Naramata Bench

These G.I.s are determined by analyzing similar soils, climate, annual weather, etc.. The Okanagan Valley G.I. is further broken down into sub-Geographical Indications (sub-GIs). Established in 2019, the Naramata Bench Sub-GI was the third sub-GI created. It stretches over an area of 3650 hectares and is located on the Eastern shore of the Southern tail of Lake Okanagan.

Overview

Its boundary begins in the very Southeast corner of the lake, takes a paring off the Northeast corner of the city of Penticton, by running along Penticton Creek and continues inland from the shore for about two kilometers before heading Northward. With Okanagan Lake providing the Western border, the Eastern boundary line runs North, paralleling the shoreline, forming an arable margin whose width varies between one and three kilometers. It ends about twenty twenty-five kilometers North at Sebastian Farms vineyards next to Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park.

This Eastern boundary follows the contour of the valley wall at an elevation of between 650 and 700 meters. This elevation component was chosen because with current climatic conditions, at this upper elevation range, the grape production of vinifera vines begins to become limited. The sub-GI has 250 hectares of vineyards but the highest vineyards in the sub-GI are at 685 meters. The village of Naramata sits right at the midpoint of the Naramata Bench, facing directly across the lake from Summerland and its three sub-GIs.

Within the Naramata sub-GI there are two distinct landscapes defined by how they were formed, their proximity to the lake and their elevation. The two landscapes termed Glaciolacustrine and Mixed Sediments adjoin each other along the whole North/South length of the sub-GI, creating two parallel bands. They step progressively back and up from Lake Okanagan, with overlapping East/West boundaries and distinct altitude variations.

Glaciolacustrine Landscape
The soils in what is called the glaciolacustrine (sediments deposited into lakes by glacier waters) landscape was created when melting glaciers formed extensive lakes that over time, accumulated thick deposits that were mostly silt, and clay but also included sand and occasionally, gravel.

The bulk of the Naramata sub-GI vineyards are in this landscape, with most located South of Naramata village. With its lower elevation, and proximity to the moderating warmth of Lake Okanagan, the area has a growing season of around 195 days, a mean annual temperature of 9.5 °C and racks up 1400 annual growing degree days. These elements make it an optimal area for growing wine grapes. In fact, because of its lakeside position, Naramata can have more frost-free days than some more southerly grape growing areas such as Oliver and Osoyoos.

Added to the background factors of latitude, altitude and proximity to water is the unusual and at times, fantastical topography of the tablelands that make up the glaciolacustrine portion of the Naramata Bench. The once-were-lake-bottom fine silt, sandy and clay sediments that compose the area were quite vulnerable to erosion from streams of melting glacier water as the ice retreated thousands of years ago. Even today, these sedimented soils can become saturated and create landslides or slope failures.

The gentle, undulating slopes prevalent in the landscape are often dissected by steep, cliff-like gullies and escarpments, where water has cut through the erosive soil. These lead down to the lakeshore. Some of the sub-GI’s resulting landforms, especially North of Naramata Village, are isolated, flat-topped headlands occasionally crowned with a carpet of vines. These tall promontories often have near vertical walls where the underlying sedimentary layers can be seen. The overall result is an irregular jumble of vineyards subject to a wide variety of geographic influences.

Mixed Sediments Landscape
This second landscape of the Naramata sub-GI features very different underlying geological origins that distinguish it from its glaciolacustrine partner. It sits at a higher elevation in part, on rocky, gneiss outcrops. Though also composed of stratified material in places, the underlying bedrock determines its landforms and the more variable soil texture in this landscape is coarser with a generally greater degree of stoniness. The vineyards in this landscape are mostly clustered down near the Glaciolacustrine landscape’s upper border.

Exceptional Range of Vineyard Growing Conditions
Along with latitude, altitude and proximity to Lake Okanagan, the varied landscape position and topography of Naramata sub-GI vineyards makes for a diversity of mesoclimates that affect the nature and style of the resulting wines. Differing airflow patterns through the area’s gullies and escarpments creates variations in both daytime temperatures and nighttime cold air drainage that can strongly affect both the number of growing degree days and the annual frost-free period for a particular vineyard.

Soils
Each of the two significant landscapes in the Naramata sub-GI has its own set of soil types.

In general, the soils in the glaciolacustrine landscape and its vineyards are best typified by what is termed the Penticton soil loam. It features a topsoil with rich organic matter as well as pockets of clay and gravel, above a very favourable 60 cm. rooting zone that lets vines establish deep roots. The soil here is well drained but also has a relatively high water holding capacity. The underlying parent materials are alkaline and contain calcium carbonate. The mixed sediments landscape is similar, but the subsoils can be very gravelly.

