Osoyoos winemaker Severine Pinte (left) was the top scoring celebrity competitor at the first Tasting Games event in Oliver on Tuesday. (Contributed photo)

Osoyoos winemaker Severine Pinte can now say her palate is award-winning.

Pinte, a winmaker at La Stella and Le Vieux Pin wineries, along with wine party host Tanja Martell, took home the divisional trophies at the first Tasting Games event in Oliver on Tuesday.

Pinte was the top scoring celebrity competitor on stage. She tasted blind, head-to-head with David Paterson, general manager and winemaker and Tantalus, as well as Wes Hunter, the beverage manager from Raudz Creative Concepts.

“It was a real team effort for the Tasting Games celebrity competitors: David, Wes and I,” Pinte said.

“We didn’t really compete with each other; we all worked together to get the answers. The difference in the end were small details like vintage and price points.”

The three celebrity wine pros tasted five mystery wines, decoding at the wine’s country, grape variety, age and other details. They were awarded points based on accurate guesses.

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At the same, the audience tasted the same wines blind and submitted their answers based on the same criteria. At the end of the night, the top scoring audience winner, Tanja Martell, also took home a trophy.

“I was stunned when they announced my name,” said Martell, who is the co-founder of Red Lips Wine Sips, a custom wine experience provider based out of Kelowna.

“I’ve always had confidence in my palate, but to achieve top score in the sport of wine tasting amongst my wine industry peers is phenomenal.”

As a winemaker, tasting international wines is an essential part of the job, Pinte said.

“Our taste buds can get used to a simple profile. Our brains can get used to one path, and tasting wine from around the world keeps us on our toes and keeping us in the right the direction.”

Both Pinte and Martell will be competing on stage at the Tasting Games Finale (May 21), along with the celebrity and audience winners from the upcoming Kelowna (May 7) and Penticton (May 14) divisional events.

The ultimate Tasting Games winner will be awarded the “Best Wine Taster in B.C.” trophy.

Tickets are still available for the Kelowna and Penticton events at TastingGames.ca.

Celebrity contender Severine Pinte and top-scoring audience competitor Tanja Martell move on to the Tasting Games Finale. (Contributed photo)