DWV Series 1 of 10
In the heart of South Okanagan is a natural playground for adult wine lovers. The sign welcoming you to Oliver highlights that Oliver is the "Wine Capital of Canada," which makes this the perfect place for a Wine Village that is the first of its kind in Canada. And I finally made a trip to visit the District Wine Village.
Before I share my visit to District Wine Village, let us look at how the dream became a reality. How did this adult wine playground come into being?
The History (taken from the District Wine Village website)
"Many business ideas are born over glasses of wine, and that is exactly what happened with Okanagan Falls born and raised, long-time friends and neighbours Max Brock and Matt Kenyon. Max had previously travelled throughout the US and had seen the model of winery clusters in other wine regions and wanted to bring this model to BC, the first of its kind in Canada. Together, they created a concept to launch this one-of-a-kind village in wine country. Expanding on this concept was to include Matt's love of beer and food, resulting in the inclusion of a craft brewery and a restaurant on site. Sadly, Max passed away before breaking ground. The District Wine Village project continued on and is now being built in honour of Max and his family."
On June 18, 2021, the gates opened to the public.
District Wine Village (DWV) comprises 16 single-story buildings in a circle surrounding a multi-purpose amphitheatre. The design of each building is different, which works with the different personalities of each business calling this place home. Each building also has an outdoor patio. The outdoor space encourages you to wander and explore and discover.
So what businesses call DWV home? You will find 13 wineries, distillery, brewery, and
restaurant. Of the wineries, the only "big brand" companies you will find here are Time Family of Wines and Nk'Mip Cellars (pronounced in-Ka-meep). The rest are all smaller businesses,
with a couple being part of a smaller family of companies. What blew me away when I first arrived was that for many of the wineries here, most, if not all, their production was done and stored onsite!! You can see many of the tanks and barrels storage areas from their tasting room. During my visit and talking to one of the winemakers, they told me it was like moving into a furnished apartment. Still, instead of furniture, they were arranging equipment within the unit. This is an excellent idea as it allows small and start-up wineries an easy way to try and enter the wine community.
Community is a very appropriate term for this place too. As I went around the space for tastings and interacted with various staff from one winery to another, I did get a sense of a community here. While I tasted at one winery, they would recommend others in the village to go for a tasting to experience the difference a different winemaker can make with the same varietal. This community celebrates the different approaches and artistic flair of wine. I was listening to a story when tasting at Uppercase Winery. One night at Workshop Distillery, everyone in there was staff from all the other wineries just chillin' and unwinding. I'll admit that at the time (Uppercase Winery was the first winery we did a tasting at), I was skeptical at hearing this. But when I went to do a tasting at Foolish Winery and Gneiss Winery, the staff highly recommended visiting Workshop Distillery to experience the fantastic cocktails. And if it weren't recommended by so many, I would have skipped it as I was at the DWV to taste wine. It was clear that everyone working there respects that each business brings something different to the DWV and encourages everyone to try and experience as many businesses as possible during their visit. I've experienced moments similar to this when I've gone to traditional wineries for tastings. Still, here at DWV, that sentiment seems more amplified in this smaller geographical footprint. I tasted at Apricus when I briefly left to grab the wine I had purchased and stashed at Uppercase Winery. The winemaker enjoyed a glass of wine with one of his business partners for Apricus!! As I said earlier, this is such a warm-sharing community.
My visit to the DWV was in the offseason, in late Feb. As a local, I'm more active with my exploration in the off-season as I LOVE to chat with the staff and, if lucky, the winemaker. The only thing missing during the offseason is the buzz of activity and the energy of the crowds and tourists. Everyone I spoke with loves the busy summer and slow off-season for different reasons. During the busy summer season, it's "crazy busy."The sea of people description with packed patios as everyone wants to be outside in the Okanagan sun instead of indoors. There is live music from Friday to Sunday afternoon and a popup market on Wednesday evenings. And they also have concerts a couple of times over the summer months (previous artists who have performed here are 54/50, Kim Mitchell, and Emerson Drive). Due to the sheer volume, some staff said they sometimes feel more like a bartender than Wine Tasting Advisors. When thinking back on the previous summer, one person said that a line from an Ariana Grande song summed it up perfectly "Thank you, next, next." Nothing can compare to the buzz of excitement when the place fills with wine-loving tourists. In the offseason, the slower pace is welcomed to allow focus on production for next year's vintages. This slower pace in the offseason also allows for a deeper conversation with wine nerds like myself on the wines.
During the summer, all the businesses are open. During the offseason, some have reduced hours, appointment only, closed for a couple of months or the entire offseason - the restaurant is closed during the offseason. I found the website to be updated regularly with the operating hours of those that are open. Now, I must raise a caution. When I was visiting over two full days, I gave myself the goal of tasting at all twelve of the wineries/distillery that was open. I was only able to squeeze in tastings at eight. I'm a very chatty seeker of knowledge leading to extended tastings. But the slower pace of the offseason allowed for this. I couldn't imagine making the same lofty goal during the busy summer. I recommend you plan it out to ensure you hit those at the top of your list.
Overall, this business idea, born over friends enjoying a glass of wine, has the great potential to become a tourism gem of South Okanagan. There are so many ideas/rumours of what the future will hold for the DWV - an expansion that adds another ring of businesses around the existing, trailer/RV park addition, hotel addition, an identical sister to this built nearby (changing it from a circle to a figure 8). But either way, the future looks incredibly bright as they head into their second summer season.
My only criticism is the need for more storage or carts available. I walked away with four cases of wine and needed a place to store them or an easy way to carry them. I was lucky to be able to leave some of my purchases and come back to collect them when I was ready to go after very sweetly making a request. But that is a privileged problem in the grand scheme of things.
Would I go back again? Absolutely! And I highly recommend you go and check it out when you are in the Oliver area.
Website: District Wine Village
Address: 100 Enterprise Way, Oliver, BC.
I will be composing reviews of the wineries that I was able to enjoy during this visit.
Cheers🥂
-BC Wine Nerd
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