{"id":1636,"date":"2025-01-30T17:11:23","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T17:11:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/?p=1636"},"modified":"2025-02-02T17:27:48","modified_gmt":"2025-02-02T17:27:48","slug":"reinventing-the-okanagan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/reinventing-the-okanagan\/","title":{"rendered":"Reinventing the Okanagan"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

In the mountains of British Columbia, four hours east of Vancouver\u2014where most Americans might envision only moose, bears, year-round snow\u2014lies British Columbia’s best-kept secret: the sun-drenched Okanagan Valley. <\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks to its Mediterranean microclimate, this valley of long, deep lakes snuggled between mighty peaks sees snow only in wintertime, moose infrequently, and\u2014well, OK, there are some bears. Also rattlesnakes, since the valley’s 100-mile stretch incorporates everything from typical Pacific Northwest Douglas fir forests in the north to a genuine desert along the Washington State border in the south.<\/p>\n

Laced with vineyards and orchards, the Okanagan has long been a weekend escape for Vancouverites dreaming of early retirement. Over the past decade, though, a boom in the local wine industry has made the Okanagan also something of a magnet for tourism entrepreneurs who are as unexpectedly quirky as the temperate climate and desert scenery north-of-the-border Napa.<\/p>\n

The Vintners<\/b><\/h5>\n

Blame it on NAFTA. If it wasn\u2019t for changes to arcane agricultural tariffs in the 1994 North America Free Trade Agreement (and its U.S.-Canada predecessor, the 1989 FTA)\u2014growers in this historic Canadian fruit basket might never have begun switching out their Concord table grapes for viniferous stock like cabernet, chardonnay, Riesling, and Pinot Noir.<\/p>\n

In 1988, there were 14 wineries in all of British Columbia. Today there are 100 in the Okanagan alone, and B.C. wines have evolved from the infamous Baby Duck\u2014considered not bad to drink if you were already drunk\u2014into sophisticated vintages that are winning awards across North America and Europe.<\/p>\n

In addition to fostering such high-end boutique vineyards as Quail’s Gate<\/b> and Burrowing Owl,<\/b> and the tour bus\u2013friendly Mission Hill<\/b> and Hillside Estate<\/b> (all save Mission Hill feature excellent restaurants), the Okanagan has inspired several hobbyists to make the leap from tinkering with homemade hooch to opening their own mom-and-pop wineries.<\/p>\n

That, of course, is a path lined with peril for even the most experienced vintners, so you’d figure a couple of young financial consultants who leave successful careers in the investment industry to open a winery on the Naramata Bench north of Penticton\u2014the epicenter of the Okanagan’s burgeoning wine country\u2014are asking for trouble when they call their new endeavor Laughing Stock.<\/b><\/p>\n

“The name is a playful reference to our past,” said co-owner Cynthia Enns of trading financial stock for grape stock. “Who would be crazy enough to give up their day jobs to start a vineyard?” But for Cynthia and her husband, David\u2014who had been making wine in their Vancouver garage for years\u2014it was about more than starting a new business. <\/span><\/p>\n

“Everybody says they want to pursue their dreams,” said Enns. “We decided just to do it. It became a crash course in making wines.” Laughing Stock, which opened in 2003, focuses far less on the whites for which the region is renowned in favor of big, complex reds that are to the Enns\u2019 own preference\u2014especially their flagship, the Bordeaux-style blend Portfolio. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an unusual approach\u2014especially their dismissal of the area\u2019s popular dessert Icewine\u2014but now the Enns are riding the bull market of Okanagan wines\u2014and nobody is laughing at them. Their 2006 Portfolio took the gold at the Canadian Wine Awards; Food & Wine<\/i> magazine named their wines one of the “100 Must Tastes” of 2007; and their Pinot Noir\u2014always a tricky grape\u2014earned a bronze in the heart of Pinot snob territory at the Los Angeles County Fair.<\/p>\n

Clearly, B.C. wines have come a long way from the days of Baby Duck.<\/p>\n

Three years before the Enns established Laughing Stock, Dick and Shona Lancaster had bought a retirement property just up the road that came with four acres of vines. Dick Lancaster had been training to be a vintner since he was a teenager crafting homemade wine back in Montreal, and he continued to tinker with oenology throughout four college degrees, several accounting jobs, and 17 years as vice president of finance for a mining company in Vancouver.<\/p>\n

“I had always wanted to get involved in the wine industry,” said Lancaster. “But it took a while until we were in a financial position to try it out.” For their first several years in the Okanagan, the Lancasters focused on expanding their vines, improving the irrigation and growing system, and selling the grapes to an established winery nearby.<\/p>\n

