Overview
The Okanagan valley stretches 160 km (99 miles) north from the Canada-US border. Geographically it is on the same latitude with the northerly French appellation of Champagne and the Rhine in Germany. You would think this makes it a cool climate wine area which it is in the north part of the valley. However in the south around Osoyoos it is actually the northern part of the Sonoran desert. It can get very hot and dry down here, therefore irrigation is required. The lakes and mountains act as heat sinks which helps extend its season and moderates some of the heat in summer.
Below are the main areas in the Okanagan valley plus an adjacent valley called the Similkameen. If you’re wondering who came up with these odd names, you can thank the First Nations people who still live in parts of the valley. In fact they are part owners and operators of a world class winery called Nk’Mip.
From North to South
- Kelowna/Lake Country – this is definitely cool climate terrior. There is some stunning Reisling grown up here. Tip – you can find some great red wines at wineries from this area, but they are all from grapes grown in the southern part of the valley.
- Peachland/Summerland – This area lies between the cool north and the warm south. Some producers are able to squeeze out some very nice wines, including reds.
- Naramata Bench – has some stunning wines. The bench above the lake gets great late day sun and the moderating effects from the water. They produce both excellent whites and reds and of course rose. This area lies just north of the city of Penticton.
- Skaha Bench – this is the smallest sub-region. It is just south of Penticton. You are starting to get into some heat loving red grapes here.
- Okanagan Falls – the main area sits up on top of a mountain that was sheered off by ice-age glaciers. Similar to the Naramata both reds and whites perform very well here.
- Oliver – is a town in the heart of wine and fruit country. There are wineries surrounding the town. We are really getting into the heat now.
- Golden Mile Bench – lies between Oliver and Osoyoos on the West side of the valley. This is one of the top 3 areas in the Okanagan in my estimation.
- Black Sage Bench – lies between Oliver and Osoyoos on the East side of the valley. This is another one of the top 3 areas in the Okanagan in my estimation.
- Osoyoos – is the southern most town in the valley just 3.6km north of the US border. This is the hottest area in the valley which you can tell from the desert flora like antelope brush and wild sage.
- Similkameen Valley – is the next valley to the west of the Okanagan, near Cawston. This is also a hot area. Because of some unique terrior, wineries in the Okanagan own some vineyards in this region. This is a younger wine growing region and I think some of these wineries are still figuring out how to optimize their operation, but a few have.
Note: Bold type indicates the four official sub-regions (basically appellations)
Home Base
My recommendation for where to stay is based on its access to the wine areas and availability of quality accommodations. Proximity to restaurants is not a major criteria; we prefer to have lunch at a winery to break-up the tasting and get some more food in our stomachs; we then have a small dinner back at our accommodations.
Our preferred home base is Spirit Ridge (a Hyatt property) in Osoyoos. It’s a wonderful spot with vineyards in front, a great view of the lake and two swimming pools. This is also the location of the Nk’Mip winery. Osoyoos is a small town with a lake on both the North and South side of town, it has that small town vibe. Osoyoos gives you access to many of the best wineries in the Okanagan, with the best access to Oliver, Osoyoos, Golden Mile, Black Sage and the Similkameen.
My second pick for a place to stay is Penticton. It is a small city with a lake on both the north and south sides of town. It will have more amenities and options for accommodations and eating. Penticton is a great base with the Naramata butting up against the city on the North-East side. Summerland is only 15minutes on the north-west side of town. On the south side Skaha is very close and Okanagan Falls is only 20 minutes away. Another advantage of staying in Penticton is the seven breweries in town, in the event you are traveling with beer drinkers.
Kelowna is the biggest city in the Okanagan. It has a population of 130,000 which doesn’t seem that large, but the problem is there is only one main road through town so traffic feels like a big city. The other issue as I mentioned above is the cool climate, so you should like white wine. There is some successful pinot noir grown up here, but you have probably heard it called the “heatbreak” grape due to its temperamental nature.
Note that Kelowna and Penticton both have airports.
Wine Touring
It is difficult to recommend specific wines and wineries for two main reasons:
- Vintage – like Europe vintage plays a significant role due mainly to weather. However forest fires have also been an issue in the past. I will add the last few years have been quite good, I’ll let the scientists debate if this is due to global warming.
- Young Industry – wine has been made in the valley for over a hundred years, but up until the 1980’s it was mainly jug wine. The first serious attempt to make real wine started with Hybrids designed for cool climates. Vinifera vines first got their start in 1975 and were proven successful so that in 1988 growers were incented to replace their hybrid vines with vinifera. Europe has had centuries to figure out what grapes grow best in which areas. The Okanagan growers have only had 30 years so far. There is a lot of change that still happens in the industry. One trend is for growers to decide they want to start a winery using the vineyards used to sell grapes to other wineries. As a result new wineries are opening all the time. Many of them are not that great initially, but most figure it out eventually. The other phenomenon is experimentation with grape varieties new to the Okanagan. While some varieties are well established there is still some pioneers trying new things. Moon Curser in Osoyoos is a prime example trying their hand at Tannat (moderate success) and Touriga National (fantastic).
