Fall Wine Touring Series: Lake Country

The Okanagan Valley spans over approximately 200km, which means that’s approximately 200km of wine touring we get to do.

Since it’s so large, each trip we take has us focusing on a designated area. Now that Thanksgiving has passed, a lot of the usual tourism we see here dies down and wineries have a tendency to adjust their hours. While some tasting rooms do need to close their doors for the winter, there are still plenty of options to visit. 

Lake Country is a sweet community located about 15 minutes north of the Kelowna Airport. What we once considered to be a hidden gem, we quickly discovered that that is not the case, especially in the summer. However, the country roads can seem a little daunting (especially in the winter), which lessens the number of visitors as the weather turns. We love this though. The shoulder season is the best time to visit wineries! The fewer number of guests in the winery means more personalized experiences, and we know the staff enjoy it too.  They love the opportunity to talk about wine, get to know their guests, and maybe delve into the history of the winery a bit. The wineries in this area also specialize in aromatic whites and cool-climate reds. 

Our first stop in Lake Country is always Arrowleaf Cellars. This boutique winery produces one of our favourite rosés, and we look forward to the release of it every spring. Since rosé’s are a hot commodity right now, investing in multiple is always a great idea! But since we’ve moved into the cooler season, we’d be silly if we didn’t start sipping on their reds. They’ve been perfecting and winning awards for their Pinot Noir, but our favourite hands down is their Zweigelt. This Austrian grape produces a beautiful medium bodied wine that will even have the biggest red drinker impressed. Loaded with flavours of cherry, raspberry and dark chocolate, it’s the perfect complement when sitting fireside. 

Next stop is O’Rourke Peak Cellars. We love this winery as they always have some kind of specialty tasting experience that they’re offering. For this fall, it’s a back vintage Chardonnay flight. Hello all you Chardonnay fans, this is an experience for you! Not a Chardonnay fan? That’s okay too! This experience appeals to the masses. Greeted with a flight of five wines, you’ll receive an unoaked Chardonnay, and then a vertical from 2016 through 2019. When you taste wines in this order, it allows you to see how different each vintage can be, if there’s a change in style, or if there’s similarities. Along with your wines, you’ll also receive a cheese plate, and this is where the real fun begins! It’s so neat to see how the same varietal can taste so different with the same cheese based on the vintage you’re sipping on. This is definitely a must do experience! 

Located right across the street is Intrigue Wines. The wines couldn’t be more different than what you just tried at Peak Cellars, and it’s perfect. These off dry beauties are a perfect compliment to your Tuesday (or Wednesday…or Thursday…) night. We’ve loved their I Do Frizzante style sparkling wine for years, and always make sure we introduce it to our friends. The wine shop is always stocked with the cutest merchandise, which usually has us picking up more than just wine! 

Our last stop takes us up to 50th Parallel Winery, where we have a leisurely lunch followed by a wine tasting. This winery recently built a stunning new facility, and since it takes about ten minutes to get to, you don’t want to rush your experience. The restaurant menu changes with the season, and we have yet to be disappointed when we go. With our bellies full, we make our way into the tasting room, where we’re always greeted with smiling faces. The team is personable, are a great resource of knowledge and the wine is delicious! You really can’t go wrong by making this winery a stop on your trip.