currently in production for a documentary on the Area 27 Raceway construction in Oliver, will be hosting a launch party to celebrate the Canadian release of “Ventures” during Winter in Wine Country.
The event will take place at the Watermark Beach Resort in Osoyoos on the evening of Dec. 4, and is open to the public.
More on the series: http://www.VenturesInWine.TV/
