Lake Country Half Day Wine Tour- Incl. Tasting Fees & Guide Grat!
Description
Get ready to sip, swirl, and savor on the Scenic Sip Wine Trail in Lake Country, BC! Nestled between Kelowna and Vernon, this wine lover's paradise offers 8 incredible wineries to explore, making it one of the Okanagan Valley’s top destinations. Our Lake Country Wine Tours pick you up at all hotels in Vernon, Coldstream, and Lake Country, including Sparkling Hills Resort, so you can relax and enjoy the ride. The Half Day Sip Disturber tour includes tastings at 4 award-winning wineries with up to 20 wines to sample, all set against the stunning backdrop of three lakes, rolling hills, and endless vineyards. Whether you're a Pinot Gris or Pinot Noir fan, you’ll find your perfect pour here!
Tour Options
Itinerary
Gray Monk Winery has a charming origin story, starting with Austrian-German couple George and Trudy Heiss, who swapped hairdressing for winemaking when they moved to the Okanagan Valley in the early 1970s. They turned their orchard into a vineyard, planted Pinot Gris, Pinot Auxerrois, and Gewurztraminer from Alsace in 1976, and became the first to grow Pinot Gris in Canada. Named with a nod to George’s Austrian roots, Gray Monk opened in 1982 with a modest 125-case vintage made in a garage. Today, it’s a celebrated name with over 100,000 cases produced annually and a reputation for outstanding fruit-forward whites! Enjoy 4-5 complimentary wine tastings, with time to shop for your favorite wine!
Intrigue Wines was born in 2008 from the blending of two families united by their love for wine. This dynamic duo includes a winemaker, an accountant, an internet whiz, and a healthcare guru—all with a passion for vinous adventures. Geri, a third-generation Kelownian, dove into the wine world in 1998 with Cascadia Brands and later honed her skills at Gray Monk Cellars. Ross, a versatile internet entrepreneur and farmer, juggles logistics and design, while Roger, a winemaking maestro with a background at Tinhorn Creek and Gray Monk, brings his expertise to the table. Jillian, the healthcare pro, uses her skills to handle customer relations and marketing. Together, they craft award-winning wines at their charming “Two Wongs Make a White” farm in Oyama, making every bottle a testament to their collective passion and skill. Enjoy 4-5 complementary wine tastings, with time to shop for your favorite wine!
Peak Cellars is Lake Country's newest hotspot for wine and food lovers! Inspired by Dennis O'Rourke's adventurous spirit, this modern winery invites you to sip and explore. Their estate-grown lineup includes favorites like Pinot Gris, Riesling, Rosé, and more. Nestled on a stunning 300-acre property with jaw-dropping views of orchards, vineyards, and Okanagan Lake, it's like a slice of Europe right in BC. With 110 acres of vines, wine caves, and even a half-acre organic garden feeding the Garden Bistro, Peak Cellars blends world-class wine with farm-to-table dining for the ultimate tasting experience! Enjoy 4-5 wine tastings, with time to shop for your favorite wine!
Arrowleaf is a family-owned winery founded by the Zuppiger family in 2001. Originally from Switzerland, the family moved to Canada in 1986, farming dairy in Alberta before settling in the Okanagan. After growing grapes for five years, their eldest son Manuel trained in winemaking, gaining experience in Australia and the Okanagan. Arrowleaf Cellars opened in 2003, starting with just six wines and 3,500 cases. Today, they produce over a dozen wines annually, thanks to their 16-acre estate and 30 more acres nearby. The stunning Tasting Room, designed by architect Robert Mackenzie, has been welcoming guests since 2014. Enjoy 4-5 complimentary wine tastings and shop for your favorite wine!
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We offer VIP pick up and drop off at your hotel or vacation rental in Vernon, Coldstream, Sparkling Hill, Predator Ridge, Oyama and Lake Country! Please include your pick up address when booking. Once your booking is confirmed, your awesome guide will text you the night before to confirm your pick up time!
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(54)
My friends and I scheduled the half-day (2:30pm) wine tour. Hands down, it was the best wine tour I have ever been on! Bill took us to four wineries - the length of each visit was just right. Bill was an excellent guide - and he sent us the best photos after the tour. I will definitely be scheduling another wine tour with Sip Happens on my next visit!
