Winemakers Cup

09/20/2026

Save the date! The 19th Annual W**emakers Cup is taking place at Apex Mountain on Feb. 20, 2027!

Dear W**e Industry Peer:
The organizers of the W**emakers Cup are pleased to announce that the 19th annual festival will be taking place at Apex Mountain on Feb. 20, 2027.
Said Charlie Baessler, President of the W**emakers Cup, “This will be a fun-loving and free-spirited day on the slopes followed by a most raucous Apres-Ski party at the Gunbarrel saloon. The ultimate boots-on, slope-side celebration”
“Full details of the Funfest will be announced over the next few weeks. But in the meantime, circle Feb. 20, 2027, in your calendar. You won’t want to miss this!” said Christa Skimmings, Event Director.

What is the W**emakers Cup?
The W**emaker’s Cup was created in 2008 with the modest goal of bringing peers of the w**e industry together for a day of fun on the slopes, and to share some moments of levity during Après Ski afterwards. Since then, the event has grown and evolved over the years into a weekend long festival of fun and games. During the last 18 years we have had over 1570 participants from over 137 different w**eries in British Columbia.

Today, the sole purpose of the W**emakers Cup (WMC) is to foster friendships and camaraderie amongst members of the W**e Industry in a non-competitive, non-political environment in the fresh mountain air whilst enjoying the drinking of numerous libations! It is also the World’s only annual ski & snowboard challenge weekend for the w**e industry.

09/01/2026

Happy Birthday Felicity! Thanks for all you have done over the years for the W**emakers Cup!

06/16/2026

Dear fellow peers in the BC W**e Industry. We are reaching out to see if you can help one of our friends in the valley.
Many of you will recall Jesse Cooper, who was the Assistant W**emaker at Black Hills Estate W**ery for several years in the 2009-2014 era. Those who knew him, knew Jesse to be an intelligent and hilarious guy with lots of great stories to tell…and a big passion for making w**e. He was a frequent participant in the W**emakers Cup.
He has recently been based in the Nova Scotia and Niagara w**e regions making w**e.
Unfortunately, some tough circumstances have come into Jesse’s life recently with the poor health of his wife, Lynn. After giving birth to their second child, she found out that she has ALS. She has been deteriorating quite rapidly and is no longer able to work or look after their four-year-old and one-year-old children. Jesee had to quit his job and the family all moved back to Nova Scotia so that he can look after the children full-time. They are in a very tough spot.
They have a GoFundMe campaign set up and the link for it is below. They are using the funds so that they can keep a roof over their heads and food on the table while both of them are not able to work. If you have a moment, please read the story. If you feel inclined to make a donation, that is completely your choice. I am sure they would be most grateful for any donation.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/emyr7-i-have-als

Sending them lots of love and positive hope while they and their young family deal with this terrible disease. If you wanted to reach out to Jesse Cooper directly to connect with him or pass on your best wishes, you can reach him by e-mail at: [email protected]
Thank you for your time and consideration.

03/16/2026

W**emakers Cup was an absolute hit, and we can't wait for next year (mark your calendars - Feb. 21, 2027!)
One of our sponsors, Okanagan W**e Club was critical to the events email marketing. OWC's team stepped in to help with technical infrastructure set up and email marketing.
While working with them, I learned they are launching the Okanagan W**e Collective. What they've built for BC w**eries is impressive. Proper & fair pricing marketing support, operational and shipping savings, and real visibility .. all in one membership.
If you want to learn how you could benefit, reach out to members@okanaganw**ecollective.com
Thanks,
Your Friends at the W**emakers Cup

03/09/2026

Today we would like to acknowledge the incredible contributions made by Charlie Baessler, the President of the W**emakers Cup. Charlie has been both a tireless ambassador for this W**e Industry event as well as a perennial competitor in the on-hill competitions for nearly 15 years. He is a 6-time champion of the race, earning him the nickname as the “Tom Brady of the W**emakers Cup”.
In his role as President, Charlie wears many hats. He brings the huge respect that people have for him in the industry to the table, which enables such strong sponsorship to be attracted to the event. This sponsorship in turn provides the financial resources to enable such incredibly subsidized event prices for the participants. Further, his well-rounded business acumen contributes invaluable perspective as the organizing committee navigates the challenges that go with staging a recurring event like this. Also, Charlie’s charisma and enthusiasm for the event add such a fun element to the personality to the W**emakers Cup that naturally draws volunteers, participants, spectators and sponsors. The “Social Fabric” of the W**emakers Cup that makes this such a fun undertaking is largely because of Charlies extensive volunteer efforts that he puts toward this during the year.
Charlie also has a “day job” being the co-Proprietor of Corcellete’s Estate W**ery along with his effervescent wife Jesce and full-time dad to his incredible twin daughters Evelyn and Arya. As you can see from these pictures, his entire family are eager volunteers and participants of the W**emakers Cup.
Please share your thoughts and love for all the volunteer time this wonderful family has put towards this event!
Your friends at the W**emakers Cup

