Wineries of Black Sage Road

Black Hills Estate Winery

30880 Black Sage Road
Oliver, BC

Black Hills Estate Winery is located between Oliver and Osoyoos, British Columbia. The vineyard is nestled in the sun-burnt hills on the Black Sage Bench, home to British Columbia's highest quality vinifera grapes. The rugged desert earth, long sunlight hours and cool nights yield the intensely flavorful grapes that are blended to produce Bordeaux-style "Nota Bene" their most popular wine. In fact all their wines sell out within weeks of been released

In 2008 Blacks Hills was sold to Vinequest, a company engaged exclusively in the fascinating Okanagan wine industry. The winery donated a barrel of Nota Bene to a charity auction It sold for $19,000. Production is capped at around 4,300 cases a year. Black Hills was the first and is now one of only two Okanagan producers of carmenère.

Signature wine Nota Bene (cabernet sauvignon/merlot/cabernet franc blend), Alibi

Winemaker: Graham Pierce

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery

100 Burrowing Owl Place
R.R. #1 Site 52 Comp 20
Oliver, BC V0H 1T0

Located on the prestigious Black Sage Road near Oliver, British Columbia, Burrowing Owl Estate Winery is one of Canada's newer wineries with a growing reputation for producing premium wines of exceptional quality. Their wines have already been amply rewarded with top honours including Canadian Wine of the Year, Best Canadian Red Wine, Best Canadian Cabernet Sauvignon, The Lieutenant Governor?s Award of Excellence and internationally, their Meritage has twice won Best of Class.

Jim and Midge Wyse selected their location based on the Canadian Grape Atlas (Ag Canada 1984), which identified this area as the best grape growing region in the country. Being nature lovers and with a vineyard surrounded by a wildlife preserve that in the past has protected the endangered burrowing owl, the naming of the winery was easy. The winery is now run by son Chris and daughter Kerry.

According to proprietor Jim Wyse, the winery at Burrowing Owl Vineyards is among the world's most modern. It was designed to use gravity flow and cool, temperature-controlled underground caves for fermentation and barrel aging.

Burrowing Owl opened a fine dining restaurant in 2003 The Sonora Room, which is open daily for lunch and dinner from Easter to Thanksgiving. A current expansion project completed the final phase of development, a new and enlarged wine shop and a 10-room guesthouse, opened in spring/summer of 2006.


White wines: Chardonnay, Pinot Gris
Red wines: Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Meritage. Athene a blend of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Calliope (pronounced ka-LIE-oh-pee) a new label from the Wyse family

At the winery enjoy self guided walking tours and visit the Vineyard viewing tower complete with interpretive wine-making information

Winemaker Bertus Albertyn
Philosophy: To create the finest wines in Canada, using classic techniques aided by the flow of gravity, extensive underground barrel cellars and ecologically sound viticulture practices.

Church and State Wines
Coyotes Bowl Vineyard

Black Sage Road
Oliver, BC VOH 1T0

Church and States Coyote Bowl Vineyard was chosen for rich soil, fantastic exposure to the Western sun, and on the prestigious Black Sage Bench – one of Canada’s most sought after wine producing locations.

Kim Pullen purchased Victoria Estate Winery in 2004 and began sourcing grapes from the Okanagan Valley. Upon changing the name to Church & State wine that year, it began a transformation into a winery dedicated to producing the highest-caliber wines possible from BC fruit, starting with pouring out 20,000 cases of wine produced prior to his purchase that did not meet our rigorous quality demands. By 2009, production had moved to Oliver, BC, and construction of a new winery on Coyote Bowl Vineyard began. Now, Church & State farms 100 acres, in both Oliver and Brentwood Bay to produce only ten to twelve thousand cases annually, with two locations open to the public: Coyote Bowl on the Black Sage Bench, and Brentwood Bay near Butchart Gardens.

They have 100 acres - Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Chardonnay-Musque, Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier Production ranges from 10,000-12,000 cases/year

Signature wine is Quintessential (Best Red Wine in Canada at the 2009 All-Canadian Wine Championships), a full 5-varietal Bordeaux blend featuring Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Malbec, Merlot, and Petit Verdot

Winemaker: Jeff Del Nin , Consultant : Bill Dyer

Philosophy: To produce the best possible wines from exclusively BC grapes, through a belief in handcrafted quality, attention to detail and the highest standards we can achieve through teamwork, patience and dedication, both in the vineyards, and the cellar.