Mike took us out to enjoy 4 different Lake Country wineries, finishing with a nice 2 hour dinner at Gray Monk! We were celebrating my 50th birthday and I had such a great day! Loved going in “off season” because we got to spend time with the friendliest people at each of the wineries and it’s those conversations I won’t soon forget. As the icing on the cake, Mike captured so many great photos of us along the way which are great keepsakes of my milestone birthday. Thanks Mike and team for making my day special!
Delicious wine with a great driver and tour guide Roger. We were longer on the earlier tastings so the last 2 felt rushed.
Thank you for spending the day sipping with us and for taking the time to share your feedback. We are so glad to hear you enjoyed the wines and had a great time with Roger guiding the way. He will be delighted to know he helped make your experience memorable. We totally understand how easy it is to get swept up in those early tastings, especially when the wines are flowing and the vibes are good. We appreciate you sharing that the last two stops felt a little rushed, and we will absolutely use this to help fine-tune our timing so every stop feels relaxed and enjoyable from start to finish. We would love to host you again for another round of Okanagan wine country fun. Cheers to more glasses, good company, and slow, savour-every-sip moments.
We had a fun, stress free day with our host Roger getting us where we needed to go and making sure we were having fun along the way!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! We're thrilled to hear you had such a fun and stress-free day with Roger—he’s fantastic at keeping the good vibes flowing and making sure everyone’s having a great time. We’ll be sure to pass along your kind words to him. Cheers to more great memories and we hope to see you again on another Sip Happens adventure!
This is the first wine tour I have ever regretted spending money on. The price is absolutely outrageous for the service, wine, driving and experience, not to mention the pre-paid tip. The morning of our tour, our driver (Mike) texted asking if we wanted to "upgrade" to the sunset sipper. We declined as we already had dinner plans but later learned this was because there was only one other person on our tour and they were doing the sunset sipper. Since we were on different tours, it meant Mike had to drive us back to our hotel and then back to the winery to pick up the single. Our pick up was scheduled for 2:15pm and Mike texted us at 1:45 saying he was at our hotel waiting for us. This was the first but not last time we felt rushed on our tour. At the first stop (Arrowleaf Cellars), we had to wait a short while for our $7 tasting. During the ENTIRE tasting, Mike was taking photos of our group. There was never any consent to Mike taking these photos and it was extremely distracting. After the tasting, we were told we needed to leave immediately to go to the next winery and there was no time to sit and have a glass of wine or have some snacks. Upon arrival at the next winery (Peak Cellars), we were told they weren't ready for us because we were half an hour early. Billie was absolutely PHENEMONAL but it was hard to focus on what she was saying because Mike was once again taking photos of us the entire time. Half way through the tasting I politely requested he stop taking photos of us as it was distracting. He got extremely defensive over this request. The third winery was Intrigue Wines which was directly across the street. We ended up walking there. Once we got there, rather than letting us explore the gift shop, Mike proceeded to forcefully "prove" why he was taking photos of us by showing us a video he had made. It made everyone feel uncomfortable. We were yet again early for our time slot. After spending time with our hostess Maureen (who was amazing), we were told we asked if we could finally order a glass of wine and sit and enjoy the winery. Mike told us we did, however, he proceeded to FOLLOW US to the outdoor sitting area and stand/hover over us awkwardly while we attempted to have conversations with each other and enjoy our glasses of wine. The final stop was Gray Monk which was a short 6 minute drive away. Both the wine and the experience. Our host Gary was doing tastings for 3 groups at once, while Mike once again hovered next to us. The total drive time between the four wineries was TWELVE MINUTES. It is absolutely criminal to charge $150+GST+gratituty per person for that amount of driving. The tastings were small and since we were only "allowed" to have one glass in addition to our tastings, having a driver was unnecessary. For the distance travelled in the van and the cost of our group of four, we could've save hundreds of dollars by hiring an Uber and paying for our own tasting fees. Additionally, we would not have been rushed, not had our photo taken without our consent and actually enjoyed ourselves. Note to anyone who has read this far: they offer a Starbucks gift card if you leave a positive review which I'm sure has swayed their rating.
