Naramata Bench

The Naramata Bench located on the south-east side of Lake Okanagan has become one of Canada's prime wine growing regions. There are now close to fifty wineries operating on the bench. It all began back in the 1980s when Vera and Bohumir Klockockas founded Hillside Cellar. Lang winery opened in 1990 and became the first Farm Gate winery in BC.

With abundant sunshine, the cooling of the lake waters and moderate temperatures along with great terroirs grapes have prospered producing fine wines. This of course, brought others to the bench.

Tim Watts and Bob Ferguson started planting their vineyards in 1989. They named their winery after the railroad that once ran through Naramata, Kettle Valley.

D'Angelo winery open in 2002 when winemaker Sal D'Angelo a very successful Ontario winemaker and winery owner was extremely impressed by the Okanagan he  decided to open on the bench. Sal has had great success with the Tempranillo grape.

One of the most successful and very popular wineries  is Poplar Grove under winemaker Ian Southerland. Another winery that became very popular was Red Rooster originally founded by Beat and Prudence Mahrer. They sold it to Andrew Peller Ltd. but loved the business so much they came back and opened Ruby Blues winery.

Recently Black Widow owned by Dick Lancaster has been collecting more than its fair share of rewards including Gold at the recent All-Canadian.

La Frenz is one winery you do not want to miss when visiting the bench. Their Liqueur Muscat and Tawny port sensational.

The Naramata Bench is full of wineries that have impressed very one with their wines. The list includes Serendipity under winemaker Bradley Cooper (and his own label Black Cloud),Lake Breeze, Laughing Stock, Marichal Vineyards and fruit wine Elephant Island.

At the far end of the Bench is Van Westen Vineyards  They started as farmers almost 60 years ago and today are know for its cherries and white wines.

Yes I am forgetting to mention so many other wine wineries  like Misconduct, Meyers Family Estate, Moraine Estate and Nichol Vineyards and Perseus.

At the 2015 Canadain wine awards Deep Roots Winery Syrah won for best red. They also won for their unoaked Chardonnay


Se all the Naramata wineries

The beautiful Shuswap is situated in south-central British Columbia, northeast of Vancouver. The Shuswap Lake system offers more than 1,000 kilometres of shoreline to explore, amidst spectacular scenery and a pristine environment. The Shuswap offers a four-season playground that boasts the largest houseboat fleet in Canada, and one of the largest in the world, offering a fabulous way to vacation with family and friends, lazily drifting along the lake gazing at blue skies and gorgeous mountains.

Here you will find a number of wineries, many of them starting up in the last few years. This is  a region for Cold Climate wines. Cool climateregions definitely get just as hot as warm climates in the peak of the season. However, it is the fact that the temperatures drop off so quickly towards harvest that make the wines taste different. Lower temperatures preserve the acidity but they also make it difficult for grapes to ripen. You can generally assume that cool climate wine regions tend to produce tart fruit flavors and have more acidity.

These wineries need to be very selective in the grapes they grow and vineyard planting. One of the early and must successful wineries in Salmon Arm is Larch Hills Estate. They made some very good Ortegas over the years.

In 1992 John and Catherine Koopman started Ovino winery also in Salmon Arm. Their signature blend is Foch-Pinot Meunier. The newest winery in Salmon Arm and one to keep an eye on is Marionette winery owned by Amanda Eastwood and Jamie Smith both highly taned winemakers.

Down the road in Tappin you will find Recline Ridge a family operation that has won its shre of awards in the last few years. Continuing south from Salmon Arm you come across Sunnybrae Vineyards overlooking the lake. Mark Walenburge is the consulting winemaker here. He has helped establish a fine reputation for the winery

Up  a little north  of Salmond Arm  sitting on the northern side of Shuswap lake is Celista Winery. Winners of 32 medals in the last 5 years. The winery is owned by Jack Ootes and his wife Marg. Jack is a former MLA and cabinet Minister for NW Territories.

The Shuswap wineries have proven you can make good wines in the northern end of the Okanagan with had work and dedication.

Abbotsford is a city located in the Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, adjacent to Greater Vancouver.

It is one of BC most rapidly growing communities along with an increasing number of breweries and wineries.

Old Abbey Ales on Fraser Highway produces 30 Belgium style beers proving a  comfortable tasting with pints, flights and grower fills.

Ravens Brewing company on Townline road works with local growers to produce European and west coast beers in a traditional approach.

Field House Brewing Co on West Railway Street has a great philosophy

WE BELIEVE IN COMMUNITY, FAMILY AND OLD SCHOOL VALUES THAT SEEM TO HAVE BEEN LOST IN THE BUSY WORLD THAT WE LIVE IN. LET’S TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER AND BUILD SOMETHING GREAT.

Of course, there are the wineries. Currently 4 with more opening soon

Single Tree Winey: Garnet Etsell and his wife Debbie had established a successful farming business in the valley, as their family grew and matured they realized their turkey farm was not going sustain their sons and families. The solution, start a winery. The vineyard was first established in 2010.

Mt Lehman Winery the first to open here: Located near the city of Abbotsford in the Mt Lehman area which the winery is named after. Mount Lehman is situated on an area of upraised land (hence, where the "Mount" comes into the name), that lies between the flat plains of Matsqui Prairie to the east and Glenn Valley to the west . The winery started in 2000 by Vern and Charleen Siemens, converting the family dairy farm into a winery.

Maan Farms has a long and proud history of providing quality local produce to the citizens of Abbotsford, the Fraser Valley, and Greater BC. Started in 1977 by Jawahar and Gurbachan (Grandpa and Grandma) Maan with the help of their three children.

Campell'sGold Honey Farm and Meadery Mike and Judy Campbell have been active in bee keeping since 1997and are members in good standing of the B.C. Honey Producers Association, the Surrey Bee Keepers Association, and the South Fraser Valley Bee Keepers Association. They produce Mead and Melomel a combination of Mead (honey wine), and fruit or berries Metheglin a traditional mead with herbs and/or spices added is made seasonally.

The Fraser Vally