By 2005, Lancaster was ready to borrow the equipment at Laughing Stock to do a test pressing of Pinot Gris. It won silver at the All Canadian Wine Championship. In 2006 the Lancasters officially opened Black Widow Winery,<\/b> named for the dangerous denizens of their ancient farmhouse.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s a lot of work,” said Lancaster. “Since I’ve been retired, I haven’t had any time off.” He sees himself on the cutting edge of the region’s continuing expansion, as many other Canadians are flocking to invest in the Okanagan Valley. “As time goes by,” said Lancaster “It’s going to develop a better infrastructure for tourists.”<\/p>\n

Witness the Lancasters’ next project. They’re finishing up a new house on the property (to replace the old, spider-infested one), and plan to set aside a few rooms to operate as a B&B. <\/span><\/p>\n

They won’t be the only ones.<\/p>\n

The Innkeepers<\/b><\/h5>\n

Though high-end viticulture is fairly new, agriculture has been the mainstay of the Okanagan economy since the valley’s first white settlers arrived in 1859 and planted fruit orchards, and it was agriculture that first drew Southern Ontario native David O’Reilly to the Okanagan in 1990.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Reilly, who had built a successful business promoting educational materials for musicians, sold the business and took a year to study herbs and work on an herb farm in Ontario. Then, a slump in land prices allowed him to scoop up 13 acres just outside the town of Oliver. He planted an acre of medicinal herbs, began organic farming to tend his pear, nectarine, peach, and plum trees, and met Allison, who comes from Salmon Arm, just north of the Okanagan, and bears a passing resemblance to Canadian actress Catherine O’Hara.<\/p>\n

Friends visiting O\u2019Reilly at the log cabin\u2013style home he was building were always enchanted by the views across the orchards to a dozen or so vineyards racked up against the red rock cliffs of the far valley wall. Many exhorted him to open up his home as a bed and breakfast. <\/span><\/p>\n

“I kept stalling and running out of money and putting off finishing the place,” said O’Reilly. Then, after three years of long-distance dating, Allison moved in. “The B&B was a good project to get involved in together,” said O’Reilly, “and it gave me a kick in the pants to get the building done.” They opened the O’Reilly Organic Farm B&B<\/b> for business in 2002, well ahead of the current Green revolution.<\/p>\n

At O\u2019Reilly there are no TVs or telephones, but plenty of books and board games (and WiFi). The Seventh Generation paper products in the spacious shared bathroom\u2014with a tub-built-for-two flush against a picture window so you can enjoy sweeping valley views while you bathe\u2014hint that the O’Reillys’ commitment to sustainable practices goes beyond organic farming. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s something they’re happy to discuss over the massive and delicious vegetarian breakfasts. Everything\u2014bread, butter, spelt pancakes, fruit smoothies, cheeses, preserves and, of course, fresh fruit\u2014is either sourced locally or made in-house. Just imagine arriving home each evening to the smell of homemade agave-sweetened goji berry granola baking in the oven.<\/p>\n

“I like the idea of having an income in the household,” said O’Reilly of his enthusiasm for having transformed his home into part of his business. “Once you get attached to your land, you’re always thinking of ways to create avenues of income so that you don’t have to leave.”<\/p>\n

Sarah Allen, on the other hand, hadn’t fully realized that the fixer-upper B&B at God’s Mountain Estate<\/b> she bought in 2005 also came with 115 acres of grapevines she’d have to tend. This is why callers usually get the answering machine. She truly is, as the message says, out in the vineyard, reclining among the Riesling, pruning and listening to a P. D. James thriller on her iPod.<\/p>\n

The irony is, she doesn’t even enjoy alcohol. (She has absolutely nothing against guests drinking\u2014and even invites a local catering company to serve wine-themed al fresco banquets on the terrace once or twice a week\u2014she just doesn’t personally like the taste.) This hasn’t stopped the grapes she supplies to nearby Wild Goose vineyard from being turned into award-winning wines. <\/span><\/p>\n

A half-Italian, half-Welsh Briton who had spent 30 years on a tiny island off Vancouver, Allen first stumbled across this rambling Mediterranean-style B&B of whitewashed buildings on a high escarpment overlooking Skaha Lake in 2003.<\/p>\n