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re truly disappointed to hear that your experience didn’t meet your expectations, especially since another guest on the very same tour left a glowing 5-star review praising both Mike and the experience—it makes us wonder if you were even on the same tour! To clarify a few points, the Sunset Sipster experience that Mike mentioned is one of our most popular and highly rated upgrades, clearly listed on our website. In this case, Mike was actually offering it as a complimentary upgrade—simply to enhance your day at no extra cost. Many guests love this extended evening option for the added tastings and beautiful sunset views. When he later offered for you to stay for dinner, that was also a thoughtful gesture on his part, not something he was required to do. As for Mike arriving early at your hotel—this was never intended to rush you, but rather another testament to the exemplary service we pride ourselves on as a top-tier company. We prefer to be early rather than risk keeping guests waiting, which most people appreciate as a mark of professionalism and respect for their time. Regarding the photos and video, this is actually one of our signature Sip Happens touches that guests consistently rave about. Mike captures fun, candid moments throughout the day to create a keepsake video and photo gallery at no additional cost. It’s meant to make the day more memorable—not distracting—and your husband and other guests in your party were very happy to receive and enjoy the video and photos at the end of the tour. At one of the wineries, Mike even went out of his way to offer you the chance to sit and enjoy a glass of wine—something our half-day wine tours typically don’t include due to timing constraints. This was simply another example of him going above and beyond to make your experience special. Winery schedules can occasionally shift, and our guides adjust accordingly to keep the day running smoothly. Mike’s goal was always to ensure you received the best possible experience at each stop, not to make you feel rushed. We’d also like to note that gratuities are standard in the tourism and hospitality industry and are always disclosed upfront. While the wineries in Lake Country are close together, that’s part of the region’s charm—less driving, more sipping! The true value lies in the seamless coordination, comfort, and exclusive relationships we’ve built with our partner wineries—something an Uber simply can’t offer. Finally, to clarify the Starbucks gift cards you mentioned: these are not incentives for reviews. They’re simply a small thank-you to help our guests unwined after their tour—just another example of how a premium company like ours truly cares about your experience before, during, and even after your day with us. We genuinely wish you had reached out to our office directly so we could have discussed your concerns privately rather than seeing a small family-run business publicly shamed online. We take immense pride in the service we provide and always welcome feedback that’s shared with kindness and respect. Warm regards, The Sip Happens Wine Tours Team
We did the half day tour & Mike was our guide. He was super friendly, gave us information on the area we were visiting and answered all my questions. He was so kind to take photos for us. I would highly recommend this tour. Cheers
Thank you so much for your kind words! We’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed your half-day tour with Mike. He loves sharing his knowledge of the area and capturing fun moments for guests, so we’re glad those photos added to your experience. We really appreciate your recommendation and hope to welcome you back for another Sip Happens adventure soon!
My husband and I had a wonderful experience touring four wineries with Ragan. She was extremely knowledgeable and helpful and we experienced warm receptions at each of the wineries. It was well worth using this service! We would highly recommend!
Thank you so much for the kind words! We're so happy to hear you and your husband had a wonderful time touring with Ragan—she really knows her stuff and loves sharing her wine wisdom. It’s great to hear each stop gave you a warm welcome, and that the whole experience was worth it. We truly appreciate the recommendation and would love to have you join us again for another round of wine country magic!
Wonderful experience and great service. Everyone on our bachelorette trip has a great time. The guide was very knowledgeable and went above and beyond to make sure everyone in the group was looked after and having fun.
Thanks so much for sharing! We’re so happy to hear your bachelorette crew had a wonderful time—that’s exactly what we aim for! Your guide sounds like a superstar, making sure everyone was well taken care of and having a blast. It’s awesome to know the whole group felt looked after and had fun. Here’s to more celebrations and great memories with Sip Happens!
Fun experience! And our awesome driver Mike ended up being quite a talented photographer and took the time to send us pictures and a cute video capturing our day! Overall fantastic experience we would definitely come back again.
We love hearing this! So glad you had a fantastic time—and yes, Mike has some serious hidden talents behind the camera! We're thrilled he was able to capture some great memories for you and even put together a video of the day. Thanks for joining us, and we’d absolutely love to have you back for another round of fun and wine-filled adventure!
We went as a group of girlfriends and had the best time! The customer service was wonderful, straight forward, and the guides were so accommodating!! I’ll definitely use them again!
We’re so glad to hear your group of girlfriends had the best time with us! Great customer service and accommodating guides are what we aim for, so it’s awesome to know we hit the mark. Thanks for choosing us, and we can’t wait to welcome you back for your next adventure—more fun guaranteed!
