The Okanagan area of BC is famous for its fruit (think Okanagan cherries – so delish!) and it’s also become famous in more recent years for its wine. In fact, there are so many wineries in the Okanagan, it’s completely overwhelming!
All of those black dots are wineries!
My mom informed me that one of her magazines contained a Family Fun Guide and inside, it suggested families “do a winery tour in the Okanagan.” I can tell you that Ella would recommend otherwise, but for all of her complaining, she made out okay with complimentary crackers and juice.
Here is a brief synopsis of our Okanagan winery tour:
Kelowna:
- Mission Hill – seemed to be the mack-daddy of wineries, with beautifully groomed grounds (remember that amphitheatre that Ella was rolling down?), fabulous views, a high-end restaurant, and a fancy-schmancy tasting room/gift store. Tastings were $8 (the most expensive we encountered), with $4 refunded if you purchased two bottles. I liked their Pinot Blanc and we both liked the Reserve Shiraz.
Tasting at Mission Hill
- St. Hubertus – The only winery we visited in Kelowna that didn’t charge for tastings! (And, might I add, their gift store items were considerably cheaper than other wineries.) I really liked all of the white wines we tried here, especially the Pinot Blanc. We also enjoyed the Gamay Noir.
- St. Hubertus Winery
Summerland:
- Sumac Ridge – We stopped here on our way into Summerland and enjoyed free tastings. We liked their sparkling wines and their Black Sage Vineyard Pipe (port-style wine). We also purchased a couple of bottles of their Ridge Red, which we were told is only available at the winery. I think it was $13.99 (which made it one of the cheapest bottles of wine available in the Okanagan) and it was a really easy-drinking wine, made from a blend of zinfandel and pinot noir grapes.
Sumac Ridge Winery
- Dirty Laundry – Overall, this was our very favourite winery. It’s named after a laundry business in Summerland in the late 1800’s, that expanded into a brothel and gambling spot, hence “Dirty” Laundry. They have a theme going, and it starts in the parking lot, and continues onto the outdoor patio and into the tasting room/gift shop. Tastings were free and we loved all of their white wines (except the chardonnay). The gewürztraminers were especially tasty! I would highly recommend a stop at this winery on any Okanagan tour!
- Dirty Laundry parking lot
- Inside the store
- Dirty Laundry Vineyard in Summerland, BC
Naramata:
- Ruby Blues Winery – Friends recommended this winery to us and we were not disappointed. I love red wine, but generally speaking, I find that Canadian wineries produce much better white wine than red. However, the Red Stiletto at Ruby Blues was really quite tasty! The White Stiletto and their Viognier were also very nice.
A funky little winery called Ruby Blues
- Blasted Church – I love the labels on the Blasted Church bottles and we enjoyed their Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, as well as a blended white called Hatfield’s Fuse. The tasting room is a bit small, but tastings were free.
- Awesome label designs at Blasted Church
Osoyoos:
- Road 13 – We’ve tried wines from Road 13 before and really enjoyed Honest John’s Red. Plus, their logo has a tractor on it. Enough said. (As a side note, we would not recommend driving up to this winery with an RV. You may find yourself backing uphill into someone’s driveway to get turned around…)
Good wine and tractors – Peter was in heaven!
Road 13 Winery
- Moon Curser – This winery was just outside of Osoyoos. We loved the labels and enjoyed the wine, but they were lacking in the gift shop department.
- We liked this red wine and the label is great!
We really only sampled a few wineries and there are so many more to explore. But as I type this, I’m sipping on wine from a box, because the bottles we bought in the Okanagan are much too expensive to open in our trailer!
Smoking Brakes 