3 Day Okanagan Spring Wine Festival and Blossom Tour

Summary
Itinerary
What's Included
Accommodations

3 Day Okanagan Spring Wine Festival and Blossom Tour

Here's a trip that will cater to all your senses. Fragrant fruit blossoms, outstanding local cuisine and world class wines- what an experience!

Here’s a trip that will cater to all your senses. Fragrant fruit blossoms, outstanding local cuisine and world class wines - what an experience!

For a special treat, let someone else do the driving around wine country. Sit back and relax with MJO Tours (www.mjotours.com), Okanagan Wine Country Tours (www.okwinetours.com) or Falcon Bus Charters (www.falconbuscharters.com).

Day 1 – Vancouver to Kelowna (4 hours)

  • Depart Vancouver by taking Highway 1 to Hope, Highway 5 to Merritt, and Highway 97C (The Connector) to Kelowna.
  • In Westbank, taste the wines at Quails’ Gate Vineyards Estate Winery (www.quailsgate.com) and Mission Hill Family Estate overlooking Okanagan Lake and vineyards. Both of these properties have outstanding views to go along with their award winning wines. If you’re famished and looking for a meal at a smaller winery, consider Little Straw Vineyards. The winery’s second floor Bistro has a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside.
  • For your first dinner in the Okanagan, we suggest RauDZ Restaurant. Located in a heritage brick building, this is a perfect place to get together to experience local beers on tap and a regional wine list that both enhance seasonally inspired, comfort food from renowned Chef Rod Butters. Or, if Tapas is more your style for dinner, consider Waterfront Wines Restaurant & Wine Bar. Waterfront offers superbly paired cuisine with Okanagan valley wine.
  • Overnight in Kelowna. Suggested accommodations include: 

Day 2 – Kelowna

  • Enjoy one or more of the events at the four-day Spring Okanagan Wine Festival that celebrates food and wine of the region at the beginning of May. Attend the Consumer’s Wine Tasting, meet the vintners, taste icewine, sample regional food, and attend a grape stomp. During May, fragrant pink and white blossoms blanket the orchards.
  • Begin your day near downtown Kelowna at Calona Vineyards (www.calonavineyards.ca) for a one-hour winery tour and tasting. This is BC’s oldest winery established in 1932! Interesting memorabilia, wines and ciders, along with other local products are sold in their gift shop.
  • Drive through the Mission area of Kelowna past colourful orchards and vineyards overlooking Okanagan Lake. Visit quaint St. Hubertus Estate Winery resurrected after the wildfires of 2003 or Summerhill Pyramid Winery (www.summerhill.bc.ca) with one of the finest views in Kelowna!  Just down the road, you may want to sample artisan goat cheese from Carmelli’s Goat Cheese Farm. Their retail shop provides samples of a multitude of different cheeses, many that grace the tables of fine dining restaurants in British Columbia!
  • In east Kelowna, you can tour the Kelowna Land & Orchard Company (www.k-l-o.com), established in 1904.  Discover this spectacular 120-acre working family farm, original farmhouse, spectacular view, fragrant orchard blossoms, and their specialty: fresh pressed apple juice!
  • One of the best places to see blossoms in the Okanagan is Elysium Gardens.  Located not far from KLO, Elysium Gardens is a 4 acre perennial display garden as well as a Japanese garden carved out of a an old apple orchard. Many of the apple trees remain and they provide a serene canopy of fragrant white blossoms.
  • The Harvest Golf Club is a magnificent golf course in a spectacular orchard setting. Savour the Chef’s lunch creations while enjoying a beautiful view of Okanagan Lake from their patio or dining room.
  • We suggest your dinner this night to be at the lakeside dining room of the Hotel Eldorado (www.eldoradokelowna.com). Originally built in 1926, it’s a wonderful place to dine overlooking a boardwalk and marina. Later you can sample VQA wines from over 20 BC wineries at the Okanagan Spring Wine Festival Consumer Tasting, the largest wine festival event in the valley. 
  • Overnight in Kelowna.

Day 3 – Kelowna to Vernon. Onward to Calgary (6 hours) Vancouver (5 hours)

  • While still in Kelowna, tour the BC Orchard Industry Museum to see how this multi-billion dollar business has evolved and discover how orchard fruit reaches the consumers. Be sure to tour the BC Wine Museum that portrays humble beginnings years ago and incredible growth in the last 20 years! Both museums are located next to each other with the wine museum featuring a one-stop shop of all VQA wines in the province.
  • Begin your drive to Vernon travelling north on Highway 97. As you tour through Winfield in Lake Country visit Gray Monk Winery. Enjoy the spectacular panoramic view while enjoying lunch and their amazing, award-winning wines.  Since it is only next door, stop in and visit Arrowleaf Cellars, which provides a spectacular setting overlooking Okanagan Lake and worth the short trip to taste some of their award winning wines.
  • Also in Winfield, we suggest stopping at Gatzke’s Farm Market (www.gatzkefarmmarkets.com) for fresh daily home made pie. Gatzke’s is known far and wide for their pies and cute little Cafe! Situated on 20 acres of farmland next to the Highway 97 and producing over 50 varieties of tree fruits throughout the year, Gatzke’s is the perfect place for garden-fresh produce and specialty products unique to the Okanagan including jams and jellies. Also on the site are farm cabins, camping and RV sites.
  • From Winfield, continue on past colourful Kalamalka Lake to Vernon. Tour Davison Orchards, located at the north end of the fertile Okanagan Valley. Blessed with the area’s legendary sunshine, the Davisons are able to grow over twenty varieties of apples as well as a choice selection of field produce including tomatoes, corn, peppers, cantaloupe and cutting flowers. Immediately next door you can also visit Planet Bee Honey Farm (www.planetbee.com). If you like honey, this is one stop you’ll never forget! You’ll be able to see bees working and providing the many nutritional products available in the retail store.
  • Or optional overnight accommodation in Vernon:

Day 4 – Vernon to Vancouver (4.5 hours) Banff (6 hours)

For a complete list of TOTA Travel Trade accommodation partners, go to: www.totabc.com/travel_trade  

For Bed & Breakfast accommodation listings, go to: www.bcsbestbnbs.com

For additional city information, go to:
Kelowna: www.tourismkelowna.com 
Vernon: www.tourismvernon.com