Where to Go Wine Tasting in East Kelowna: A Local’s Guide

East Kelowna wineries have become some of my favourite places to spend an afternoon, which is funny because I haven’t always been much of a wine person.

I’ve lived in Kelowna for years, but I’ve always been much more likely to spend my weekends hiking, paddling, or exploring another one of the incredible places around the Okanagan than sitting in a tasting room. Over the last few years, though, I’ve started exploring more of Kelowna’s wineries and restaurants, and apparently I was missing out.

I’m still far from a wine connoisseur, and you’re not going to find me pretending I can identify twelve different tasting notes in a glass. What I can tell you is which wineries I actually enjoy visiting.

I tend to love the smaller, more homey wineries where you can settle in, chat with whoever is pouring, and not feel like you’re being shuffled through a tasting. East Kelowna has plenty of those, along with a few bigger wineries that are worth visiting for completely different reasons.

So rather than give you a giant list and tell you they’re all amazing, I’m starting with the East Kelowna wineries I’d recommend first, plus a few more worth knowing about if you have extra time.

My Favourite East Kelowna Wineries

To be honest, the wine itself usually isn’t the reason I keep going back to specific wineries. I think most wine is pretty good! For me, it’s much more about the atmosphere, whether there’s a great patio, and whether I actually want to hang out. I’m all about vibes over here.

I tend to prefer the smaller, more homey wineries over the big, polished estates, so my favourites might look a little different from other East Kelowna winery guides. But that’s half the fun of wine tasting, right? Everyone ends up finding their own favourites.

So, without further ado, here are the East Kelowna wineries I put at the top of my list!

Priest Creek Family Estate Winery

Best for: A relaxed, family-run winery where you’ll want to hang out after your tasting.

Priest Creek Family Estate Winery is everything I love about the smaller wineries in East Kelowna. It’s family-run and relaxed, without the polished or formal atmosphere you sometimes get at the bigger wineries. It’s easily one of my favourites.

I especially love visiting in the summer. The outdoor tasting area has a vine-covered terrace that almost feels like a little slice of Tuscany, and after your tasting, you can grab a glass and hang out for a while. They have lawn games, and throughout the season they host events like live music, Food Truck Fridays, and movie nights.

Priest Creek gets a lot of attention for its reds, but their rosé is a favourite of mine, and I LOVE their sparkling red. They also make an estate Gewürztraminer from vines that have been growing here for around 30 years, so don’t overlook the whites either.

And definitely come hungry. The Spot Food Truck is right at the winery, and the food is really good (make sure to try their shrimp tacos!). I’d much rather order something to eat and hang out for another glass than rush through a tasting just to get to the next winery.

That’s really why Priest Creek ranks so highly for me. I go wine tasting for the whole experience, not just the wine, and Priest Creek is somewhere I’m always happy to spend a few hours.

Tantalus Vineyards

Best for: Incredible views, Riesling, and a more modern East Kelowna wine tasting.

Tantalus Vineyards has some of my favourite winery views in Kelowna. It sits high above the city and from the tasting room you look across the vineyard toward Okanagan Lake. The winery itself is bright and modern, so it’s a pretty different experience from the smaller, more homey wineries I usually gravitate toward.

Tantalus is especially known for its Riesling, and some of the vines here are among the oldest in the Okanagan. The property has actually been growing grapes since 1927, making it one of the oldest continuously producing vineyard sites in BC.

Another reason Tantalus stands out is how seriously it takes sustainability. It became the first LEED-certified winery in BC, and sustainability continues to play a big role in how the vineyard is managed today.

And then there are the bees! Tantalus has beehives in the vineyard through a partnership with a local honey farm, and you can learn more about them through the winery’s Bees & Barrels experience. The tour takes you through the vineyard and winery before finishing with a tasting overlooking the vines. It currently runs on weekdays and needs to be booked ahead.

I usually prefer smaller wineries, but Tantalus is one of the exceptions. The views alone make it worth stopping, and if you actually care about the wine, I wouldn’t skip this East Kelowna winery.

Hidden Vines Family Estate Winery

Best for: A small, relaxed winery with a personal tasting experience.

Hidden Vines is another one of my favourite East Kelowna wineries, and yes, you may be starting to notice a theme here. It’s family-run and wonderfully relaxed, without any of the stuffiness you might associate with wine tasting.