03/07/2026

Should this much fun be illegal?
The B.C. W**e Industry Soiree on Saturday Feb.28 at the Penticton Lakeside Resort was capped off by a legendary after-party. Called the “Après Disco- a w**e-fueled, retro-themed Dance Party” it featured the groovy dance beats of Guest DJ Aaron de Silva and our house DJ Shakes, and we all danced the night away. Great costumes, high energy and wonderful dance vibes as the w**e industry got to let their hair down! Afterwards, we moved on down the hall to the Barking Parrot to keep going until the wee hours. As one patron was overheard saying “This much fun should be illegal!”

Over 165 different participants from 51 different BC w**eries came out for the evening component of the 18th Annual Scott Labs W**emakers Cup. Thank you to all who participated and made this such a special evening.

SAVE THE DATE!
The 19th Annual Après Disco will be taking place on the weekend of Feb. 20, 2027, in the Okanagan. So, please mark Feb. 20, 2027, in your calendar NOW! You will not want to miss all the fun next year!

Hope to see you there!

Charlie Baessler, Glenn Fawcett & Christa Skimmings
Organizers, the 18th Annual Scott Labs W**emakers Cup

You are free to use any of the photos on this post so long as you tag then with
**emakersCup **emakersCup
Be sure to give photo credit. All photos by Sandy Steck of Sandy Steck Photography

03/07/2026

What a wonderful night!
The B.C. W**e Industry Soiree on Saturday Feb.28 at the Penticton Lakeside Resort in Penticton was the stuff of legends. It was so epic, in fact, that it took us nearly a week to curate and edit through the hundreds of photos that were taken that night. However good things come to those who wait, and these photos in this gallery will bring back all kinds of great memories for the participants and attest to the truly wonderful evening we all got to enjoy. If you could not make it this year, then you will clearly see why you must come and join us next year!

Over 165 different participants from 51 different BC w**eries came out for the evening components of the 18th Annual Scott Labs W**emakers Cup. The evening started off with a W**emakers Happy Hour where patrons got to hobnob with the W**emakers from 27 different BC w**eries and taste their new releases. Then we enjoyed dinner, toasts and a hilarious “Agony of Defeat” video screening from the daytime events on the hill. Then after everyone went back to their rooms to change into their era-appropriate costumes, we capped it off with the “Après Disco- a w**e-fueled, retro-themed Dance Party”. It featured the groovy dance beats of Guest DJ Aaron de Silva and we danced until midnight, when we moved on down the hall to the Barking Parrot to keep going until the wee hours.

Tip of the Hat goes out to….
The BC W**e Industry Soiree & the W**emakers Cup would like to give special recognition to all the following who pitched in to make this annual funfest happen again for the 18th Year:
• Our W**ery Sponsors: who provided the w**e for the Happy Hour and Dinner: including
8th Generation, Observatory W**es, Hester Creek, Andrew Peller W**eries, Burrowing Owl Vineyards, Bottega W**e Studio, Tantalus W**ery, Bartier Brothers, Da Silva Vineyards and W**ery, Fairview Cellars, Moon Curser, Phantom Creek W**ery, Stags Hollow, Ruby Blues, Spearhead w**ery, Corcelettes Estate W**ery, Tinhorn Creek W**ery, Black Hills Estate W**ery, Bench 1775, Gneiss W**es, Osoyoos Larose, Red Bird Brewery, Vice & Virtue Brewery, Black Market W**es, Laughing Stock Vineyards, Summerhill Pyramid W**ery and Seven Stones W**ery
• The Participants- all those people working in the BC W**e Industry who supported this event and came out and became part of the fun. Several “repeat offenders” who have been to the BC W**e Industry Soiree for numerous years were out in full force adding awesome energy to the dance floor. So, thanks for coming out!
• DJ Shakes for spinning the discs at both the finish line of the Ski race as well during the BC W**e Industry Soiree
• DJ Aaron de Silva at our Guest DJ and for laying down the great dance beat to close out the night.
• Sandy Steck who took these amazing day and night photos for the W**emakers Cup
• The Penticton Lakeside Resort: the host venue for the BC W**e Industry Soiree!
• All our Volunteers for the W**emakers Cup and enabled this to happen and included Felicity Johnson, Craig Skimmings, Nathan Falkenholt, Lynn Basso & her band of Merry women and many more!
• Paul Cotton: for making the wonderful “Agony of Defeat” video that captured the day.
• Our Sponsors whose generous financial contribution allowed us to offer insanely discounted package prices for both the day and night events. This includes:
o Scott Labs (Title Sponsor),
o ATS Healthcare (Supporting Sponsor),
o Cellar-Tek & Amcor (Presenting Sponsor)
o Vitis-Imports (Sponsor of three categories: Awards Dinner, W**emakers Happy Hour, and Safe Ride Transportation)
o Saver Glass (Media Sponsor)
o Vintage W**e Services (Agony of Defeat Video Sponsor)
o Diam Closures (Hot Tub Time Machine Sponsor),
o Nadalie Barrels (Trophy & Prize Sponsor)
o Enartis Oenology Products (T-Shirt Sponsor)
o Westland Insurance (Lunch Sponsor)
o Splash Communications (Marketing)
o Okanagan W**e Club (Race Sponsor)
o Vinequest (Event promoter)
o Apex Mountain (Host Venue for daytime activities)
o Penticton Lakeside (Host Venue for evening activities)
• Christa Skimmings, Event & Marketing Coordinator, who helped pull all the pieces together and made this a massive success!
• Charlie Baessler, President of the W**emakers Cup, for his great support, insight and leadership who helped make this an enormous success during tough economic times for the W**e Industry.
• Glenn Fawcett, Founder of the W**emakers Cup. He has been a passionate ambassador this event for 18 years now.

