OKANAGAN VALLEY - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 367

NORTH TOWARD PENTICTON
It's an easy hour's drive north from Osoyoos to Penticton, but there are a number of food-
and-wine-related stops along the way. The main town of note is Oliver, with a main street
lined by interesting shops and a spring-fed lake that attracts hordes of sun-loving locals
through summer.
MM Covert Farms
Tucked out of sight from travelers zooming along Highway 97 is Covert Farms (off
Seacrest Rd., 250/498-2731, 8am-5pm daily), which has been owned and operated by the
Covert family since the early 1960s. The focus for most visitors (and the many locals who
swear by the Coverts' quality and prices) is the onsite market and wine lounge, which is
filled with produce ranging from corn to melons, all picked fresh daily and farmed organic-
ally. A section of the farm is set aside for u-pick customers, trails lead out into and around
the farm, a picnic area encourages visitors to linger a little longer, and in fall there's a corn
maze and pumpkin patch. Look for the Covert Farms sign at the base of Seacrest Road,
eight kilometers (five miles) north of Oliver.
Wineries
Over 20 wineries around Oliver are open for tours and tastings. Overlooking the north
end of Osoyoos Lake is LaStella (8123 148th Ave., 250/495-8180, 10am-7pm daily May-
Oct., 11am-5pm daily Nov.-Apr.), where quality trumps quantity and the ambience is very
Italian. On the east side of the Okanagan River between Osoyoos and Oliver is the Black
Sage Bench region, renowned for its premium Bordeaux-style grapes. Of many wineries off
Black Sage Road, two stand out for very different approaches to winemaking. Stoneboat
Vineyards (356 Orchard Grove Lane, 250/498-2226, 10am-5:30pm daily May-mid-Oct.)
is a welcoming family-run operation that opened in 2007. Operated by the Martiniuks and
their three sons, it has a small tasting room where the pinot noir gets rave reviews (and
usually sells out by the end of the summer season). To the south, Burrowing Owl Estate
Winery (500 Burrowing Owl Place, 250/498-0620, 10am-5pm daily mid-March-mid-Dec.,
until 6pm in summer) is a much larger operation, with a large tasting room, guided tours,
a restaurant, and accommodations. Visitors can climb the bell tower for sweeping valley
views.