Canada’s Okanagan Valley Is the Wine Region You Need on Your Radar

Getting There

You can approach the Okanagan Valley from the south, but the flight from Vancouver to Kelowna is a much more scenic way in. Book a seat on the left side of the plane, and you may see four mountain ranges out your window in less than an hour.

From Kelowna, it’s easy to explore the valley from Vernon in the north to Osoyoos near the U.S. border, with plenty of hiking, biking, and tasting along the way.

Vernon and Kelowna

Start just south of Vernon, with a walk through Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park with Ancestral Heartbeat Tours. Indigenous educator Laura Dohla guides you along ponderosa pine-dotted trails overlooking the glacial blue Kalamalka Lake and invites you to take “more time to be able to breathe, and just be able to hear the quiet.”

From a traditional drumming welcome song to the Syilx Okanagan creation story, the tour gives you a sense of place through the oral histories and ancestral stories of the territory. You might even spot a bear.

Head down to Kelowna for a bike ride along the Myra Canyon Trestles, with views of the interior B.C. landscape at every turn. An e-bike from family business Myra Canyon Bicycle Rentals makes it easy to cross more than 18 wooden trestles and pass through two tunnels along the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, a roughly 660-kilometer (410-mile) route that follows a decommissioned railway corridor.

Where to wine: In Kelowna, head to Ailm Estate for a seasonal outdoor tasting with sparkling wine flights and food pairings. The hilltop setting overlooks historic vineyards and Okanagan Lake. Also plan a stop at Summerhill Pyramid Winery, known for its organic wines aged in a pyramid cellar. Book a tasting tour that includes a visit inside the pyramid.

Where to dine: UNESCO recently named Kelowna the first and only City of Gastronomy in Canada, recognizing the city’s commitment to stewarding the land and the region’s rich agricultural landscape around it.

For a taste of that local farm-to-table flavor, book a table at Humo in downtown Kelowna, near the waterfront. The five-course chef’s tasting menu is the best way to try the most innovative locally-sourced dishes coming out of the kitchen.

Across the lake in West Kelowna, start the morning with sweet or savory bannock at the Indigenous-owned Kekuli Cafe, then stop by Paynter’s Fruit Market to stock up on locally grown fruit for the road.

Where to stay: The historic Hotel Eldorado is a Victorian-style inn on Okanagan Lake. Founded in 1926 by the Countess Bubna, this elegant boutique hotel has some spacious waterfront suites with kitchenettes, fireplaces, and giant soaking tubs.

Downstairs, the Lakeside Dining Room serves a farm-to-table menu that names its local producers and has a curated wine list that earned a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.

Start with salty-buttered bread, then order the steelhead with a glass of Quails’ Gate Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay from West Kelowna. Locals call this the wine the “gateway to Chardonnay.”

Summerland

The drive down the western shore of Okanagan Lake to Summerland serves up lake views so striking you might think you’re in New Zealand. On a clear day, the water is a striking blue.

In charming downtown Summerland, stop by True Grain Bakehouse for baked goods made with ancient grains from local organic farms. Todd Laidlaw, who opened the Summerland store in 2012, says, “What we like to say at True Grain is that we connect the farmer to the miller, to the baker, and then to our community.”

He’s proud that “everything we bake traces back to that local organic farm. So we’re really giving you a taste of British Columbia.”

Where to wine:Haywire Winery has a modern tasting room at the organic Switchback Vineyard. Reserve a flight tasting and see their cellar of concrete fermentation tanks.

Co-founder Christine Coletta, known as the “godmother of BC wine” for her contributions to the industry, says, “We have the largest collection of concrete tanks in Canada. And so we’re pretty committed to using concrete.” Coletta says the concrete’s thermal mass heats and cools gently during fermentation, “so everything is very, very gentle and natural.”

Where to dine:Shaughnessy’s Cove is a good pick for a casual dinner, especially if you’re staying next door at the Summerland Waterfront Resort. Share gyoza and coconut shrimp to start, then order a hearty main like fish and chips or fish tacos.

Where to stay:Summerland Waterfront Resort and Spa sits on Okanagan Lake, with a boardwalk along a shoreline marsh, and a dock for paddleboards, kayaks, and motorized boats. The spacious lakeview suites have kitchenettes and fireplaces, and a free laundry room for guests is a welcome perk for longer stays.

Penticton

It’s only a 15-minute drive from Summerland to Penticton, a fun-size town with plenty to explore. Rent an e-bike from Freedom Bike Shop and ask the shop to shuttle you to the Kettle Valley Rail Trail.

The downhill route from Naramata has incredible scenery, and you can cruise right through Little Tunnel and on to Abandoned Rail Brewing Co for lunch. Pair your pizza with an apple slush or a flight of beer, then hop back on the bike shop shuttle after your meal.

Where to wine: Combine wining and dining at the Poplar Grove Winery and restaurant, where Executive Chef Stacy Johnston and Chef de Cuisine Minette Lotz describe their food philosophy as “thoughtful food.” They grow, forage, and source ingredients from local farmers, so the menu changes with each growing season.

“An interesting new-to-me forageable that I started working with this year is rowan berries,” says Lotz. “They’ve been traditionally used in jams and jellies … in the UK and all over Europe for hundreds of years.”

At the restaurant, try their foraged rowan berry preserve on warm holler honey buns, alongside a glass of Poplar Grove Benchmark Brut.

Where to dine: Start your day at Wayne & Freda, a cafe named for the owners’ grandparents who met later in life at an Okanagan care home. Order a breakfast sandwich or bowl with an Okanagan Morning smoothie, and pick up a souvenir hoodie at the neighboring specialty shop.

Where to stay: Penticton is an easy day trip from Summerland, so there’s no need to book a separate hotel if you’re staying at the Summerland Waterfront Resort.

Osoyoos

You’re now almost at the U.S. border, and the landscape changes. Osoyoos is a semi-arid shrub-steppe that locals call a pocket desert. Visit the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre to learn more about “Canada’s only desert” and the living culture of the Osoyoos Indian Band.

Walk the nature trails through the 1,600-acre desert conservation area and see Indigenous structures, including a tule mat teepee, a submerged pit house, and a sweat lodge.

Where to wine: From the cultural center, stroll over to Nk’Mip Cellars, North America’s first Indigenous-owned and operated winery.

Have lunch on the patio, where the vineyard slopes down toward Osoyoos Lake, and order a glass of Storytellers Dreamcatcher, a blend of Riesling, Ehrenfelser, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, and Semillon. “We call it an orchard in a glass,” says Troy Ravndahl, the estate manager. “It’s a very approachable and easy-drinking wine.”

Where to dine: For a standout meal in the Okanagan, reserve a private Chef’s Table experience at Backyard Farm in nearby Oliver, where Chef Chris Van Hooydonk spends the day harvesting ingredients from his farm, then creates a multi-course meal just for your party.

“It’s the ability for me to say, let’s build this trust together,” says Chef Van Hooydonk. “You come in here and let me showcase some of my favorite things and just play.” Bring your own wine, with recommendations from Chef Van Hooydonk, and let the menu be a surprise.

Where to stay: Book a condo suite at Watermark Beach Resort, overlooking Osoyoos Lake. Many suites have full kitchens and in-suite washers and dryers. Spend the afternoon at the hotel’s outdoor pool and jacuzzi, or walk down the beach for a swim in Canada’s warmest lake.

Heading Back

From Osoyoos, it’s only about a two-hour drive back to Kelowna, where you can catch a flight home. Follow Highway 97 north along Lake Okanagan and watch the vineyards and orchards you just toured roll past in reverse.