Wine sets Canadian record

A barrel of Nota Bene wine from the Black Hills Estate Winery -- an Okanagan winery partly owned by Calgarians -- has been sold for a record $19,000.

The wine was sold to an anonymous bidder at the Going Once, Going Twice wine auction in Penticton on Oct. 4.

The amount paid is a Canadian record, according to renowned wine expert and author John Schreiner.

Twenty years ago, even 10, no one could have conceived of this price for a barrel of B.C. wine," says Schreiner in a press release.

The auction raised $58,000 for the Oenology and Viticulture program at Okanagan College.

One barrel of wine is the equivalent of 25 cases (about 300 bottles) of wine.

Check out blackhillswinery.com for more information.

Black Hills Winery is owned by Vinequest Wine Partners Ltd.; about 60 per cent of the company's 265 partners are from Calgary. Other partners include Hollywood actor Jason Priestley.