“I basically moved from one island to another,” she said, “for there is nothing around us here.” Cupped between ridges to the north and south, with a notch to the east providing views of God’s Mountain itself, the property perches above a lonely stretch of coastal road hugging the lake’s eastern shore. Most guests hurtle right past the entrance two or three times until they realize that the unassuming, kiosk-like white rain shelter by a short gravel track marks the turning for the steep driveway (look for the gold street number on that kiosk).<\/p>\n

Allen likes it that way. She doesn’t advertise, list with the local Chamber of Commerce, or even have a sign by that well-concealed driveway. She doesn’t want passersby looking for a place to crash. She prefers guests who seek her out intentionally, relying on word of mouth, her Web site, and repeat customers to stay reliably booked year-round. <\/span><\/p>\n

While there is WiFi access, said Allen, “there are no TVs, no telephones, and no piped-in music. Just quiet.” Her brochure quotes a Spanish proverb: “How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterward.”<\/p>\n

She’s still busily fixing up her hidden haven of relaxation, which was formerly more funky than offbeat charming. Its wonderfully hodgepodge and comfortable, built on an open and airy plan in which the guest kitchen (modeled after an ersatz ship captain’s quarters) opens into the meandering split-level living area, wide staircases spill from one room to the next and then lead down to the long gravel terrace with sitting nooks, lake views, hot tub, and small swimming pool.<\/p>\n

Each room is different; some grandiose, some on the cramped end of cozy. Many repeat guests call well in advance for the coveted Roofless Room, which has a working fireplace, oversized tub, canopied bed, fresh flowers, curtained windows, French doors opening onto a small balcony\u2014and no roof. <\/span><\/p>\n

The big, comfy bed is equipped with a pillowy duvet, sturdy shingled canopy, and lots of gauzy curtains (along with heavy Venetian blinds to drop in case a rare driving rain should kick up). This is the only room that closes for the winter\u2014though a few die-hard guests request it even in February. <\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps it is an acquired taste, but for what it’s worth I had the best two nights’ sleep of my entire trip in that bed. Bugs were not a problem; I woke to a bluebird chirping on my bedpost each morning; and I tracked the moon across the sky each evening as the crackling fire lulled me to sleep.<\/p>\n

The Biker and the Beekeeper<\/b><\/h5>\n

Ed Nowek began working with honeybees as a summer job in high school in Northern Alberta, work that eventually took him to California and Mexico before he got out of the business for a decade to do marketing and run video stores. <\/span><\/p>\n

“I liked it,” said Nowek of his foray into a life not defined by honeybees. “But there was nothing I had a real passion for, nothing that I found that I really enjoyed doing like beekeeping.” Twelve years ago, got back into the bee business, but this time he wanted to “make it about educating, sharing it with people, and offering the other products of the hive\u2014not just honey.” <\/span><\/p>\n

Nowek started Planet Bee<\/b> just outside Vernon at the northern end of the Okanagan, where he leads tours of his little bee museum with a goofy, infectious enthusiasm, drawling in an easygoing Canuck patois liberally sprinkled with “Eh’s.” <\/span><\/p>\n

He can crack jokes about busy female worker bees and layabout male drones with geeky glee, launch into a discussion of the mysterious bee colony death epidemic that has been making news over the past few years, and espouse the health benefits of various bee products, citing bee experts from Hippocrates and Mohammed to Renaissance natural historians and contemporary nutritionists.<\/p>\n

The tour highlight, however, comes outside, where visitors can watch from behind protective netting as Nowek demonstrates his art on a live beehive. For a few extra bucks, anyone can suit up, don a veil, and try tending the hive themselves. <\/p>

Nowek seems to get a kick out of seeing the delighted look on people’s faces the first time they taste fresh honey straight from the busily buzzing comb\u2014and their realization that perhaps bees are less the hell-bent stinging machines of their nightmares and more the fascinating creatures Nowek knows and loves.<\/p>\n

“That\u2019s my goal, ” said Nowek. “That people will be more comfortable with bees, more understanding of bees when they leave.”<\/p>\n

The goal of mountain bike guide “Trailhead” Ed Kruger, operating out of Kelowna, the Okanagan’s largest town and unofficial capital, appears to be to cram as much information about the region and its history as possible into his clients during the breather breaks on his rides along trails converted from the historic Kettle Valley Railroad.<\/b><\/p>\n

Kruger’s fascinating conversational patter careens from the esoterica of railroad history to anecdotes of colorful valley characters to the historical development of the local agricultural industry from tobacco barns and fruit orchards to today’s vineyards.<\/p>\n

