Winemakers Cup

06/16/2026

Dear fellow peers in the BC Wine 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 Winemaker at Black Hills Estate Winery 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 wine. He was a frequent participant in the Winemakers Cup.
He has recently been based in the Nova Scotia and Niagara wine regions making wine.
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

Winemakers Cup was an absolute hit, and we can't wait for next year (mark your calendars - Feb. 21, 2027!)
One of our sponsors, Okanagan Wine 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 Wine Collective. What they've built for BC wineries 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 [email protected]
Thanks,
Your Friends at the Winemakers Cup

03/09/2026

Today we would like to acknowledge the incredible contributions made by Charlie Baessler, the President of the Winemakers Cup. Charlie has been both a tireless ambassador for this Wine 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 Winemakers 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 Winemakers Cup that naturally draws volunteers, participants, spectators and sponsors. The “Social Fabric” of the Winemakers 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 Winery 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 Winemakers Cup.
Please share your thoughts and love for all the volunteer time this wonderful family has put towards this event!
Your friends at the Winemakers Cup

03/07/2026

Should this much fun be illegal?
The B.C. Wine Industry Soiree on Saturday Feb.28 at the Penticton Lakeside Resort was capped off by a legendary after-party. Called the “Après Disco- a wine-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 wine 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 wineries came out for the evening component of the 18th Annual Scott Labs Winemakers 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 Winemakers Cup

You are free to use any of the photos on this post so long as you tag then with

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. Wine 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 wineries came out for the evening components of the 18th Annual Scott Labs Winemakers Cup. The evening started off with a Winemakers Happy Hour where patrons got to hobnob with the Winemakers from 27 different BC wineries 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 wine-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 Wine Industry Soiree & the Winemakers 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 Winery Sponsors: who provided the wine for the Happy Hour and Dinner: including
8th Generation, Observatory Wines, Hester Creek, Andrew Peller Wineries, Burrowing Owl Vineyards, Bottega Wine Studio, Tantalus Winery, Bartier Brothers, Da Silva Vineyards and Winery, Fairview Cellars, Moon Curser, Phantom Creek Winery, Stags Hollow, Ruby Blues, Spearhead winery, Corcelettes Estate Winery, Tinhorn Creek Winery, Black Hills Estate Winery, Bench 1775, Gneiss Wines, Osoyoos Larose, Red Bird Brewery, Vice & Virtue Brewery, Black Market Wines, Laughing Stock Vineyards, Summerhill Pyramid Winery and Seven Stones Winery
• The Participants- all those people working in the BC Wine Industry who supported this event and came out and became part of the fun. Several “repeat offenders” who have been to the BC Wine 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 Wine 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 Winemakers Cup
• The Penticton Lakeside Resort: the host venue for the BC Wine Industry Soiree!
• All our Volunteers for the Winemakers 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, Winemakers Happy Hour, and Safe Ride Transportation)
o Saver Glass (Media Sponsor)
o Vintage Wine 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 Wine 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 Winemakers Cup, for his great support, insight and leadership who helped make this an enormous success during tough economic times for the Wine Industry.
• Glenn Fawcett, Founder of the Winemakers Cup. He has been a passionate ambassador this event for 18 years now.

SAVE THE DATE!
The 19th Annual Winemakers 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 Winemakers Cup

You are free to use any of the photos on this post so long as you tag then with

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 wineries competed last weekend during the ski & snowboard races for the 18th Annual Scott Labs Winemakers 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 Winemakers 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 Wine Industry folks were crowned the champions of the 2026 Winemakers Cup.
TOP U18 Skiers:
• U18 Boys:
o First place: Aidan Durisek of Okanagan Wine Lab
o Second place: Levi Blais of Duncan Vineyards
• U 18 Girls
o First Place: Ariana Durisek of Okanagan Wine Lab
o Second Place : Addison Blais, Duncan Vineyards
TOP 60+ Racers:
• First place- Grame Duncan from Duncan Vineyard
• 2nd place- Allan Spahr- La Stella Winery
• Third place- Stephen Duke- Summerhill Winery
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 Winery
Best Winery Team (Top 3 aggregate times per winery team competing)
• Third place: Roche Winery
• Second place: Burrowing Owl Winery
• First place: Corcellete’s
• Burrowing Owl Winery
Ladies Top Snowboarder:
• Third place Female- Jill Hart, Okanagan Wine Club
• Second place Female – Jennifer Tocher from Spearhead Winery
• 1st place Female – Jamie Lewis, Enartis
Men’s Top Snowboarder:
• Third place Male – Blair Gillingham, Observatory Winery
• Second place Male – Matt Wenzel, Vagabond Winery
• 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 Winery
• First place Female - Jamie Park from Burrowing Owl Winery
Male Top Skiers:
• Third place Male – Alexander Becker from Saver Glass
• Second place Male- Steven McNolty from Burrowing Owl Winery
• First place Male – Benson Hammond from Corcelletes

Winner of the Overall Winemakers Cup for 2026
• Jamie Park from Burrowing Owl Winery won the top overall time in the Winemakers Cup for the Firth year in a row. An unprecedented feat in the history of the Winemakers 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 Winemakers 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 Winemakers Cup, for his great support, insight and leadership who helped make this an enormous success during tough economic times for the Wine Industry.
• Sandy Steck who took these amazing day and night photos for the Winemakers 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, Winemakers Happy Hour, and Safe Ride Transportation)
o Saver Glass (Media Sponsor)
o Vintage Wine 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 Wine 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 Winemakers 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 Winemakers Cup

You are free to use any of the photos on this post so long as you tag then with

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 Winemakers Cup really happen. Christa wears many hats for the Winemakers 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 Winemakers 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 Winery. So if you have enjoyed yourself at a Winemakers 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 Winemakers Cup 2026, produced and shot by Paul Cotton.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

03/02/2026

.marine checking out the coffee ☕️

03/01/2026

Huge thanks to everyone who volunteered or participated in the 18th Annual Winemakers Cup! Keep tagging Winemakers Cup with all your photos.