Tucked into British Columbia’s interior, the Okanagan Valley is a renowned but under-the-radar wine region. It’s the biggest wine growing area in British Columbia (BC), and at the southern end of the valley is Oliver, the so-called wine capital of Canada. It has this title because “it produces [50%] of BC’s wine grapes,” according to Visit Oliver. This small town of just over 5,000 people is at the northern edge of the Great Basin Desert, and along with its lush vineyards, the landscape features a mixture of mountains, grasslands, and lakes.
Oliver is just under a two-hour drive from the Kelowna International Airport, and it’s around five hours from Vancouver. The Syilx people of the Okanagan Nation have made their home in the area for generations. Oliver became an agricultural town in the late 1910s and early 1920s with land being irrigated for farming and sold to soldiers returning from World War I. For a time, it was once known as the “Cantaloupe Capital of Canada,” according to the Oliver & District Heritage Society. Although some wineries were established before, it wasn’t until the 1980s that wineries really started to see major success in British Columbia, including the Oliver area, and there are now over two dozen wineries in Oliver.
With lots of sunshine and warmth and a variety of soils, there’s a range of grape varieties grown here. You can expect to find a lot of merlot along with cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, and pinot noir.
Winery options abound in Oliver
You’re spoiled for choice with wineries to visit in Oliver. One good spot is Burrowing Owl Estate Winery, and it has won a number of awards for its syrah, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, malbec, and more. It’s near Osoyoos Lake, south of Oliver, and you can sample their wines on site at the vineyard tasting room. You can even stay there since the Guest House is an adults only bed and breakfast with 10 guest rooms, pool, and hot tub.
Another great option is the Hester Creek Estate Winery. It has won awards for its viognier, rosé noir, and its GSM, a blend of grenache, syrah, and mourvedre. At the winery’s tasting room, some of the wines are available to try for free, though tasting for the premium wines comes at a cost. It has a great restaurant, and it’s also got on site accommodations with six guest suites in The Villa overlooking the valley.
To be able to taste a lot of different wines from the Oliver and Okanagan region without having to go very far between them, the District Wine Village has nine wineries with tasting rooms surrounding a large, round plaza. There’s also a distillery, brewery, restaurant, book store, bakery, and coffee house. In winter, there’s free ice skating, and during the summer, there are all kinds of events, like live music, trivia nights, salsa dancing classes, and a weekly market. If you don’t want to drive, DeVino Wine Tours can pick you up in Oliver and drop you off at the District Wine Village. The company also runs half and full day tours to multiple wineries around Oliver as well other spots in the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. The full day tours include lunch at Miradoro, at Tinhorn Creek Winery.
Lake fun in Oliver and what to do nearby
