For more than four decades the wine growers of Kelowna, Penticton and Peachland have been refining their products and garnering an array of awards. Savor a chardonnay or surprise your palate with an ice wine of apple origin in British Columbia’s premier wine growing region, the Okanagan Valley.
Today you can taste, sample, lunch or dine your way through more than three dozen wineries. Wine festivals occur in January, early May and late October.
Kelowna, the largest city in the region, has all the amenities needed to create a perfect week or weekend break with sandy beaches, resident symphony and theatre companies, shopping, spas, hiking and mountain biking trails, world class resorts, fine dining, and, of course, wineries.
The following wineries in the Okanagan welcome visitors:
- Summerhill Estate Winery (www.summerhill.bc.ca). A four-story replica of the Great Pyramid of Cheops is used to age and store wine. Summerhill specializes in ice and sparkling wines.
- Mission Hill Family Estate (www.missionhillwinery.com) this winery architecture has elements of a monastery and Tuscan village. An outdoor amphitheatre hosts musical and theatrical events in summer. The range of wines available is impressive.
- Sumac Ridge Estate Winery (www.sumacridge.com) is famous for its Cellar Door Bistro featuring food created from organic ingredients.
- Kelowna Land and Orchard Company (www.k-l-o.com) one of the region’s largest orchards produces an ice cider that is very smooth and similar to brandy.
- Gray Monk Estate Cellars (www.graymonk.com) the winery is notable for the German-style vintner’s dinner it offers during the wine festivals.
- Quail’s Gate Estate Winery (www.quailsgate.com). The patio restaurant at this winery is a favorite with locals for lunch and dinner. After your meal you can purchase wines from the nineteenth century log-cabin store.
