10 Best Okanagan Wineries For Tasting Sessions
Looking to find the best Okanagan Wineries? It’s often surprising to people that Canada can produce such great wine. Considering the blustery winters, it’s surprising that anywhere in this region of the world even has the climate to grow grapes, but it does, and the results are DELICIOUS. Within the Okanagan Valley, there are 185 wineries, and over 9000 acres of grapevines planted to create wine. This region is known for its wine far and wide with over 1,000,000 tourists flocking to the valley every year to sample the wines on offer. Believe it or not, the Okanagan Valley receives more sun than the Napa Valley during July and August. Read on to find out which wineries make the best wine in the region.
Where Is The Okanagan Valley?
The Okanagan valley is located in the south of British Columbia in Canada. The valley is around 200km north of the American border and is one of the warmest spots in Canada. Alongside wine, the Okanagan Valley also produces lots of fruit. There are thirteen towns within the Okanagan Valley, including Osoyoos, Kelowna, and Penticton.
When Is Okanagan Wine Season?
Grapes are grown for wine between April and October in the Okanagan Valley, but you’ll be pleased to know that most of the best Okanagan wineries are open year-round for wine tasting sessions. If you want to catch the harvesting season, head to Kelowna between August and October. There are four Okanagan wine festivals throughout the year, one every season. The first festival of the year happens in May, the summer festival runs through August, the following festival happens fully into the harvesting, at the end of September, and the winter festival happens in January.
Best Okanagan Grapes For Wine?
There are over 60 different varieties of grapes that grow in the Okanagan Valley, which include some of the most famous and universally enjoyed, such as Merlot, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay.
Best Wines From The Okanagan Valley
The Okanagan Valley is known for dry varieties of both red and white wines, such as Chardonnay. There is an annual awards ceremony to determine the best wine in all of BC. You can see all of the 2021 winners here. Here are some of the wines that made the cut as the best wines in the Okanagan Valley:
Arrowleaf Cellars – 2019 Riesling
Chain Reaction Winery – 2019 Tailwind Pinot Gris
Kismet Estate Winery – 2018 Cabernet Franc Reserve
Liquidity Wines – 2020 Rosé
Mission Hill Family Estate – 2019 Perpetua
SpearHead Winery – 2019 Pinot Noir Saddle Block
Tantalus Vineyards – 2018 Chardonnay
Best Okanagan Wineries
The Okanagan Valley is over 200km long and 20km wide, so if you’re looking for the best Okanagan wineries, we suggest spending a few days in the region to really soak up all of the tasty wines on offer. Because it’s so large, we’ve split the wineries by regions.
Best Wineries In Kelowna
Tantalus Vineyards
If you’ve visited the Okanagan Valley before, you might know the Tantalus Vineyards as the previously named Pioneer Vineyards. This vineyard is located in the southeast corner of Kelowna and grows all of its grapes sustainably. Your wine tasting experience is free if you make a purchase.
Best wines: Riesling, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay
The Vibrant Vine
Rated the top Kelowna winery on TripAdvisor, you’ll want to make a stop off at The Vibrant Vine along your route. Also in the southeast of Kelowna, there are nine tasting bars as well as two lounges to enjoy tasting the wines on offer. If that’s not enough, The Vibrant Vine hosts over a hundred events in the summer, making it one of the best Okanagan wineries, both for sampling wines, but also for enjoying the atmosphere, and frequent events.
Best wines: The award-winning Whoops White Wine/ Merlot
Best Wineries In Peachland/Summerland
Fitzpatrick Family Vineyards
Between Peachland and Summerland sits the Fitzpatrick Family Vineyards, which is a must-see on your tour of the best Okanagan wineries, due to its tranquil setting on Okanagan Lake. These vineyards are also home to a delicious restaurant so make sure you time your stop to coincide with lunchtime.
Best wines: Chardonnay, Riesling
8th Generation Vineyard
8th Generation Vineyard is the place to stop for white and sparkling wine lovers. If you are someone who chooses Prosecco over Pinot, this is where you'll find the closest thing to it within the Okanagan Valley. You can also become a member of their wine club and be shipped your favorite wine three times a year.
Best wines: Riesling, Sparkling Wine
Best Wineries In Penticton
Ruby Blues Winery
Ruby Blues Winery sets itself apart from other wineries in the region by following a less traditional theme, playing rock music, and featuring art from local artists. There is also the iconic Ruby Blues camper van as an extra nod to their funky (their word, not ours) atmosphere. The bottles of wine themselves also feature fun artwork.
Best wines: Pinot Gris, Chardonnay
Laughing Stock Vineyards
Laughing Stock Vineyards is an award-winning vineyard in Penticton. The vineyard is only open to the public during the spring and summer months, but if you're in the area during that season, it's worth stopping by. It’s worth noting that you do need to book in advance for a tasting session. The tasting experiences are very personal and don’t feel rushed.
Best wines: The award-winning ‘Portfolio’ Red
Best Wineries In The Naramata Bench
Serendipity Winery & Bistro
The Serendipity Winery & Bistro is like something out of an Italian dream. Beautiful outdoor pagodas that look out over vast vineyards make for a wonderful backdrop to any wine tasting session. On top of this, the bistro produces mouth-watering food that compliments the wines perfectly.
Best wines: Viognier, Serenata
Elephant Island Winery
This is an excellent spot for a different style of wine tasting, with the Elephant Island Winery producing delicious fruit wines, such as blackcurrant, and cherry. The dessert wines are also particularly good.
Best wines: Stellaport
Best Wineries in Osoyoos/Oliver
Road 13 Vineyard
If you want to feel particularly fancy whilst sipping your wine, you can’t get much better than the Road 13 Vineyard, with its English castle feel. The vineyard does themed tasting experiences, such as the new Heavyweight Champion Experience. All of the wine tasting is hungry work, and you can’t leave the Road 13 vineyard without trying a charcuterie board. In 2018, it won the title of #1 Winery in Canada.
Best wines: Chenin-Blanc
Nostalgia Wines
Until now, you may have heard of the Oliver Twist Estate Winery, which has recently changed names and describes itself as a ‘nostalgia boutique winery’. If supporting local is important to you, there’s no winery more deserving of your support than this one. The woman behind the Oliver Twist Estate makes the wine herself, alongside running the winery. Think that’s impressive? She’s also a single mother and employs all female staff. Wine growing is a very male-dominated business, with a study of Californian vineyards showing that just 4-12% of winemakers are female, which shows the need for vineyards like this that give women more opportunities.
Best wines: Kerner, Viognier
Final Thoughts
The Okanagan Valley has endless wine tasting opportunities at its many wineries and vineyards. On top of this, if you’re lucky to visit any of the best Okanagan wineries that have views of Lake Okanagan, the setting will be magical, and the perfect place to put your feet up and relax while sipping on a few glasses of delicious, sweet wine.
From personal experience, I can assure you that spending a few days (or more if you can) in this region, checking out the wineries with a group of girlfriends makes a rejuvenating getaway! If you’re looking for more ideas or a group of ladies who would love an Okanagan adventure, consider joining our community, a hub for female travelers, which connects women around the globe to share stories, photos, and experiences.