Time to relax and fill your glass by spending your long weekend visiting the best Okanagan wineries, famous for its wines, views, fruits and cheese. Even if you are not a wine expert, you will taste different types of wines and learn from the winemakers. Here is a selection of five of the almost 205 wineries from Naramata vineyards.
Ruby Blues
917 Naramata Road
This funky boutique is filled with great vibe and energy. It is best known for the Ruby Blues White Stiletto (a blend of Viognier, Gewürztraminer and Muscat Ottonel) with aromas of spice and grapefruit and hints of apricot. This a great place to start your wine experience as you listen to classical rock music that is piped into the vineyard.
Hillside Winery
1350 Naramata Road
This winery and bistro has been operating since the 1990s and has evolved to a medium-sized producer making the Muscat Ottonel 2012 a perfect white wine choose because of its floral aroma and hint of spice that pairs with Thai and Indian food.
Therapy Winery
940 Lower Debeck Rd
We have to give their credit for the catchy name and also to their Pinot Noir, a red wine with violet aromas, cherry and raspberry and sweet vanilla with a spicy, red fruit and peppery taste. This vineyards has 15-18 year old vines that have produced several award-winning wines.
Bench 1775
1775 Naramata Road
This winery is not only famous for its Ice Wines but also for the Bench 1775 Chill 2012, a blended white wine of Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier. This is an aromatic fruit with hints of lime and apricot, dry and spicy wine.
Upper Bench winery & creamery
170 Upper Bench Rd, Penticton
This winery combines great wine, cheese and local fruits that makes this place a must try. Open in early 2012, you will find our favourite Upper Bench Riesling 2011 that has a tropical fruit flavour and is very refreshing. Don’t forget to try their cheese selection that features amazing styles of creamy blue cheese.
Okanagan Wine Tours
Now, with so many wineries close to Penticton, the choices can be overwhelming. The best strategy to enjoy your wine experience is breaking it up before heading out. A good alternative is to spend a day touring these wineries.
There are many great tour companies that will drive you around which means you don’t have to drive. Make a list of the things you would like to do and where to stay while you are there. You can find great deals as wine prices are between $ 18 to 30 per bottle.
Discover and start planning your next wine tour to Penticton!
P.S: I highly recommend to take a look to Grape Escapes website, is the #1 wine tour company in TripAdvisor plus the staff is super friendly.
Major Little Things 