This is a great place to slow down for a while. You can do your tasting and then grab a bottle for the patio, and they actually encourage you to bring your own picnic. It’s dog-friendly too!

The family running Hidden Vines is still relatively new to winemaking, and I think that makes visiting even more interesting. It’s a small operation where you might actually meet the people growing the grapes and making the wine rather than just rushing through a busy tasting room.

They’re particularly excited about what East Kelowna can do with Riesling, so I’d make sure you try theirs while you’re there. They also make reds and rosé, with everything produced right here in East Kelowna.

Tastings are currently $10 for four wines, which is pretty hard to beat in the Okanagan!

Summerhill Pyramid Winery

Best for: Lunch with a view, organic wine, and easily the most unusual winery experience in East Kelowna.

Summerhill Pyramid Winery is probably the most recognizable winery in this part of Kelowna. And yes, it has an actual pyramid.

I’ve been to Summerhill quite a few times, and I’ll admit that the tasting room itself isn’t my favourite. I find it a little dark, and if I were choosing between doing a tasting or sitting outside with a glass of wine, I’d pick the latter every time.

The restaurant is a completely different story. Nature’s Table overlooks the vineyard and Okanagan Lake, and the patio is BEAUTIFUL in the summer. If you’re trying to decide where to work lunch into your East Kelowna wine day, this would be one of my picks. Summerhill itself highlights the lake views and sunsets as a big part of the restaurant experience, and I’d have to agree.

Then, of course, there’s the pyramid. Summerhill is an organic winery with BC’s only Demeter-certified biodynamic vineyard, but it’s probably best known for finishing its wines inside a four-storey pyramid built using sacred geometry. The winery believes spending time inside the pyramid affects the wine, particularly its sparkling wines.

Does it actually make the wine taste better? I have absolutely no idea. But I love that this exists in Kelowna.

You can go inside the pyramid, and if you’re curious about the story behind it, Summerhill now offers a 45-minute Pyramid Visit and Tasting Tour. There’s also a longer sparkling wine experience that takes you through the vineyard and production area before heading into the pyramid and finishing with a guided tasting.

PS: I’ve actually attended a sound bath and revival event inside the pyramid. At the time, I was dealing with a lot of anger after our house was set on fire, and I left feeling so much lighter. I know that sounds a little wild. Whether the pyramid had anything to do with it is up for debate, but I can’t deny that the experience had an impact on me.

More East Kelowna Wineries I Want to Visit (& You Should Too)

Apparently, living in Kelowna for years still isn’t enough time to make it to every winery.

There are a few East Kelowna wineries I haven’t visited yet, but I keep hearing enough good things about them that I don’t want to leave them out. I can’t give you the same firsthand recommendation as the wineries above, but they’re all on my list for one reason or another.

And who knows? You might make it to them before I do.

CedarCreek Estate Winery

Best for: A polished winery experience and a long lunch overlooking Okanagan Lake.

CedarCreek Estate Winery is one of Kelowna’s most well-known wineries, and somehow I still haven’t made it there. I hear SO many good things about it, especially Home Block Restaurant, so it’s pretty high on my list.

This is definitely a different experience from the smaller, more homey wineries I usually prefer. CedarCreek is a beautiful destination winery overlooking Okanagan Lake, with a much more polished feel and several different tasting experiences to choose from. You can keep things fairly casual with a glass of wine, or book one of their more involved tastings that takes you into the vineyard and pairs the wines with food.

But to be honest, Home Block Restaurant is probably what would get me here first. The menu is built around CedarCreek’s wines, with ingredients coming from their own gardens and other local producers. You can book a wine-paired lunch or dinner, and everything I’ve heard about eating here makes me think this needs to move MUCH higher on my own Kelowna list.

CedarCreek also puts a lot of emphasis on how the property itself is farmed. There are bees and chickens working around the vineyard, along with Highland cows that help manage the land. The chickens’ eggs even end up in the restaurant, which I love.

So while I can’t personally tell you CedarCreek is one of my favourite East Kelowna wineries yet, it’s one I’d seriously consider if you want something a little more upscale or you’re planning your wine day around a really good meal.

PS: And an episode of Psych (one of my favourite shows) was filmed here, which is completely unrelated to the wine but still pretty cool!

Spearhead Winery

Best for: Pinot Noir and a smaller, more wine-focused tasting experience.

