Vino! Osoyoos – Oliver – Penticton, September 2015

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Anne-Marie

Distance from Vancouver: 4h30
Not much elevation gain, but lots of wine!

This time I spent a week-end getaway with some friends in the Okanagan, BC. We drove through the Highway 3 from Hope (beautiful drive, by the way… it was my first time in the area, crossing Manning Park!) and spent 3 days in Osoyoos/Oliver. We also drove up to Penticton for one afternoon to enjoy the beach and some of the wineries. For mountains lovers, this is a very interesting area – quite different from the glaciers! In the middle of the desert, with the lakes and beaches, lower mountains with small trees… turtle, sheep and snakes crossings on the road!

If you are interested in wine tastings and discovering the area, and if you also have a Visa Infinite card (which we did!), check out the deals you could get at the local wineries with your card.

For example, we had a private wine Portfolio tasting at Black Hills Winery, as well as a private barrel wine tasting with the owner at Painted Rock Winery. In total we visited 12 wineries and I tasted about 48 wines – most of the wineries offer free tasting or a very small fee.

There also are a few hikes to do in the area – it wasn’t the goal of our week-end so I didn’t get a chance to go around much. We also had the best dinner at Campo Marina, an Italian restaurant in Osoyoos near our hotel. It was the best Italian meal I’ve had in a long time… I would definitely recommend it.