Climate
Naramata village’s location at 49.59° N latitude, about the same as that of the city of Reims in the Champagne area of France certainly qualifies the Naramata Bench as cool climate. But being adjacent to Lake Okanagan moderates temperatures on the Bench, making for a warmer growing season that allows extended ripening time. At the same time, the cooler nights help the grapes retain acidity and freshness in the wines.

Elevation as it affects temperature, is an equally important factor. Growing Degree Days decrease at a rate of approximately 100 per year for every 100m rise in elevation. So with a span of about 300 m between the lowest and highest portions of Naramata Bench, the annual GDD range from 1400 at lake level down to 1100 at its higher reaches. Similarly, the yearly frost-free days are reduced from approximately 195 at the lowest elevation to 160 at the highest.

Viticulture
As a result of its latitude and the great range of climatic and geographic factors in the Naramata Bench sub-GI there are over fifty varieties of grapes grown there. The presence this far North in the Okanagan Valley, of red varieties that need a longer ripening season, such as cabernet sauvignon demonstrate the range and versatility that the geography provides for winemakers. Merlot, pinot gris, chardonnay and riesling are the most widely planted with pinot noir representing around 10% of plantings.

Pinot noir is undoubtedly at home in the Naramata Bench. Of the forty-five or so wineries within its boundaries, 75% of them make a pinot noir, though some of them make it more consistently than others. Additionally, several wineries outside the bench source Naramata Bench vineyards for their pinot noir wines. The overall quality of the pinot noirs here is very good and often exceptional. Naramata Bench wineries won a total of seventeen medals at all levels including Platinum at the recent 2025 National Wine Awards of Canada.

Here are some of the more noteworthy wineries:

1 Mill Road
This winery is a relative newcomer but has quickly made its mark. Created initially by David and Cynthia Enns, the owners of Laughing Stock, the first vintage at 1 Mill Road was in 2018. Katie Truscott and Australian winemaker Ben Bryant subsequently bought the winery in 2022. Bryant had previously been the chief winemaker at Mission Hill Family Estate.

They produce two Naramata Bench pinot noirs, one from the home block that is all clone 115 and one called Black Pine that utilizes 115, 667, 777, and Pommard clones. Their pinot noirs have received medals from both National Wine Awards of Canada and the Decanter World Wine Awards as well as accolades from numerous wine writers and publications.
https://www.1millroad.ca/

Chain Reaction Winery
The owners Joel and Linda Chamaschuk are originally from the Lower Mainland. They left the tech sector in Vancouver in 2017 and moved to Naramata to follow their dream of owning a winery. They purchased an orchard on the Naramata bench and planted their first vineyard in 2019. The winery is named for their love of cycling. Dwight Sick, formerly of Stags Hollow and Moraine Vineyard is the consulting winemaker. They received silver and bronze medals for their pinot noirs In the last two National Wine Awards of Canada competitions.
https://www.chainreactionwine.com/

Howling Bluff Estate Winery
Luke Smith, the founder of Howling Bluff, is pretty much all in on pinot noir. He initially planted several Bordeaux varieties, but as time went on, it became clear that for his particular vineyard, it was the pinot noir that had the charm. He ripped out some of his earlier plantings and replaced them with pinot noir. Luke has determinedly sought to produce world class pinot noir and has seen remarkable progress towards that goal, winning a B.C. Lieutenant Governor`s Award with his first vintage as well as a silver medal in the Decanter World Wine Awards. Howling Bluff makes three distinct pinot noirs.

Their HB Pinot Noir drawn from a variety of vineyard blocks including, the Cronie Family Vineyard. Their Three Mile Creek pinot noir vineyard has earned two Lieutenant Governor’s Awards and the Red Wine of the Year from the Canadian Wine Awards. Only 5 meters from the Three Mile Creek vineyard are their Century Block vines, named after the 100 different species that were once planted where the vines grow today. The wines from this block are wholly distinct and have produced multiple Lieutenant Governor’s Awards of Excellence, as well as a Platinum in the National Wine Awards.
https://www.howlingbluff.ca/

La Frenz Winery
La Frenz Winery is known for having consistency vintage after vintage as well as quality across the range of their wines. They produce two pinot noirs, Desperation Hill and a Reserve that is a block selection from the Desperation Hill vineyard. The Reserve is composed of 828 (37%), 667 (32%), 115 (21%) and 91 (10%). Their pinot noirs have won numerous gold medals at such competitions as the All Canadians, Wine Align National Wine Awards, the Northwest Wine Summit and Intervin. They combine good fruit concentration with suppleness and balance to produce remarkably appealing pinot noir.
https://www.lafrenzwinery.com/

