It’s WINE TIME! It really isn’t a compete summer in the Okanagan if you don’t visit at least one winery. Even if you don’t drink wine, the views alone are worth the visit. In our opinion wineries that offer food to enjoy with your next favourite bottle are the absolute best! To kick off the summer I decided to book a wine tour vs renting a driver as seen in my previous wine touring on a budget post, and went with Discover Okanagan Tours.
What to Expect?
First off Cam the owner is extremely personable and friendly right from the start. He curates the tour to be unique to each group, just let him know what you want. Price wise, this was the cheapest tour I could find online for about $125 a person, which is not far off from doing it through a cab and in my opinion 100% worth the extra money. It was easy to book online, all we had to do was be at home when they came to pick us up!
We visited four different wineries on our tour including Intrigue Wines, Peak Cellars, Arrow Leaf Cellars, and Gray Monk Estate Winery. Intrigue had Maureen, one of the best sommeliers around who really made our group laugh and enjoy more than just the wine. Peak Cellars took us into the backroom where they make the wine which was different from the typical look at the vine experience. Arrow Leaf Cellars had these unbelievable puff pastry desserts that we enjoyed with a few bottles of their wine. They have a large picnic area to enjoy any snacks or lunch you might have brought with you, but their desserts are a MUST TRY. Gray Monk had breath taking views and a wine shop worth taking photos in.
Final Thoughts?
Our tour guide Drew was outstanding! He helped all of us in and out of the vehicle, took our pictures when requested, packaged and took all purchased bottles to the car, and provided entertaining conversation throughout the tour. He was honest about not knowing much about wine which made us love him even more! I personally prefer tours where the guide doesn’t know much about wine and can converse with us naturally about the Okanagan in general, leaving the details to the sommoliers. I would recommend Discover Okanagan Tours ten times over for the next time you want to go Discovering Kelowna and would happily say they’ve made a life time client out of me!