Desert Hills Winery

30480 71st. Black Sage Road
Oliver, BC VOH 1T0

The winery was opened in 2003 by Randy, Jessie and Dave Toor. They had previously operated as producers of grapes for other wineries. The winery overlooks the Okanagan River Valley. They started by selling their grapes to Domaine de Chaberton in the Fraser Valley, then producing their own wine. Today they produce over 10,000 cases. They recently added Zinfandel.

Signature wines, Syrah and a Mirage blend.

Winemaker: Elias Phiniotis .

Dunham & Froese Estate Winery

Box 249
Oliver, BC V0H 1T0

Located at the foot of McIntyre Bluff on the 700 acre Covert Farms The winery is owned by Gene and Shelly Covert along with Kirby and Crystal Froese A small production winery with a hands on approach follow organic and biodyanmic practices both in the vineyard and in the winery. They are intensely dedicated to the betterment of the earth both now and for future generations Their first vintage was in 2005.

Kirby Froese has been making award winning wines for over 15 years. Travelled the world working in Australia, Chile, California before coming to the Okanagan Valley in 1998. Currently they have 15 acres planted along the ridge in the southeast corner of the property. Planted are Pinot Noir, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, Malbec. The whites are Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillion, Pinot Blanc and in the spring of 2009 will add Roussanne.

Signature wine: Amicitia Blends (ah-mee-CHEE-tee-ah) which is Latin for Friendship and represents the blending of their partnership as well as the marriage of the varietals in their two Reserve blends.

Winemaker Kirby Froese
Philosophy: His style leans towards the old world influences of dry intrepid blends. As a team we look to bring out the differences each year offers and to work with the variation of climate and soils that the variables of farming brings. From the recipe nature gives us using organic and biodynamic methods we create exceptional wines that represent this microclimate and we advocate the importance of sustainable practices for now and future generations.

Hidden Chapel

9756 382nd Ave
Oliver, BC VOH 1T0

One of the newer wineries located just ten minutes north of Oliver. The property is 3 acres planted with Cabernet Sauvignon . The winery is owned by Deborah Wilde and Lanny Kinrade. A very small chapel is located on the property. . A shiraz/cabernet blend is called Nuns on the Run; the rosé is called Blushing Bride and the white blend is called White Wedding. Current plans are to produce 1000 cases mostly white

Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Estate

38691 97th Street
Oliver, BC V0H 1T0

Established by Don Triggs and Allan Jackson in the Fall of 1993, Jackson-Triggs has wineries in both Ontario and British Columbia . In 1998, Jackson-Triggs leased a 410-acre site from the Osoyoos Indian Band in the Okanagan Valley . Located along striking mountain slopes overlooking Osoyoos Lake , the area's unique climate and soils combine to create an ideal "terroir" for growing a wide selection of premium quality varietals.

The original winemaking centre in Oliver underwent a major expansion in 2002 and is now a 35,361 square foot (3,285 square metre) space that employs some of the most advanced technology in the world, along with the very best equipment from as far away as Europe and Oceania . The grapes for all its wines, with the exception of the Icewines, are sourced from six vineyards in the Southern Okanagan Valley, which together cover a total of 1200 acres One vineyard, named Sunrock, is dedicated exclusively to the production of Jackson-Triggs' highest quality SunRock Vineyard Wines

The winery is owned by Vincor International

Winemakers: Brooke Blair and Derek Kontkanen
Philosophy: Is to ensure every grape that enters the winery reaches its maximum potential

 

Le Vieux Pin

34070 73rd and Black Sage Road
Oliver, BC

 

Le Vieux Pin, named after the old pine on the North-West corner of their vineyard. Wines are made in the French tradition but with the latest in equipment and technique. The focus is to make wine representative of its terroir. Low-input viticulture is the method we use to get there. Dry farming, minimal fertilizer addition, high-density plantings (6 feet x 3 feet) and low yield will allow vines to show who they really are deep down to the roots.