SAVE THE DATE!
The 19th Annual W**emakers Cup will be taking place on the weekend of Feb. 20, 2027, in the Okanagan. So, mark Feb. 20, 2027, in your calendar NOW! You will not want to miss all the fun next year!

Hope to see you there!

Charlie Baessler, Glenn Fawcett & Christa Skimmings
Organizers, the 18th Annual Scott Labs W**emakers Cup

You are free to use any of the photos on this post so long as you tag then with
**emakersCup **emakersCup
Be sure to give photo credit. All photos by Sandy Steck of Sandy Steck Photography

03/05/2026

And the winners are…….
Well, that was some kind of awesome fun! Over 105 different participants from 43 different BC w**eries competed last weekend during the ski & snowboard races for the 18th Annual Scott Labs W**emakers Cup. The fun started in the morning at Apex Mountain Ski resort where a bewildering array of fast and slow skiers/snowboarders hit the dual slalom course to vie for the honor of winning the W**emakers Cup. There were chills and there were spills, there were some hilarious costumes and cowbells ringing Snow bunnies at the finish line! Following this was Après Skiing on the deck of the Gunbarrel Saloon in the glorious sunshine and the tunes of DJ Shakes. Everyone enjoyed a BBQ burger lunch with fresh brew courtesy of the Red Bird Brewery and Vice and Virtue. Fun was had everywhere.

When the dust/snow settled, the following W**e Industry folks were crowned the champions of the 2026 W**emakers Cup.
TOP U18 Skiers:
• U18 Boys:
o First place: Aidan Durisek of Okanagan W**e Lab
o Second place: Levi Blais of Duncan Vineyards
• U 18 Girls
o First Place: Ariana Durisek of Okanagan W**e Lab
o Second Place : Addison Blais, Duncan Vineyards
TOP 60+ Racers:
• First place- Grame Duncan from Duncan Vineyard
• 2nd place- Allan Spahr- La Stella W**ery
• Third place- Stephen Duke- Summerhill W**ery
Best non-industry Racer:
• Gary Vollet, Gunbarrel Saloon
• Mental Wendall Clark- Gunbarrel Saloon
• Rich Hoeve- Splash Communications
Best Wipeout Award
• First place: Craig Skimmings, Burrowing Owl Vineyards
Slowpoke Award
• First place: Cassidy Tocheniuk, Mt. Boucherie W**ery
Best W**ery Team (Top 3 aggregate times per w**ery team competing)
• Third place: Roche W**ery
• Second place: Burrowing Owl W**ery
• First place: Corcellete’s
• Burrowing Owl W**ery
Ladies Top Snowboarder:
• Third place Female- Jill Hart, Okanagan W**e Club
• Second place Female – Jennifer Tocher from Spearhead W**ery
• 1st place Female – Jamie Lewis, Enartis
Men’s Top Snowboarder:
• Third place Male – Blair Gillingham, Observatory W**ery
• Second place Male – Matt Wenzel, Vagabond W**ery
• First place Male AND Fastest Overall Snowboarder – Jake Pfeiffer, Burrowing Owl Vineyards
Ladies Top Skier:
• Third place Female – Marine Bos, from Andrew Peller Vineyards
• Second place Female – Kerri McNolty, Burrowing Owl W**ery
• First place Female - Jamie Park from Burrowing Owl W**ery
Male Top Skiers:
• Third place Male – Alexander Becker from Saver Glass
• Second place Male- Steven McNolty from Burrowing Owl W**ery
• First place Male – Benson Hammond from Corcelletes

