For wine lovers, Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada is the best place to go if you are looking for a wine tour. This location is among the popular wine destinations of the world. It offers a variety of amazing activities while you go on a wine tour along Okanagan Lake. The valley and the lake is the location of British Columbia’s top wineries and distilleries. Lake country is an area of Okanagan Valley where the “Perfect Pinot” is created. It has earned the local title of the “The Scenic Sip.” Kettle Valley Rail Trail is a popular historic spot where you can enjoy scenic views and some of the country’s artifacts.
There are several tours for your selection. You can even customize a tour based on your preferences for taste and locations. Below are the 10 best tours in Okanagan Valley that are highly recommended.
1. Okanagan Valley Wineries and Wine Tasting Tour
The tour package involves a trip to at least 5 different wineries for wine tastings and ends with a tour of a barrel room. You will be picked up at Kelowna Hotel with a classy Mercedes Sprinter High Top and you will ride in luxury as you traverse the oldest vineyards located in British Columbia.
From Kelowna, you will travel along Lake Okanagan via the exclusive Mission District. You will have a refreshing view of the scenic countryside, lakes, and mountains along the way. The tour guide will fill you in on how the Kelowna region became Canada’s “fruit basket” and how Okanagan’s wine industry boomed in the 1980s.
During the trip, you will be provided snacks and water. Tasting fees and lunch is included in the tour. You can stop to take pictures by the lake. When the tour is over, you will be taken back to your hotel.
Okanagan Wine Country Tours
Address: Kelowna, Canada
2. Tour and Taste Okanagan’s Wine Country (from USD 170.0)
The tour will take you to at least 5 local wineries in Rollingdale, Quails Gate, Mt. Boucheire, Volcanic Hills, Cia Bella, and the newest wineries in West Kelowna. You will be picked up and dropped off in your hotel in an air-conditioned vehicle with a tour guide who will provide you all the information about the wineries and their unique wine processes. You have a choice of a morning or afternoon tour which lasts approximately 5 hours and 30 minutes. You will enjoy an informative tour of the wineries while you enjoy a scenic tour of Okanagan Valley and sampling their local wine. Snacks and water are provided in the vehicle. All taxes, fees, and handling charges are inclusive of the tour package.
Okanagan Valley Wine Country Tasting Guided Tour
Duration: 4 to 5 hours
3. Private Okanagan Wine Tour with Sommelier
With this tour package, you will be provided your own private sommelier who will help you choose the best wineries among the 200 available to visit. You can select from the posh to the rustic and the newest to the oldest. The company will provide you an air-conditioned vehicle that will pick you up and drop you off at your hotel and bring you to the wineries you selected along with your guide. The sommelier will give you lessons on how to choose the best wine and food pairings along with the wine sampling. This very informative private tour is one of the most preferred among customers because it tailor fits the wineries according to their wine preferences.
Private Okanagan Wine Tour With Sommelier
Address: Kelowna, Canada
4. Okanagan Wine, Brew and Spirits Experience with Optional Dinner
This wine, brew, and spirits tour will take you to at least 4 different wineries complete with wine and beer tastings, cheese sampling and ends with a 3 course dinner in an exclusive restaurant. You will be picked up in a tour bus at either the Ramada Penticton Hotel or Penticton Lakeside Resort and Casino.
The first winery you will visit is near Shaka Lake, where you sample their wines and explore the barrel room while enjoying stunning views of the lake. After an hour, the tour will take you to the Upper Bench Winery and Creamery. You will be shown how cheese and wine are handcrafted and have samples of their products. The next stop will be at Bad Tattoo Brewing, one of the newest breweries in BC where you will have lunch, a tank tasting, and brewery tour. Then you travel to the Maple Leaf Spirits located on Naramata Beach. You will taste the finest European liqueurs, spirits, and fruit brandies with savory seasonal spirits and fruit desserts. The tour ends there but if desired, you can have an encore with a 3 course dinner with wine pairing held at Hooded Merganser Restaurant. You will have to travel on your own though.
