Wine-tasting a private event

Only guests chosen by B.C. government allowed to join Prince William and Kate at West Kelowna winery

No invite, no access. Members of the public will not be permitted to enter the grounds of Mission Hill winery in West Kelowna during a visit Sept. 27 by Prince William and his wife, Kate.

“The event at Mission Hill is by invitation only,” Genevieve Dubois-Richard, spokeswoman for Heritage Canada, wrote in an email. “The guests are selected by the government of British Columbia.”

At Mission Hill, the royals will be participating in something called A Taste of B.C., featuring wine and agricultural products from around the province.

They will also meet some young people who are training for careers in the hospitality and agriculture sectors.

A Taste of B.C. seems created purposely for the royals, and no references to it exist online apart from government press releases that concern the royal visit.

On Mission Hill’s own website, there is no mention of A Taste of B.C. in the section for the winery’s upcoming events.

Mission Hill, one of the most visited wineries in the Okanagan, is located in the riding of Westside-Kelowna, represented by Premier Christy Clark. A call to Sam Oliphant, the premier’s press secretary, requesting more information about the royals’ visit to Mission Hill was not returned.

The royals’ private trip to Mission Hill is one of two stops they will make during their visit to the Central Okanagan. The other is a morning tour of the UBC Okanagan campus.

Members of the public can go to the campus to try to catch a glimpse of the royals. But parking is in short supply for the public at the university, and people interested in going to the university are advised to take public transit.

Given that Sept. 27 is a normal instructional day at the campus, where 10,000 students and university employees will already be on hand, opportunities for members of the public to get a good vantage point from which to see the royals are likely to be limited.