Owned by Enotecca Winery and Resorts

Located on the Black Sage Bench owned by Bruce and Denice Hagerman Bruce began as an amateur wine maker in 1989. In 2002, the Hagermans bought an orchard south of Oliver, on Black Sage Road , with a winery in mind. They replaced the fruit trees in 2006 with 5.6 hectares (17 acres of grapes) and built their winery, launching it with 2,500 cases of wine from purchased grapes (Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Kerner, Merlot and Pinot Noir.) Winemaking consultant Christine Leroux helped the Hagermans through their first vintage.

The name comes from the town of Oliver and the fact that the winery uses Stelvin 'twist' tops

signature wine is Kerner Annual production is roughly four thousand cases of red, white, rosé, and dessert style wines.

You can find their wines in BC, Alberta and Manitoba. Signature wines: Kerner, Viognier & Chardonnay

Winemaker: Denice Hagerman
Philosophy: It all starts in the vineyard  Quality Vines to Quality Wines

Quinta Ferreira Estate Winery

34664 - 71st Street at Black Sage Road
Oliver, BC V0H 1T0

Quinta Ferreira Estate Winery  opened it doors in June of 2007. Situated on the famed Black Sage Road in Oliver. Quinta means estate in Portuguese, and Ferreira is the owners last name, John and Maria Ferreira. Quinta also means 5, which there are 5 members in the Ferreria family. They obtained the property in 1979 and converted the orchard to grapes in 1999

The wineries direction is limited production concentrating on quality wines. They have a slogan Canadian wines with a Portuguese twist

Signature wines: Malbec, Viognier, Merlot, Syrah Vinho Du sol, a late harvest dessert wine

Winemaker: Michael Ferreira
Philosophy: Fruit forward wines

River Stone Estate Winery

7148 378th Ave .   
RR#2 S5 C18
Oliver, BC V0H 1T0

 

A small, family owned and operated by Ted and Lorraine Kane. Located in the South
Okanagan north of Oliver on the east side of the highway..

It all started with a passion for winemaking and the love of all things technical. I started making wine at the age of 19. I soon realized that the best wines came from the best grapes and ventured out to find this quality fruit. My quest led me to the deep south of BC to Oliver and arguably the best grape growing region of Canada. Over time, I came to develop a particular affinity for the Bordeaux red varietals and the wines being produced in a new world style. These are rich in color and texture and bold in fruit flavors.

Silver Sage Winery

32032 87th Ave
Oliver, BC, V0H 1T0

 

The winery is owned by the Manola Family who emigrated from Romania, Europe over 25 years ago. The had always dreamed of owning a vineyard in the Okanagan Valley, and in 1996 the dream became a reality. The Manola's purchased 25 acres of land, cleared it, planted and with a lot of hard work, love and passion it became a well established vineyard of which they were and are very proud. Both Anna and Victor had a wine making and viticulture background that stretches back to their youth

They have 600 hectare vineyard producing Gewürztraminer Pinot Blanc and Merlot. Signature wines Grand Sage Reserve, Flame

Winemaker: Anna Manola

Stoneboat Vineyard

7148 Orchard Grove LAne
Oliver, BC V0H 1R0

This winery is the culmination of 23 years of viticulture by Lanny Martiniuk and his family. In 1979 they bought a 15-acre orchard on the Black Sage with a handshake, eventually converting the entire property to vinifera. Property was planted with Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris vinifera in ‘92, with Pinot Blanc, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon added later. They worked as growers for years raising their family. Their first vintage was 2007

The name comes from a flat sledge for carrying stones; originally used to clear the home vineyard of its abundant river rocks. They named their vineyards as a tribute to the original caretakers Vineyard, who had to clear the land of its rocks in order to cultivate it. We believe that a stoneboat is representative of qualities that we value: hard work and tradition

Julie and Lanny Martiniuk have three sons. Jay is studying to be a winemaker meanwhile Lawrence Herder is overseeing the development of their wines. Lawrence and his wife Sharon run their own winery, Herder Winery and Vineyards in Cawston, BC.