I will let you know some of our favorite wineries here. Down the road I will try to do a vintage report to let you know which wineries to focus on.
- Kelowna – if you like Riesling with bracing acidity but with just enough sugar to bring forward the fruit then I highly recommend Tantalus
- Summerland – the Israeli owners of Silk Scarf researched the world to build their winery about ten years ago and picked the Okanagan. They do a bang-up job of everything but we love their rose.
- Naramata – It is very difficult to pick just one winery here as there are so many excellent ones. I’ll go with Howling Bluff, it is consistently great, producing one of the best white Bordeaux’s anywhere in the world, along with great Pinot Noir, red Bordeaux and rose. Luke the owner wears his heart and winemaking on his sleeve. Honorable mentions go to Van Weston and Deep Roots for reds, La Frenze for white and Three Sisters for their rose. There are some wonderful winery restaurants on the bench such as Lake Breeze, Hillside and Poplar Grove. Another neat option is the Upper Bench winery that makes one of our favorite Chardonnay’s and some very nice cheese.
4. Skaha – is the smallest sub-appellation with only 5 wineries. The winner here is without a doubt Painted Rock. This is a serious operation winning many awards including a wine of the year award from Decanter magazine. Red, Red and more Red.
5. Okanagan Falls – is another tough area to pick a favorite, so I won’t. You will surely find something tasty at one of these three: Stag’s Hollow, Noble Ridge and Liquidity. Liquidity has a world class winery building with a world class restaurant.
6. Oliver – this area is a bit of a catch all. The best wineries near Oliver sit on the Golden mile bench or the Black Sage bench. I would pick Jackson-Triggs as the best winery in this area. It is a large operation but maintains quality and innovation by maintaining separate teams for each of their four labels. River Stone is a small winery offering a more intimate visit and some nice wines.
7. Golden Mile Bench – was the first sub-appellation in the Okanagan. Just a few notes on the map below. All the wineries on the Golden Mile are great (I would not hesitate to visit any of them) and grow primarily French vitus vinifera, with the exception of Gehringer Brothers which focuses more on German grapes and ice wine. Fairview cellars is off the beaten path and you need to head towards the Fairview golf course, Bill the owner is a bit of a maverick who produces some great big reds. Cassini is missing from the map. I am not sure if Intersection and Second Chapter are officially part of the appellation but are in the area and are worth a visit as well. Rustico is now called Rust, and the new owners have dramatically improved the quality of their wines. The best restaurant South of Oliver is Miradoro at Tinhorn Creek, we eat here every visit. Hester Creek has a great restaurant as well.
8. Black Sage Bench – like the Golden Mile all the wineries here are great but I find Burrowing Owl and Dessert Hills are the most consistent and have lovely restaurants. A word of caution, avoid Silver Sage if you like wine, however if you like a sweet beverage made with grapes and the possible addition of chilies (yes the hot little peppers) and a tasting room filled with stagettes then be my guest.
9. Osoyoos – like Oliver is a catch-all of the wineries around Osoyoos that are not part of the other areas/sub-appellations. The viticulture experts determined that the Golden Mile ends at Rust, so wineries on the same side of the valley but further South fall into the Osoyoos area. My favorites are:
Maverick – probably the best Sauvignon Blanc in BC, Rubeus is a solid Syrah based blend
Nk’Mip – has a winner every year. They have two lines with the QWAM QWMT being the premium label, be sure to try these. Past winners have been Syrah, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Chardonnay. The neighboring Spirit Ridge resort has a restaurant.
Moon Cursor – is not afraid to experiment with some heat loving grapes. I have never been a fan of their Tannat but their Touriga Nacional is a revelation, its not as big as one from Portugal but is big enough and super tasty winning all kinds of awards. Lots of other reds and whites.
Our favorite winery restaurant in this area is at Kismet, it is East Indian food and great.
10. Similkameen Valley – is accessed by taking Highway 3 west towards Keremeos and Cawston.
At the south end of the valley is a collection of wineries with Seven Stones being the most established and Vanessa (not on the map – just North of Seven Stones on the East side of the road) being the newest and showing promise. In Cawston Orofino is the best and in Keremeos I would recommend Clos du Soliel and Corcelettes. I was never a cider fan until I had Twisted Hills cider. They grow apples specifically cultivated for cider so more acid and less sugar. Their tasting room is a geodesic dome along highway 3 in Cawston.
