Okanagan Valley Wineries

The rustic tasting room, with a shaded garden patio outside, offers an intimate setting for sampling tastes of the terrior in varietals and blends that include a gentle gewürztraminer, a crisp rosé, a flinty chardonnay and a smoky cab franc, among others.

Best known for its red Bordeaux-style Nota Bene blend, Black Hills lineup also includes a delicious blend of sauv blanc and semillon, a tasty pinot noir rosé and more. Its Wine Experience Center offers a swanky modern setting for sampling the entire lineup, with light bites and patio views overlooking the valley.

This opulent Black Sage Bench winery offers a refined setting to relax and sample food-friendly wines, which include a high-acid pinot gris, complex merlots and the flagship Athene, a rich blend of cab sauv and syrah. Set within a 140-acre vineyard, the winery is also home to a 10-room inn and full-service restaurant.

Set on a 650-acre organic farm at the base of McIntyre Bluff, one of the region’s signature hiking destinations, Covert Farms is well known for its commitment to sustainable growing practices. Visitors can sample wines on a shaded patio, with cheese and charcuterie plates, or tour the farm in the owners' signature vehicle, a restored 1952 Mercury pickup truck. Or both.

This venture established by the late Harry McWatters, a local wine industry pioneer who helped establish BC's Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA), and his family focuses on easy-drinking still and sparkling wines at approachable price points. The winery shares space with its sister establishment TIME Winery & Kitchen, which offers a tasting bar and a full-service restaurant, in downtown Penticton. Pssst: try the frizzante-style gewürztraminer.

Set on the grounds of a revered former orchard on Lake Okanagan's west shore, Fitzpatrick specializes in traditional method sparkling wines and cool climate still wines. The latter include pinot noir, pinot blanc, gewürztraminer and chardonnay. The onsite bistro offers delicious wine-friendly bites and entrées, with patio seating offering incredible views across the lake.

In Oliver, Hester Creek crafts a wide range of memorable wines, with its pinot blanc and Character White, a blend of pinot gris and gewürztraminer, each leaving a notably pleasing, lingering finish. The Tuscan-inspired design of the tasting room, restaurant and villas offers inviting reasons to linger.

Established by successful young entrepreneurs Trent and Rhea Kitsch, this East Kelowna winery offers a fresh, youthful approach to the wine-tasting experience. The tasting room is set in the garage of the 15,000-square-foot house that Kitsch's construction company built for his parents, after he sold his successful underwear company. The wines include pinot noir and well-crafted white varietals. Hip-hop in the tasting room and a patio and lawn overlooking downtown Kelowna and Okanagan Lake make it feel like a house party—in a really cool house.

From the wines to the grounds to the staff, everything about Mission Hill is first class. The winery’s design, by renowned Seattle architect Tom Kundig, tastefully blends classical and modern elements, and concerts in the amphitheater keep things fun. The wine is serious business, with bottlings crafted to reflect site-specific characteristics of vineyards in all five Okanagan Valley sub-regions.

Set on the grounds of Spirit Ridge resort, which stretches up a hillside on the east shore of Lake Osoyoos, the modern, state-of-the-art winery offers tours and tastings, plus dining in its on-site bistro. Sunny days are perfect for afternoons on the lawn, nibbling on locally made cheeses and locally cured charcuterie. The winery's offerings range from red and white Bordeaux- and Rhône-style varietals to inventive blends such as its Dreamcatcher, a bright melange of riesling, sauv blanc, and ehrenfeiser.

The wines reflect the region’s cool growing conditions, with the acid levels in the whites and tannins in the reds making them noticeably better with food than on their own. All this provides a great reason to reserve a table in the on-site restaurant, which is open for lunch, dinner and afternoon apps.

Whether you believe in the power of pyramids or just want to check out a cool venue with a New Age-y vibe (pictured above), this is the spot for you. The fun-to-drink wines, produced through organic and biodynamic processes, are often overshadowed by the on-site pyramid cellar, which doubles as an event venue for full-moon parties, solstice celebrations and other gatherings. Stick around for a bite or a meal at the on-site Summerhill Organic Bistro.

This innovative venture by the late BC wine industry pioneer Harry McWatters and his family brings the local bounty together with urban revitalization in downtown Penticton. The winery is set inside renovated motive theater, with a tasting bar and full-service restaurant up front. Tasting options include a variety of flights, with or without food pairings, and a tour that includes a barrel tasting.