From the rugged beauty of the Similkameen to the golden shores of Osoyoos, our latest video AdVINEture through the Okanagan Valley reminded us why BC wine is a world-class contender. 🍇✨
📍 Similkameen → Summerland → Naramata → Oliver → Osoyoos
In spite of recent challenging vintages, what we found was a region that’s not just surviving—it’s thriving. Quality is soaring, individuality is shining, and the stories behind the wines are more compelling than ever.
⬇️Hit play below for a taste of our Okanagan AdVINEture or click the links above ⬆️ to explore each featured winery.
Last fall, I did something I never thought I’d do, I worked a wine harvest. Not from the sidelines, not as an observer, but right there in the thick of it cleaning tanks, sampling, sorting fruit and even helping with blending trials. I didn’t pick grapes (turns out, that’s its own brutal art form), but I did just about everything else, thanks to the incredible generosity of Tracy Kendall at Folly of Man in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
It was messy, physical, humbling, and absolutely thrilling. I came away with sore muscles, purple-stained hands, and a deeper respect for the craft than any wine tasting could ever offer.
Winemaker Alison Moyes with the just bottled 2024 Chardonnay.
But even as the last tank was pressed off and the cellar began to quiet down, I knew I was only just beginning to understand the life of a wine. So when winemaker Alison Moyes of Solvero Wines in Summerland, BC invited me to join her team for bottling, I jumped at the chance. Their 2022 Chardonnay was recently crowned Best White Wine in Canada at the All Canadian Wine Championships, and this time, they were sealing up the 2024 vintage.
Some wineries make great wine. A few shift the conversation entirely. CheckMate Artisanal Winery is one of those few. Situated on the Golden Mile Bench in the South Okanagan, it combines bold ambition with focused precision, and the results speak for themselves.
From the outset, CheckMate set its sights high: Chardonnay and Merlot crafted to stand alongside the best in the world.
It’s not just a standout in British Columbia; it’s one of Canada’s most ambitious wine ventures to date.
Some stories feel like they were meant to unfold a certain way.
Manpreet Dhaliwal.
At Kismet Estate Winery, the idea of destiny isn’t just in the name, it’s in the soil, the vines, and the family who built it. Brothers Sukhi and Balwinder Dhaliwal didn’t just plant grapes, they helped shape the future of BC wine, growing fruit for some of the Okanagan’s most respected wineries before launching their own label.
Now, a new chapter begins. Manpreet Dhaliwal, Sukhi’s daughter and Balwinder’s niece, stepped into the role of head winemaker in fall 2023. She’s believed to be the first South Asian female winemaker in Canada, and while that might sound like a lot of pressure, she’s taken it all in stride with plenty of hard work, a strong sense of curiosity, and a willingness to learn by doing.
By our third visit with winemaker Alison Moyes of Solvero Wines, we already knew what we were walking into: an earnest conversation packed with thoughtful insights, layered with the kind of honesty that makes you lean in, and beautiful wines in the glass that over-deliver on every level.
Solvero may still be young in the BC wine scene, but their clarity of vision, precision in execution, and ability to adapt under pressure have quickly made them one of our absolute favourites in the region.
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