Summer Sipping at the Source is Best

You know summer is here because you’ve already received emails or telephone messages saying that your relatives and long lost friends from out of province are coming for a visit! What to do and where to take them while they’re in town? BC’s wineries offer the visitor, and resident alike, a chance to enjoy the scenery and the wonderful bounty of BC’s vineyards. If you know where you want to go then go online and visit www.winebc.com/winetouritinerary.php.

Here, the BC Wine Institute has assembled sixteen preplanned itineraries that break British Columbias’s wine regions down into bite-sized chunks. Each itinerary provides you with a brief regional overview, highlights of the wineries you’ll visit, offers exact driving directions and recommended tour times. So you spend more time enjoying the views, the vineyards and most importantly, the wines - and a bit less time wrestling with a map. To start you just select the region you’d like to visit. Or explore them all if you’re not sure. When you’re done, you print the itinerary and bring it with you on your trip.

Winery Guesthouses and Bed & Breakfasts:
If you’d like to plan your own tour with picnics or restaurant visits and even overnight stays then the BC Wine Institute’s website listing the premium VQA wineries can help. By visiting www.winebc.com/wineries.php you can decide your travel direction and which wineries you visit along the way. If you need a place to stay, then visit family, and pocketbook, -friendly Crowsnest Vineyards while in the Similkameen Valley with 7 recently completed guestrooms. Burrowing Owl in the Southern Okanagan offers more luxurious accommodations with their guestrooms and Nk’Mip Winery with its neighbouring Spirit Ridge Resort offers rooms and condos with a multitude of amenities for overnight visitors. Hester Creek Estate Winery also in the South Okanagan has 5 new Tuscan-inspired villas with outdoor patios to enjoy a late night glass of wine, or an early breakfast, along with the gorgeous views from the famed golden mile. Therapy Vineyards has a Bed & Breafast in Naramata along with a hottub with a spectacular view of neighbouring vineyards and Lake Okanagan. If you’re planning a Gulf Island visit then definitely check out Salt Spring Winery’s Bed & Breakfast, where you can enjoy the vineyards and view, along with the wine. Sounds heavenly!

Winery Restaurants
If you’re interested in visiting a restaurant to impress your friends and palates then try one (or many of) the following:

• Grapevine Restaurant at Gray Monk Estate Winery in Okanagan Centre
• Vineyard Terrace Restaurant at CedarCreek Family Estate Winery in Kelowna
• Sunset Bistro at Summerhill Pyramid Winery in Kelowna
• Old Vines Restaurant at Quails’ Gate Estate Winery, Westside Kelowna
• The Terrace at Mission Hill Family Estate Winery, Westside Kelowna
• Cellar Door Bistro at Sumac Ridge Estate Winery in Summerland
• Vine-Yard restaurant at Hainle Vineyards & Deep Creek Estate Winery in Peachland
• The Patio at Lake Breeze Vineyards in Naramata
• The Patio at Hawthorne Mountain Vineyards in Okanagan Falls
• The Sonora Room at Burrowing Owl Estate Winery
• The Patio at Nk’Mip Cellars in Osoyoos
• Crowsnest Gasthaus at Crowsnest Vineyards in Cawston
• The Bistro at Saturna Island Family Estate Winery on Saturna Island

Picnic Anyone?
Another option while wine touring is to picnic. Many of BC’s best wineries have picnic licenses, allowing you to enjoy your recent purchase of the house white or rosé with a limited selection of cheeses and breads sold at the winery, or with your favourite sandwich packed in your cooler. Back in vogue, picnicking with friends and family is a great way to enjoy each other’s company and the marvelous views of our beautiful province as well as a glass of wine of what the house has to offer:

• Granite Creek Estate Winery in Tappen
• Arrowleaf Cellars in Okanagan Centre
• St. Hubertus Estate Winery in Kelowna
• Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery on Kelowna’s Westside
• Little Straw Vineyards Estate Winery on Kelowna’s Westside
• Rollingdale Estate Winery on Kelowna’s Westside
• Thornhaven Estates Winery in Sumerland
• Red Rooster Winery in Penticton
• Stonehill Estate Winery in Naramata
• Wild Goose Vineyards in Okanagan Falls
• Noble Ridge Winery in Okanagan Falls
• Tinhorn Creek Vineyards in Oliver
• Hester Creek Estate Winery
• Dunham & Froese Estate Winery in Oliver
• Oliver Twist Estate Winery in Oliver
• Salt Spring Winery

And if you’re ready to try something new, or add a smaller winery to your itinerary try the following:

• Mistral Estate Winery in Penticton
• Van Westen Vineyards in Naramata
• Dunham & Froese Estate in Oliver
• Le Vieux Pin Winery in Oliver
• Oliver Twist Winery in Oliver
• And soon to open Quinta Ferreira Estate Winery in Oliver

That should keep you and your guests busy for many a weekend to come over the summer and fall wine touring season. Cheers!


Based in Kelowna, the BCWI promotes the Wines of British Columbia (BC VQA) and the Wine Regions of British Columbia brands.


For further information:
Lindsay Anders, Communications Manager
tel (250) 762-9744 ext. 103 toll-free 1-800-661-2294
landers@winebc.com www.winebc.com