Okanagan Wine, Brew and Spirits Experience with Optional Dinner
Address: Penticton, Canada
5. Soapstone Carving with Wine and Culinary Experience at Okanagan Vineyard
This tour takes you to Volcanic Hills Estate Winery. Here you could enjoy samplings of their award-winning wine and have a 2 ½ hour lesson on carving a soapstone statuette, which serves as your souvenir. You are then taken to the Blu Saffron Bistro where you have an optional gourmet lunch and an educational private tour of their winery and wine tasting. You enjoy all of this in a vineyard setting.
Soapstone Carving With Wine And Culinary Experience At Okanagan Vineyard
Address: Kelowna, Canada
6. Okanagan Craft Distillery and Brewery Tour (from USD 176.0)
This 4 hour biking tour will take you on a trip to the Kettle Valley Rail, which overlooks the scenic Okanagan Valley. The shuttle bus will drop you off at the start of the trail where you can cruise downhill on your bike. You will pass several wineries and distilleries along the way. You will get to visit distinguished wineries and distilleries like Legend Distilling, Maple Leaf, Cannery and Bad Tattoo Brewery. You can taste samples of their beverages and food offerings while enjoying a guided cycling tour of the vicinity. The tour ends driving through the Penticton downtown and city waterfront.
Okanagan Craft Distillery Brewery Bike Tour - Spirited Brews Cruise
Duration: 5 hours 30 minutes
7. Painting Class Experience at Okanagan Vineyard with Optional Lunch and Wine Tour
Feel like Picasso in this all-inclusive art and wine tour of Vineyard at Evolve Cellars. Jenny Long, an expert artist and instructor, will give you painting lessons for 2 ½ hours while you sip samples of their wine. The package includes an optional lunch and an exclusive tour of their winery. Not only does the tour bring out the artist in you, you get to experience the taste of world class wine.
Painting Class Experience At Okanagan Vineyard With Optional Lunch And Wine Tour
Address: Summerland, Canada
8. Okanagan Wine Country Bike and Wine Tour (from USD 176.0)
The tour will take you to an unforgettable guided bike ride along the famous Kettle Valley Railway Trail. It is ideal for all skill levels at any age. You are picked up in downtown Penticton in a coach with air-conditioning. There you load your bikes and drive through the great lake scenery of Naramata’s wine region.
You will pass through several old and new wineries and enjoy views of the lake as the road goes uphill. The trail is an old historic railway path that is broad and easy to ride downhill to the wineries and back to the coach. Naramata is the location of most wineries of Okanagan and your guides will provide you with all the information and assistance you need. The entire tour will take around 4 to 5 hours.
Okanagan Wine Country - Velo Vino Wine & Cycle Tour
Duration: 5 hours 30 minutes
9. Lake Country Wine Tour (from USD 141.0)
The tour of Lake Country begins when you get picked up at 10 a.m. by your expert wine ambassador. You will ride a 14-seater fleet touring coach where you are provided air-conditioning, free bottled water, and a cooler to store wine bottle purchases. From Kelowna, you will travel through the rural roads to the picturesque Okanagan Lake north shores.
There are several wineries you will visit where you have 2 to 4 wine tastings of your choice of red or white wine. Around 1 pm, you will be taken to your preferred winery, where you can have an a la carte lunch at your expense. The tour will resume after lunch with more wineries and wine tastings until it ends at 3 p.m. and you will be returned to your hotel. There is a minimum of 13 people for this tour package and the reservation for your lunch at the selected winery will be handled by the tour company.
Lake Country Wine Tour
Duration: 5 hours
Cheers to Okanagan Valley!
All these tours allow you to taste the best selling wines of Okanagan Valley, as well as enjoy the refreshing natural scenery of the valley, its shores, and the lake. The various activities offered together with the tours make wine sampling more exciting and very memorable. Aside from getting a free education on the history of the wineries, you get a first-hand experience into how the delicious beverages are handcrafted. These tours will definitely make you say “cheers!”
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