Sip Happens Wine Tour review – West Kelowna
Did you know British Columbia has a semi-arid desert region, the Okanagan Valley that is fantastic for wineries? We have visited a few times now, spending time near Osoyoos, Naramata and Oliver. This time, we signed up for a tour with Sip Happens Wine Tours to try wine near Kelowna. We opted for the “holy sip full day lunch tour” on the westside wine trail in West Kelowna. The tour bus picked us up from our hotel and drove us to 5 wineries. There was no obligation to buy wine, but they had plenty of space in the bus if you did want to purchase some.
I was not sponsored in any way for this post, but we all had a fab day out so I thought it might help other wine lovers if I share our experience.
Sip Happens – Westside Wine Trail
(plus tax and a tip, so the total is around $200 per person)
Duration: 6 hours
Lunch: They book a table for you for lunch, but lunch is not included.
Where will you go? You’ll visit 5 wineries. They say they choose the best wineries based on customer satisfaction, but I have to admit, there was a real range of amazing to meh. I’ll share some information about each of the places we visited on this tour.
Off the Grid
Location: 3623 Glencoe Rd, West Kelowna BC V4T 1L8
Phone: 778-754-7562
Website: https://www.offthegridorganicwinery.com/
The first winery has a fantastic location on top of a hill with great views down to West Kelowna. This one has all organic and natural wines. If you visit without a tour, it’ll cost $8 for the basic or $15 for the elevated tour.
We loved the views and the friendly staff who talked us through their wines. I am not always a big fan of natural wines (they sometimes taste a bit like cider…) But it was a lovely location.
One extra fun part of this winery is all the animals! You can wander around to meet the chickens and goats that live to the side of the wine tasting area. There are photo introductions to each of the goats, so you can learn their names.
Ciao Bella
Location: 3252 Glencoe Rd, West Kelowna, V4T 1M2
Phone: 778-754-3443
Website: https://ciaobellawinery.com
Ciao Bella has a family, friendly vibe. This is an Italian family’s winery, with 3 generations growing grapes and working here. It looks like a normal home from the front, so I am not sure if we’d have found this one without a tour!
I was a fan of their Pinozannte (which was rose coloured sparkling wine.) It is also really sweet that they add family photos to the wine labels.
Mt Boucherie Estate
Location: 829 Douglas Rd, West Kelowna, BC V1Z 1N9
Phone: (778) 940-1526
Website: https://mtboucherie.com
Mt Boucherie felt really fancy after the first two wineries! They have a beautiful outdoor tasting area on their patio and a massive shop full of excellent wines.
The quality of wine was far better, but they have a price tag to match the quality. We did buy more wine at Mt Boucherie, but we bought the wines we tried at lunch, rather than the wines from the tasting.
The Modest Butcher
Our tour included time at the Modest Butcher within Mt Boucherie for lunch. This was a great opportunity to have an extra glass of wine, and the food was excellent. This was not included in the price of the tour, so remember to expect some extra costs for lunch. I went for a risotto (as my tummy was calling for carbs after all the wine!)
Rollingdale
Location: 2306 Hayman Road West Kelowna, BC V1Z 1Z5
Phone: (250) 769-9224
Website: https://www.rollingdale.ca
I loved the look of Rollingdale at first! There were cute decorations on the barrels and plenty of fairy lights to decorate the tasting area.
But, I have to admit; I was not a fan of the wines here. Rollingdale is certified organic and they seemed proud of their wines, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. This was the only winery where we didn’t buy anything.
Indigenous World Winery
Location: 2218 Horizon Dr. Kelowna, V1Z 3L45
Phone: (250) 769-9224
Website: https://www.indigenousworldwinery.com/
This was another location with beautiful views! Indigenous is owned and operated by descendants from the Syilx people, and they make both wine and other spirits.
I really liked that the wine tasting included some Syilx stories and they have a teepee set up on the grounds so you get a teeny bit of culture along with wine tasting. We enjoyed the wine tasting, and we ended up buying whiskey and gin when they gave us a taste of those too. Their gift shop also has crafts and artwork from Canadian First Nations, so it can be a great spot to pick up gifts.
