How To Enjoy An Okanagan Wine Tour

Is it wine-o-clock yet? Red or white? French, Chilean, Australian?…. How about Canadian? The Okanagan wine region has you covered.

You may not associate Canada with fine wine. Freezing cold winters, the Rocky mountains and bears that would gladly rip your face off for a good salmon… It isn’t the obvious choice when considering where to source your next bottle.

On a recent trip to British Columbia, we discovered that the Okanagan Valley is thriving with wine producers. They are popping up everywhere. They have become so plentiful that touring the various wineries has now become a huge tourist attraction. Going around tasting wine after wine with a group of friends…. I can’t see the attraction personally! 😀

Where To Book a Tour?

There are many tour operators in the area that will pick you up and drop you back to your accommodation after the tour. The tours normally visit between 3 and 5 wineries and lunch can be booked for an additional fee. The tours are pretty expensive (normally between $120 and $150).

Do I Need To Book a Tour?

In our opinion, the tours are overpriced and should be avoided. You don’t need to book a tour to enjoy the Okanagan wine region.

You can simply walk to the wine region (or get a taxi) and walk around the various wineries stopping wherever you wish. This gives you the freedom to spend as much or as little time as you want in each place and also means that you can pick which producers you would like to visit (and not have to stick to the wineries on the tour)

Is It Expensive To Do The Tour Myself?

If you are happy to walk around the area and drop into the various wineries then you can expect to pay between $5 and $10 per tasting. (If you do the maths you will see it is quite a bit cheaper than paying a tour operator!) You also won’t need to walk very far between wineries, they are literally every 100 yards!

What Does a Wine Tasting Involve?

The wineries in the area will normally allow you to choose 3 wines from their menu for a tasting (all this for between $5 and $10). There is lots of choice and you can select red wine, white wine or frozen wine. The staff are very informative too and teach you about how they produce the various wines, which grapes are used etc.

Do I Need to Purchase a Bottle?

No, there is no pressure to purchase a bottle of wine, but with so much choice on offer it is probably inevitable that you will stumble upon something divine at some stage (or you will get drunk) and decide to splurge.

If you are a wine lover then the Okanagan is a must see when in Canada. Stumbling from place to place I realised that I am a huge fan of Syrah wine. Who even am I?

Earlier that day I could barely tell the difference between white and red and the only information I knew about wine was that it hurt my skull if I drank enough of it.

So that is the craic with the Okanagan wine region.

What is your favourite wine? Let us know in the comments below!

Wondering where to go next? Read our guide on Oktoberfest in Munich.