“I was voted one of the best historians in the valley two years ago,” said Kruger as he pointed out ancient sediment layers in the landscape dating from last glaciation period, then indicated the woods where Rambo: First Blood<\/i> was filmed, and then, without pause, launched into a discourse on the local economy (apparently, there’s way more profit in golf courses than in gas stations).<\/p>\n

Though born and raised in Kelowna, Kruger started his guiding career conducting extreme mountain bike tours in the Monashee Mountains east of the valley (hence his company’s name: Monashee Adventure Tours). <\/p>

“God, I had some fun!” He said of his years careening down mountainsides. “But after a few broken wrists and scary crashes it was nice to get away and do some slack stuff like this. I rarely have to use my first aid kit now.”<\/p>\n

The “slack stuff” that led Kruger home to the Okanagan and that now forms the bread and butter of his business consists of relatively easy trail rides along old rail beds, which feature a nearly flat grade. <\/span><\/p>\n

“I’ve had folks as young as four and as old as 87 do this ride,” said Kruger of a popular half-day 20km (12-mile) route that crosses the dozen historic rail trestles of Myra Canyon, a stretch of wilderness that folks around here call “The Jewel of the Transcanada Trail.”<\/p>\n

In the mid-1990s, Kruger helped with this rails-to-trails conversion, then played an even more active role in replacing the trestles after they were destroyed in a devastating 2003 fire that consumed 3,000 acres. The final trestle wasn’t restored\u2014and the Myra Canyon trail fully reopened\u2014until March 2008. In the meantime, Kruger developed his other popular range of rides: variations on vineyard hopping by bicycle.<\/p>\n

The Original Locals<\/b><\/h5>\n

“Chief Louie likes to joke he’s selling firewater to the white man.” It’s an unwritten law of comedy that a statement isn’t politically incorrect if a group is poking fun at itself, and as the tour guide started her spiel, a quietly smiling Chief Clarence Louie himself threaded through the little knot of tourists on his way out to the vineyards at Nk’Mip Winery<\/b> (pronounced “Inka-meep”), North American’s first\u2014and only\u2014native-owned winery.<\/p>\n

Not everyone in the Okanagan is an arriviste, and the Nk’Mip\u2014formally known as the Osoyoos Indian Band\u2014have been here longer than most by a factor of thousands of years. <\/p>

They also began their vineyard earlier than most, planting their first grapes in 1968. (Back then, paternalistic federal laws wouldn’t allow the Indians to open their own winery, so they began a long partnership with the company now known as Vincor, Canada’s largest wine concern.)<\/p>\n

The Nk’Mip have approached stewardship of their ancestral lands with the same balance of modern entrepreneurial zeal and respect for the Okanagan’s natural resources practiced by newer transplants to the region. <\/p>

Chief Louie has formed his tiny tribe of 450 members into a corporation that owns a half-dozen business around the valley\u2014from gas stations to construction companies\u2014and oversees a variety of operations on the band’s 32,000-acre Reserve outside the town of Osoyoos. These include the winery and its fantastic patio lunch restaurant, a nine-hole golf course, resort and spa complex, RV park, and the excellent Desert Cultural Centre.<\/b><\/p>\n

The southern end of the Okanagan around Osoyoos is home to Canada’s only true desert, a pocket microclimate of sunshine and low rainfall that actually marks the northernmost tip of the Great Basin Desert ecosystem, stretching south through the Mojave, the Sonora, and the Chihuahua in Mexico. <\/span><\/p>\n

Though a desert, it’s still full of life. Scientists have identified more than 25 new species in the Osoyoos area, which is home to one-third of the “red-listed” (threatened or endangered) species in British Columbia. Several of the marquee rare species on display at the Centre\u2014alongside multimedia presentations on the band’s history, cultural traditions, and artwork\u2014include spadefoot toads, tiger salamanders, black widows, and everybody’s favorite: western rattlesnakes.<\/p>\n

The Centre’s 11am “Snakes Alive!” program is a fun mix of herpetology facts and anecdotes about the everyday encounters with snakes that are part of life in the desert, but don\u2019t for one second imagine that the rattler shown on stage is the only one around. <\/p>

Those “Watch for Rattlesnakes” signs by the interpretive trail meandering through the surrounding antelope brush are not just for show. As I entered the mock traditional village partway along the path, a rattler silently slid out of the bushes and, head slightly reared, slithered across the path at a pace I found rather alarming\u2014especially when he turned and headed directly toward me. (Like a stupid little tourist, I snapped a few pictures before jumping out of the way.)<\/p>\n

