Okanagan Spring Wine Festival runs May 3-12 throughout the Okanagan Valley. Okanagan Wine Festivals photo

Get ready for an action-packed summer in wine country. Here are just a few events to add to your calendar.

Okanagan Spring Wine Festival

May 3 to 12
So many events; so little time. Grab your tasting glass and check out all the dinners, lunches, classes, wine-pairing events, even wine-enhanced golf, yoga and an escape room, throughout the Okanagan Valley. Don’t miss the Spring WestJet Wine Tastings, featuring more than 250 B.C. wines, May 3 and 4, and the Iron Sommelier British Columbia competition on May 10. thewinefestivals.com

BC Tasting Games Finale

May 21
Master of Wine Rhys Pender hosts this lively blind-tasting competition with a side of audience participation. At each of the three divisional events (April 23, May 7, May 14), three celebrated wine experts blind taste five wines and try to guess what they are—while the audience does the same. The winners and the top-scoring audience members go on to compete in the finale. Tickets include a wine-tasting flight, small bites and a whole lot of fun. tastinggames.ca

Top Drop Vancouver

May 23 to 24
Handcrafted, terroir-driven wines (as well as craft beer and cider) are the focus of this two-day celebration of delicious sustainability. Thursday night, it’s all about food and wine at restaurants like Wildebeest, Mamie Taylor’s and Bodega on Main; on Friday, it’s the grand tasting at the Yaletown Roundhouse. topdrop.ca

Darren Robinson photo

Half Corked Marathon Weekend

May 24 to 26
On your marks, get set . . . sip! Costumed runners scamper through the vineyards around Oliver, stopping here and there for a taste of wine. But this fun run—named the Canadian Tourism Awards’ Canadian Event of the Year in 2017—is so much more than that. There’s the carb-loading Primavera pasta dinner beforehand and, afterward, the Party! at the Finish Line, a fun afternoon of entertainment, food, wine, friends and family. Race tickets are only available by lottery, which is now closed, but you can still enjoy the finish line festivities. oliverosoyoos.com

Chef Meets BC Grape—Taste of the Okanagan

June 8
This festival-style outdoor extravaganza at historic See Ya Later Ranch in Okanagan Falls has become one of the highlights of summer in wine country. It features tastings from 45 B.C. wineries, as well as wine masterclasses, chef demonstrations, wine and food pairings, and a variety of food stations with dishes prepared by the country’s top chefs. winebc.com

Kettle valley Heritage Steam Train. Darren Hull photo

Grand Sommelier Express

June 22
All aboard this heritage steam train as it whisks you through Summerland to the KVR station for a party featuring live music and gourmet food paired with local wines, cider, beer and spirits. While on board you’ll enjoy breathtaking scenery and wine with local vintners, all in an atmosphere of old-world elegance. bottleneckdrive.com

Feast of Fields

August 11
This wandering gourmet harvest festival highlights the connections between farmers and chefs, field and table, farm folks and city folks. With wine glass and linen napkin in hand, guests wander through the grounds at Kelowna’s Caldwell Heritage Farm, tasting gourmet creations from B.C.’s top chefs, farmers, fishers, ranchers, food artisans, vintners, brewers and distillers. feastoffields.com

Naramata Bench Wineries Association Tailgate Party

September 14
Pop the corks and celebrate the harvest with this fun annual event at the Naramata Heritage Inn. There will be food, wine, live music and all your wine-loving friends—there’s simply no better way to spend a fall weekend in wine country. naramatabench.com

Freak’n Farmer photo

Freak’n Farmer

September 22
Anyone who’s ever worked on a farm knows that it’s not a job for the faint of heart. This annual event at Covert Farms near Oliver adapts those traditional farmhand tasks to a tough obstacle-course-style competition that has to be seen to be believed. freaknfarmer.ca

Vitis Magazine

Vitis is is an indispensable seasonal guide for vintners, sommeliers and weekend imbibers alike that is dedicated to British Columbia’s rapidly evolving wine culture.