Kirsty Connolly

We had an amazing weekend up in the Okanagan & were very fortunate enough to getaway for the first little heat wave & kidless too!

I have not been to the Okanagan in years & the last time I was in Kelowna was on a whirlwind trip for a wedding.  So, it was so nice to enjoy the beautiful weather & have no itinerary!  Because we were not in a hurry we decided to take the Hope-Princeton Highway (Crows Nest) & so happy we did, it was so quiet & relaxing.  It did take us a little longer to get to our final destination, but it was worth it!  On our way in we were able to make a stop in Okanagan Falls were we did some wine tasting at some great wineries.  A few mentionable wineries…Blue Mountain, Blasted Church& See Ya Later Ranch. 

From OK Falls we headed up the highway to Summerland where we stayed at the beautiful Summerland Resort& we couldn`t have had a better view!  We finished our day off with an amazing dinner at the Local Loungelocated right next door. 
Our whole second day was dedicated to wine tasting, we arranged for a driver to take us around so we could both enjoy the tastings, our driver Merv was fantastic, knowledgeable & all around great company!  We started our day off with a couple of great wineries in Summerland where we found a great private vineyard called Silk Scarfand a nice fruit winery called Sleeping Giantwhich is the same orchard that makes Summerland Sweets.  We then headed over to the Naramata Bench where we had some time to visit another couple of wineries before lunch at the Hillside Estatewhich was hands down the best lunch ever!
Right after lunch we had a scheduled Chardonnay Barrel Blending at Township 7, where we had the opportunity to learn how to blend the various chardonnay`s to create our very own unique blend.  This was a fun experience & look forward to participating in Township 7`s Merlot Barrel Blending. 

After our fun at the barrel blending we headed back up the Naramata Bench for another few tastings before heading back to the resort & calling it a night.  Our mentionable stops on the Naramata Bench are Township 7, La Frenz, Ruby Blues, Kettle Valley& Elephant Islandfor its fruit wines & funky flare!

On our final day before heading back home, we jumped on the Kettle Valley RailwaySteam Train for a 90min return trip alongside orchards & rolling hills to check out one of the original trestle bridges, this is a great adventure for the family & a great way to end a perfect weekend. 

The Okanagan offers so much more than just wineries, & I look forward to our family trip to Oosoyos this summer & sharing that adventure.