Deciding to explore more of the Band’s desert Reserve by horse\u2014which placed my ankles as far above the ground (and striking distance) as possible\u2014I called Indian Grove Riding Stables.<\/b> <\/p>

Travis, my young guide, led me along a sandy trail that twisted through the yellow-tufted antelope brush. Unlike the intermingled sagebrush, antelope brush is actually a member of the rose family, and Indian healers burn it in a ritual “smudging” to purify a house and clear out the evil spirits\u2014besides which, it just smells wonderful. (Travis hangs small bundles on his car’s rearview mirror, an Okanagan variant on the pine tree air freshener.)<\/p>\n

We rode along ridges, picked our way in and out of steep gullies, and cantered into glens where the surrounding landscape eclipsed the view of the lake and its shoreline buildings and suddenly I could almost picture a John Ford western being filmed here among the antelope brush and blue-green sage, picked out with the lavender starbursts of hoary asters, fluffy-headed snow buckwheat, and bright yellow rabbit brush, all of it set against high cliffs of red and gold.<\/p>\n

As we clambered up a berm, the lake popped back into view, just a few dozen feet below. We turned our horses to plunge down the sandy slope and galloped into the water. <\/p>

Splashing along the shoreline under the warm desert sun, I gazed across the lake at a thin strip of green vineyards opposite, sandwiched between the Okanagan’s rolling red hills bristling with Ponderosa pines and the rippling blue reflections of the water.<\/p>\n

When You Go<\/b><\/h5>\n

Quail’s Gate Winery,<\/b> 3303 Boucherie Rd., Kelowna\/Westbank, tel. 800-420-9463 or 250-769-4451, quailsgate.com.<\/p>\n

Burrowing Owl Winery,<\/b> RR. #1, Site 52, Comp 20, Oliver, tel. 877-498-0620, burrowingowlwine.ca.<\/p>\n

Mission Hill Winery,<\/b> 1730 Mission Hill Rd., Westbank, tel. 250-768-7611, missionhillwinery.com.<\/p>\n

Hillside Estate Winery,<\/b> 1350 Naramata Rd., Penticton, tel. 888-923-9463 or 250-493-6274, hillsideestate.com.<\/p>\n

Laughing Stock Winery,<\/b> 1548 Naramata Rd., Penticton, tel. 250-493-8466, laughingstock.ca.<\/p>\n

Black Widow<\/b> Winery,<\/b> 1630 Naramata Rd, Penticton, tel. 250-487-2347, blackwidowwinery.com.<\/p>\n

O’Reilly Organic Farm B&B,<\/b> R.R. #2, Site 15, Comp 7, Oliver (on the east side of Hwy 97 north of town), tel. 250-498-6044, oreillyfarmstay.ca, open mid-Mar\u2013Oct, $110.<\/p>\n

God’s Mountain Estate B&B,<\/b> 4898 Lakeside Rd., Penticton (south of town, halfway down the east side of Skaha Lake), tel. 250-490-4800, godsmountain.com, open year-round, from $139. <\/span><\/p>\n

Planet Bee, <\/b>5011 Bella Vista Rd., Vernon, tel. 250-542-8088, planetbee.com, tours from $5 (add $6 to suit up and work a hive).<\/p>\n

Monashee Adventure Tours,<\/b> 1591 Highland Dr. N., Kelowna, tel. 888-762-9253 or 250-762-9253, monasheeadventuretours.com, half-day tours from $60.<\/p>\n

NkMip Cellars,<\/b> 1400 Rancher Creek Rd., Osoyoos, tel. 250-495-2985, nkmipcellars.com, tours daily 11am, 1pm, 3pm, $5.<\/p>\n

Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre,<\/b> 1000 Rancher Creek Rd.,<\/p>\n

Osoyoos, tel. 250-495-7901, www.nkmipdesert.com, $12.<\/p>\n

Indian Grove Riding Stables,<\/b> Rancher Creek Rd., Osoyoos, tel. 250-495-7555, summer only, trail rides from $80.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley is where the Lake District meets Napa Valley meets the Wild West, a formerly sleepy retirement haven of orchards and vineyards being reinvented by dream-chasing Canadian entrepreneurs who are turning their hobbies and obsessions into successful tourism businesses<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[12,73,76,30,71,74,16,24,28,72],"class_list":["post-1636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","tag-article","tag-biking","tag-british-columbia","tag-budget-travel-magazine","tag-canada","tag-indigenous-peoples","tag-lodging","tag-magazine","tag-travel","tag-wine"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1636"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1647,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1636\/revisions\/1647"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}