SpearHead Winery has been on my list for years, and at this point I really need to get myself there so I can give you a proper recommendation. I keep hearing about their Pinot Noir, and they have the awards to back it up. SpearHead puts a lot of focus on small-lot Pinot Noir from different vineyards around the Okanagan, so I’d prioritize it if the wine itself is a big part of how you choose your stops.

It also sounds much closer to the smaller winery experience I tend to prefer. Tastings are done tableside rather than standing at a busy tasting bar, and afterward you can grab a glass and head outside to the patio or picnic lawn. They also host events throughout the summer, including live music and their annual Pinot Party.

I can’t tell you where it ranks among my personal favourites yet, but between its reputation for Pinot Noir and the smaller, relaxed setting, SpearHead is probably the East Kelowna winery I’m most overdue to visit.

Nagging Doubt Winery

Best for: A tiny, off-the-beaten-path winery with a personal tasting experience.

Nagging Doubt Winery has been on my radar for a while, mostly because it’s SO different from the big destination wineries around Kelowna.

It’s a tiny family-run winery tucked away on a former horse farm, and the old stable has been converted into the winery and tasting room. They even kept some of the original stall hardware, which gives the place a lot more character than your typical polished tasting room.

Nagging Doubt focuses on small-lot wines, with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grown here in East Kelowna. They also bring in grapes from farther south for some of their bigger reds, including The Pull, their Bordeaux-style blend.

This winery is definitely more about the wine and the people behind it than sweeping lake views or a fancy patio. Tastings are small and personal, and because the winery operates seasonally, I’d recommend arranging your tasting ahead of time rather than just showing up.

And here’s my favourite random fact: winemaker Rob Westbury used to play drums in a punk band before getting into wine. Apparently the career path from punk drummer to East Kelowna winemaker exists after all.

More East Kelowna Wineries to Check Out

The wineries above are the ones I’d personally put at the top of my list, but that doesn’t mean they’re the only ones worth visiting. I still really like a lot of the other wineries around East Kelowna, and depending on what you’re looking for, you might end up preferring one of these instead.

Some have been around for generations, while others are doing something completely different from your typical wine tasting. And if you’ve had enough wine for one afternoon, I’ve included a couple of cider and mead stops too.

Basically, don’t treat my favourites as the only places worth going. Wine is VERY subjective, and half the fun is exploring a few and figuring out which ones you want to come back to.

The View Winery & Wards Cider

The View Winery and Wards Cider is a fun spot to add if your group can’t decide between wine and cider because you can try both. The tasting room is inside a 1920s apple packing house, which is a nod to the property’s long history growing apples before wine entered the picture. It’s still family-owned today, and the family has been farming the property since 1918.

You can stop in for a regular tasting, but in the summer I’d be tempted by one of their orchard experiences. They offer private picnics beneath the apple trees and host live music on select Sundays, which sounds much more my speed than rushing through another tasting.

Soma Craft Cidery

If you need a break from wine, Soma Craft Cidery is an easy addition to an East Kelowna wine day. They make their cider from fresh-pressed apples and have quite a few flavours beyond the standard apple cider, with seasonal options changing throughout the year. They’re my favourite local ciders.

There’s also a restaurant on-site, Ricardo’s at Soma, and I have a major soft spot for it. The same chef used to own Ricardo’s in Lake Country, which was our FAVOURITE restaurant. We spent so many anniversaries there over the years, so I was very happy to see Ricardo’s make a return at Soma.

Sperling Vineyards

Sperling Vineyards has deep roots in East Kelowna. The family has been farming here for generations, and the vineyard dates back to 1925, with some of those old vines still used to make wine today.

The vineyard is certified organic, and Sperling is particularly known for its old-vine Riesling. They also make some less traditional wines, including pét-nats and amber wines, if you want to try something a little different.

One thing to know before visiting: the tasting room is currently temporarily closed (as of August 2026), so check with the winery for the latest update before adding it to your route.

Martin’s Lane Winery

Martin’s Lane Winery is definitely not your casual “we’re nearby, let’s pop in” winery.

They specialize in Pinot Noir and Riesling, and the winery itself is a pretty spectacular modern building designed around gravity-flow winemaking. Their vineyards include sites in East and South Kelowna as well as elsewhere in the Okanagan.

Visits are private and need to be arranged in advance, so I’d consider Martin’s Lane more of a destination for someone who is really into wine rather than another stop on a casual afternoon of winery hopping. I’ve heard it’s quite hard to get an appointment.