Winner of the Overall W**emakers Cup for 2026
• Jamie Park from Burrowing Owl W**ery won the top overall time in the W**emakers Cup for the Firth year in a row. An unprecedented feat in the history of the W**emakers Cup. She completely dusted the field with a combined time for both courses of only 59.42 seconds- nearly 7 seconds faster then the next fastest racer. Congratulations, Jamie, you rocked it!

Tip of the Hat goes out to….
The W**emakers Cup would like to give special recognition to all the following who pitched in to make this annual funfest happen again for the 17th Year:
• Christa Skimmings, Event & Marketing Coordinator, who helped pull all the pieces together and made this a massive success!
• Charlie Baessler, President of the W**emakers Cup, for his great support, insight and leadership who helped make this an enormous success during tough economic times for the W**e Industry.
• Sandy Steck who took these amazing day and night photos for the W**emakers Cup
• DJ Shakes for spinning the discs at both the finish line of the Ski race as well as for the dance floor at the Hot Tub Time Machine Party!
• Felicity Johnson: for being the “cat herder” and timing gate captain for the races.
• Paul Cotton: for making the wonderful “Agony of Defeat” video that captured the day.
• Apex Mountain Resort: thanks to Alex, all his staff, the Ski Patrol, and the Apex Racing Club for all your assistance in helping our ski and snowboard races to be so successful.
• All our Volunteers who helped make this such a wonderful day!
• Our Sponsors whose generous financial contribution allowed us to offer insanely discounted package prices for both the day and night events. This includes:
o Scott Labs (Title Sponsor),
o ATS Healthcare (Supporting Sponsor),
o Cellar-Tek & Amcor (Presenting Sponsor)
o Vitis-Imports (Sponsor of three categories: Awards Dinner, W**emakers Happy Hour, and Safe Ride Transportation)
o Saver Glass (Media Sponsor)
o Vintage W**e Services (Agony of Defeat Video Sponsor)
o Diam Closures (Hot Tub Time Machine Sponsor),
o Nadalie Barrels (Trophy & Prize Sponsor)
o Enartis Oenology Products (T-Shirt Sponsor)
o Westland Insurance (Lunch Sponsor)
o Splash Communications (Marketing)
o Okanagan W**e Club (Race Sponsor)
o Vinequest (Event promoter)
o Apex Mountain (Host Venue for daytime activities)
o Penticton Lakeside (Host Venue for evening activities)

SAVE THE DATE!
The 19th Annual W**emakers Cup will be taking place on the weekend of Feb. 20, 2027, in the Okanagan. So, mark Feb. 20, 2027, in your calendar NOW! You will not want to miss all the fun next year!

Hope to see you there!

Charlie Baessler, Glenn Fawcett & Christa Skimmings
Organizers, the 17th Annual Scott Labs W**emakers Cup

You are free to use any of the photos on this post so long as you tag then with
**emakersCup **emakersCup
Be sure to give photo credit. All photos by Sandy Steck of Sandy Steck Photography

03/04/2026

Today we would to give special recognition to Christa Skimmings, the gal who makes this W**emakers Cup really happen. Christa wears many hats for the W**emakers Cup during in the year including Event Manager, Marketing Coordinator, Volunteer Coordinator and....well, pretty much everything else. We should probably just call her our "Supreme Commander" for this event. This is all as a volunteer- nobody at W**emakers Cup is gettgin paid anything to do what they do for this not-for-profit gig. Christa brings so much energy, passion, skills and organizational skills to the table- it is scary! Not to mention, she also has a "Day Job" as the Tasting Room Manager at
Burrowing Owl Estate W**ery. So if you have enjoyed yourself at a W**emakers Cup over the last few years, you have Christa Skimmings to thank. Please join us in thanking Christa for everything she does to keep making this weekend epic!
(PS. Christa also drags along her husband Craig Skimmings and their kids to be big time volunteers each year as well).

03/02/2026

Hot off of the presses: the "Agony of Defeat" video for the W**emakers Cup 2026, produced and shot by Paul Cotton.

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