Okanagan wines, Alberta beef come together for fundraiser

In the middle of a trade spat between Alberta and British Columbia, an Okanagan winery is doing its part to bring the food and wine community in both provinces together.

Summerland’s Okanagan Crush Pad winery will host Farm Friends, an event pairing B.C. wine with Alberta beef in a show of support for both industries, on Feb. 22 at Granville Island’s Edible Canada.

“The only beef is on the table,” reads the event’s slogan.

Wineries slated to participate in Farm Friends include 50th Parallel Estate Winery, Culmina Family Estate Winery, Haywire, Liquidity, Painted Rock Estate Winery, Poplar Grove Winery and Summerhill Pyramid Winery, as well as Mireille Sauvé with the Dames Wine project.

Principals from the winery will be on hand to talk with guests, and their wines will be showcased along with beef and bison from Alberta, all paired and prepared by Edible Canada and a selection of guest chefs.

Okanagan Crush Pad owner Christine Coletta said she was inspired to organize the event after seeing reactions to Alberta’s recent wine ban online.

“It pushed me to do something proactive to show Albertans that the wine industry does appreciate their business and their visits to wine country,” she said.

Tickets cost $55, with all proceeds going to the B.C. Hospitality Foundation.

Coletta hopes the event will “show Alberta and the rest of Canada that the B.C. wine industry views itself as a ‘national’ product and as such should not be restricted by provincial borders or used as a political pawn.”

In the long run, Coletta can only hope Alberta’s B.C. wine ban doesn’t hit Okanagan Crush Pad too hard.

“I will redirect wine to the two other key markets that we have — the U.K. and Norway — and hope that our loyal Albertan visitors return come tourism season.”