4 Day South Okanagan Cuisine Winery and Restaurant Tour

Summary
Itinerary
What's Included
Accommodations

4 Day South Okanagan Cuisine Winery and Restaurant Tour

Savour the succulent flavours of our famous food and wine pairings

The Okanagan valley offers a tantalizing experience for anyone who loves fabulous wine accompanied by fine cuisine. This is a perfect opportunity to taste the global culinary infusion of locally grown products complimented with renowned Okanagan wines.

Day 1 – Vancouver to Kelowna

  • Depart Vancouver at 8 am via Coquihalla Highway (approx 4.5 hours)
  • Take Highway 97 south to Peachland
  • Your first stop in the Okanagan is for lunch VIP tour at Hainle Vineyards & Winery Bistro (www.hainle.com). Here you can watch from your seat as the culinary team prepares fresh artisan creations from the exhibition kitchen. Framed by the Okanagan hills and nestled at the base of a vineyard, this is the perfect place to open your gateway to Okanagan wine country.
  • Your second stop on this afternoon is not far away to a tasting and tour at Greata Ranch Vineyards & Winery. One of the most beautiful locations to view the sparkling waters of Okanagan Lake is the veranda at Greata Ranch. Your experience wouldn’t be complete without a refreshing glass of their award winning wine.
  • A further 15 minutes south, you’ll arrive in Summerland for your overnight stay. Suggested Accommodation:
    • Summerland Waterfront Resort (www.summerlandresorthotel.com)
  • Tonight, we suggest you head to uptown Summerland and a wine paired dinner at the Vanilla Pod Tapas Bar Restaurant. A selection of local VQA and imported wines will compliment to perfection, a variety of delicious flavours for their fun non-traditional style of dining.

Day 2

  • This morning you’ll begin at Sumac Ridge Estate Winery (www.sumacridge.com) in Summerland for a VIP Tour and Tastings. Known as one of the pioneer wineries of the B.C. wine industry, Sumac Ridge produces a variety of excellent wines including a sparkling Brut that few Okanagan winemakers produce. 2007 marks their 25th anniversary!
  • Your next stop in Summerland is Thornhaven Winery, situated in a quaint little valley overlooking Okanagan Lake. Located only two blocks away is Dirty Laundry Winery (www.dirtylaundry.ca ). These two wineries are quintessential Okanagan winery settings and shouldn’t be missed.
  • After passing through the heart of Penticton, you’ll enter onto the “Naramata Bench”, home to 15 wineries with amazing vistas, views and vineyards along the way. Your lunch stop is at the Barrel Room Bistro at Hillside Estate Winery. With its high ceilings and cool shaded patio, it’s the perfect place to escape the midday sun. This is a great opportunity to try a wine the Okanagan is known for, a Reisling or perhaps Sauvignon Blanc.
  • It’s time to tour as many wineries as you feel. They’re all located within minutes of each other. Some suggestions are:
    • Lake Breeze Vineyards
    • Lang Vineyards
    • Red Rooster
    • Therapy Vineyards
  • This may be a good time to venture into the sleepy village of Naramata. At the general store, you can pick up some local Poplar Grove cheese along with some crackers and wine and take it to beautiful Manitou Park, located just four blocks away on Okanagan Lake.  
  • Retreat to your luxury accommodation in Penticton. Options include:
    • Penticton Lakeside Resort (www.rpbhotels.com)
    • Best Western Inn at Penticton (www.bestwesternpenticton.com)
  • Your evening will feature a beautiful wine paired dinner at the Hooded Merganser. This is a lovely west coast style restaurant situated over the water at the Penticton Lakeside Resort. This award winning restaurant partners with area wineries to prepare a creative menu serving locally grown fruits and vegetables paired with Okanagan wines.

Day 3

  • Your third day in the Okanagan will be a special one as you head even further south on Highway 97 toward Canada’s only desert region and the town of Osoyoos.
  • Before you depart, you may want to visit the B.C. Wine Information Centre. The wine store and gift shop offers VQA wine samples and educational seminars. The Centre also has a selection of wines from producers throughout the Okanagan valley. It’s a rare chance to find all your favourite BC wines in one location.
  •  At this point of the morning, you may feel like a “pick me up”, perhaps a coffee or some ice-cream at Tickleberry’s in quaint Okanagan Falls. They have the biggest and best ice-cream in the valley!
  • Your first winery visit of the day will be at See Ya Later Ranch Winery (www.sylranch.com) , formerly known as Hawthorne Mountain Estate Winery.  Originally planted as an orchard in the early part of the last century, this winery has terrific wines, a fabulous view and a unique north-east facing vineyard.
  • The lunch stop today is at the Toasted Oak Bar and Grill in Oliver. Known as the “Wine Capital of Canada”, Oliver is a thriving agricultural community that’s home to the popular Fest of Grape and the Tomato Festival. The Toasted Oak has a large selection of B.C. wines by the glass and a unique menu that features many ingredients from this area. Don’t miss the cool misters on the patio!
  • Two special tours afternoon tours will high light your day. The first is a VIP tour of Burrowing Owl Winery. This is a sprawling estate winery that produces some of B.C.’s most sought after wines. Buy them at the winery because they’re hard to find elsewhere.
  • Next, it’s on to a VIP tour of Tinhorn Creek Estate Winery. This winery is nestled in the hillside next to a former gold mining creek and near the site of an old ghost town. The self guided tour historical tour atop the “Golden Mile” provides some fabulous views.  One of the early pioneers and best-known success stories in Canada’s wine industry, Inniskillin Winery (www.inniskillin.com)just down the road, was founded in Ontario in 1975 but  in 1994 developed a winemaking partnership with the Inkameep Indian Band by purchasing the band’s extraordinary 23-acre Dark Horse Vineyard  in 1996. Well worth a visit!
  • It’s time for a reward so you can sit back and relax in the jacuzzi at your overnight accommodation.
    Suggested accommodation:
    • Best Western Sunrise Holiday Inn (www.bestwesternosoyoos.com)
    • Walnut Beach Resort (www.walnutbeachresort.com )
  • There are two dinner options in Osoyoos on this night to consider. There is the venerable Campo Marina with classic Italian cuisine and the recently opened Passatempo at Spirit Ridge Resort. Both restaurants offer Okanagan fresh ingredients paired with a wide selection of B.C. wines.

Day 4

  • Your last day sees you departing Osoyoos and climbing the scenic Richter Pass on Highway 3 out of the Okanagan to the neighbouring Similkameen Valley. This relatively undeveloped valley has seen several new wineries and large vineyards sprout up in the last two years.
  • The first stop today takes you a kilometre off the highway to the shores of the Similkameen River and Forbidden Fruit Organic Winery. The farm has grown organic fruit for years and supplies several large western Canadian stores with produce. This may be your first opportunity to taste fruit wines. Forbidden Fruit has a number of them including several white wines that are similar in taste to grape wines. Make sure you take crackers to go with the awesome jellies they make.
  • An early lunch stop takes you to Crowsnest Vineyards. This winery has just completed a new building that features a restaurant and overnight suite accommodation. Take in the sights on their vineyard side patio and enjoy a German varietal wine and delicious cuisine paired to perfection!
  • After lunch you will enjoy a leisurely trip back to Vancouver on Hwy 3. This Highway takes you through the village of Keremeos (don’t forget to stop at one of the many fruit stand in Keremeos) and on to Princeton where you will head West through Hope and onward to Vancouver.

For additional South Okanagan accommodations, visit http://totabc.com/trellis/accommodations_all

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