Bonus Wineries: Tantalus and Sperling
One thing I really loved about taking a tour with Sip Happens was listening to our guide, James, as he spoke about the other local wineries that we didn’t visit as part of the tour. We noticed that we almost always prefer wines made from old vines. The following day, we went back and visited the wineries that James mentioned that have older vines (near Kelowna, these were Tantalus, Sperling and Quails gate.)
We loved the experience of the tastings on the westside wine trail. It’s a fun day out.
In conclusion, Sip Happens are great for wine tours! We are pretty used to organizing our own wine-tour adventures, so it was pleasant to sit back, be driven around and have someone else do all the planning! It also works really well if you visit the Kelowna in a group and you all want to taste the wines, rather than have a designated driver.
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26 thoughts on “Sip Happens Wine Tour review – West Kelowna”
It looks so charming! Beautiful winery and the food looks delicious!
I’ve only experienced wineries back in my home state Western Australia but I’d love to check out the wineries in Canada. Thanks for your recommendations in West Kelowna!
I absolutely love visiting wineries but never thought of Canada as a place to enjoy a wine tour. This looks so fun!
Yeah, I had no idea there was so much wine in BC until we moved here. There are lots of smaller wineries, so they seem to export less than other regions.
Love the honest reviews of the different wineries, I loved the look of the risotto for lunch to help soak up all of the tastings! The view from Off the Grid is just magical, I don’t even need the wine to enjoy that one!
Right!? Especially as they sell produce and you can visit the animals. 😀
Sip Happens Wine Tours looks and sounds like the best way to try so many different wines. Great guide! Love the beautiful ambiance and views as well…so pretty!
Thanks Karen! Yeah the views made it feel like a sightseeing tour as well as a wine tasting tour! <3
Going on a tour sounds awesome, although I’m not much of a wine-drinker, I appreciate a good winery, especially if they serve delicious food like some of the ones you went to. The mountain and lake views over there are stunning – it definitely makes me want to travel to Canada!
Thanks Sheryl!
I’d love to try these wines! And the landscape looks amazing as well! When I’m close, I’d love to visit.
Thanks Marga! I feel the same about your Portugal posts!
As you say, a tour is a great way to sit back and enjoy the wines. I have been on quite a few so will seek Sip Happens out when I make it to this part of the world.
It is a hassle free way to visit a bunch of them isn’t it!!
This sounds like such a fun day out! And the views from these wineries are incredible. Lunch looks like it was delicious as well. The indigenous winery experience sounds really cool – would love to visit there!
Right!? It’s even more fun when you get to learn about the local culture (as well as try wines!!)
BC and wineries aren’t something I would have put together, but now I know! This sounds like a fantastic region. I love a good day out at the wineries! The winery with the animals looks cute, and a good idea to draw in my families and visitors.
Thanks Tam. The goats were such little comedians!
A great idea to be chauffeured around the wine estates! That’s always our problem when going on wine tours. Would definitely be worth it for me, I love wine and I am not hugely alcohol tolerant. I don’t know much about New World Wines, but these estates all look so clean and modern – would love to try their wine!
It’s quite different to tastings in Europe (and the price per bottle is MUCH higher as they are amazing value back in Europe when you visit wineries..) But it is a really cool experience and you get to learn a lot.
This tour looks like so much fun! I love vineyard tours, but I’ve never done one where you visit multiple wineries in one day – what a brilliant way to spend the day! All the vineyards look so beautiful! Thanks for sharing them with us!
Oooh if you have not done this before I bet you’d love it Hannah!
Definitely yes, sometimes it feels great to sit back & have someone else do all the planning! Would love to explore West Kelowna one day! Thanks for the inspiration
Thanks for the lovely comment Anna.
I also never thought that Canada has these exciting places where I can enjoy wine tasting and tour. Thank you for this, Josy! Will certainly visit.
Woot woot! Thanks Alona!