Lake Breeze Vineyards
Made from the fruit of 30-year-old vines, the MacIntyre family purchased the property in 2001. The overall vineyards consist of a 5.6 hectares parcel originally named Rock Oven Vineyards. The first vines on the property were planted in 1985, making them some of the oldest on the Naramata Bench. They make two pinot noirs, their Lake Breeze Estate and a reserve pinot noir called Aura.
https://www.lakebreeze.ca/

Laughing Stock Vineyards
David and Cynthia Enns founded Laughing Stock Vineyards in 2003. Beginning as an actual 'garagiste' winemaker in 2001, he subsequently apprenticed under some of the best winemakers in the Okanagan.
They made minimal quantities of one pinot noir that, over the years, has won gold at both of Canada’s national wine awards, and it always sells out quickly. In 2017, Laughing Stock Vineyards was acquired by Arterra Wines Canada.
https://www.laughingstock.ca/

Moraine Estate Winery
Moraine is a family-owned winery and vineyard in the Naramata Bench Sub-G.I. overlooking Okanagan Lake, located just minutes from the city of Penticton. The winery owners here are the husband and wife team of Oleg and Svetlana Aristarkhov. They relocated from Alberta, where they had lived for 15 years, bought a vacation home and planted a small vineyard. When a nearby winery went into receivership, they purchased the property and its small existing vineyard.

Since Moraine made their first vintage of pinot noir in 2012, the wines have always been in good hands. A series of prominent Okanagan winemakers have been involved over the years. Michael Bartier was the original consulting winemaker followed by Jacqueline Kemp. In the Summer of 2018, Dwight Sick, previously at Stag’s Hollow Winery took over. The current winemaker Amber Pratt has headed up the winemaking since 2019. Amber worked vintages at Road 13 and Black Hills in the Okanagan.

Moraine’s vineyards are named after their two daughters, Sophia and Anastasia. A third vineyard is named after their grand-daughter Lily. The four acre vineyard called Sophia was planted by the owners Svetlana and Oleg in 2010. They make both a regular and a reserve version of their pinot noir from their estate Sophia Vineyard. In the 2025 Wine Align National Awards the wines took both gold and silver medals.
https://www.morainewinery.com/

Roche Wines
Dylan and Pénélope Roche established Roche wines in 2012 as a virtual winery, making the first vintages at existing licensed wineries. Their vision from the beginning was to bring French winemaking to the Okanagan. Both are natives of France, so seeking to make French inspired wines was a natural goal. In 2003, Dylan he was enrolled in enology studies in Beaune and subsequent apprenticeships over the next five years in Côte d’Or, Chablis and New Zealand as well as a stint as assistant winemaker at two estates in Péssac-Léognan, in Bordeaux followed.

For her part, Pénélope has five generations of winemaking and viticulture behind her in the family estate, Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion and also has formal winemaking training and experience in Spain, New Zealand and Australia. After they moved to the Okanagan, Pénélope worked as a consulting viticulturist in the Okanagan, Dylan became the winemaker at Intersection Wines, remaining there until early 2016.

They bought an eight-acre property with four acres of vines on Upper Bench Road in Naramata in 2014. Pinot noir was not on the original property, but they later planted a half acre or so of the variety. A few years later they also began utilizing pinot noir from the 15-acre Kozier Organic Vineyard elsewhere on the Naramata Bench. After working closely with the Koziers, events later enabled them to take over the farming of that vineyard. With access to a larger supply of grapes they were able to expand their winery production. They generally make two different pinot noirs and the wines certainly have a French flair. In
2017 they opened the doors to a new winery building at their vineyard on the Naramata Bench. They make several pinot noirs including single vineyard and clonal selection bottlings.
https://www.rterroir.ca/

Van Westen Vineyards
The Van Westen family has grown orchard fruits near Naramata since 1954 and grown grapes since 1999. Robert Van Westen could see that change was coming to the orchard fruit industry and so began diversifying into grape growing and eventually winemaking. He received his wine education at Okanagan College from Bill Eggert, who founded Fairview Cellars near Oliver.

It was another long time Okanagan winemaker Tom DiBello who encouraged Van Westen to make wine. He began making wine in 2003 as a willing apprentice and launched the winery in 2005, the 16th winery on the Naramata Bench.

Initially, he sold his wines directly to restaurants and other customers. In 2008, he turned a fruit packing building into a winery and added a bare bones tasting room in 2009 called "The Shed”. The tasting room remains unchanged.

Van Westen make one pinot noir, a joint project with Tom Di Bello, exclusively from Pommard clone vines he planted in 2008 in what is now called the Granite Ridge Vineyard. It has won numerous national awards.
https://vanwestenvineyards.com/