One of the most popular wine regions in the Okanagan and indeed the entire province during the warm months, the Naramata Bench sheds those crowds when the good weather dissipates.
In that way, it’s no different than any of its Canadian peers.
To combat the annual lull, it's become commonplace for winery districts like Summerland's Bottleneck Drive (with its "Light Up The Vines") to hold pre-Christmas events designed to create awareness and spur business at the quietest time of the year.
But somehow, the Naramata Bench has never had its own version. Until last year, that is, when Chain Reaction Winery's Linda and Joel Chamaschuk dreamed up a two-day happening called "Naramata Bench Winterfest" for November 2023.
It did well. Hundreds of locals and visitors of all ages flooded the Bench during a late fall weekend, at a time when most wineries were typically closed and the roads empty.
This past weekend, Winterfest unfolded again, this time with 50 percent more venues and even longer hours.
And happy people everywhere you looked.
"Last year's event went fantastic," said Linda Chamaschuk at a packed Chain Reaction tasting room Saturday afternoon.
"It went so well and it’s so good for the community that we wanted to run it again. It's something we really felt was missing on the Naramata Bench. And this year we have about 30 venues whereas last year we had 18 or 19."
Chamaschuk noted that 2024, with repercussions still hanging in the air from August 2023's travel ban and January's vine-impacting cold snap, has not been easy for the wine industry.
But, she said, those who’ve adjusted have handled it well.
"It's actually been a really good year for us," she said. "We pivoted this year. We opened a pizza oven (outside, adjacent to the Chain Reaction patio) and focused more on experiences rather than just wine. So people would come for pizza and then buy wine, or they'd come for wine and then see the pizza.
"We closed at the end of October, but this is an opportunity for us to open our doors again and create some sales."
Happily mixing their wine tasting with food sampling were Dawn and Ron of Summerland, long-time Light Up The Vines attendees but brand new to Winterfest.
"We were here last night but we didn’t have time to get to this winery," said Dawn. "We did Maple Leaf Spirits (a distillery), Township 7 and the new Blackwood Lane.
"The service has been amazing everywhere we've gone."
"These events are great," laughed Ron. "We love the wineries. Any excuse we've got, we'll do it."
The mood was just a buoyant a few minutes away at Three Sisters Winery, where Penticton's Jodi Guy and dad Bud sat in the midst of another packed tasting room.
"We're having a great day," said Guy, her voice barely audible over the conversational buzz.
"And it's important because we live in wine country. It’s good to support them. So many lost all their crops earlier this year."
Three Sisters co-owner Rebecca Mikulic surveyed the crowd and smiled.
"It's nice to remind people in the shoulder season that we're here and that there are still things to do and wine to drink, even though it’s cold," she smiled.
"Here at Three Sisters we do stay open all year 'round. But we extend our hours for Winterfest and we've had a lot more people here this weekend than usual."
Near the door was a collection box where guests placed non-perishable foods items destined for the Salvation Army Food Bank. It was one of several such boxes visible across the Bench during Winterfest 2024.
A few kilometers north, Bench 1775 hospitality manager Josh Kim stood in front of a giant front door camouflaged as a giant Christmas present and said there was no way his winery would miss Winterfest two years running.
"We didn’t do it last year," he explained. "We were struggling a bit with staffing issues, but we have a stronger team this year so we decided to join. We want to share that holiday spirit."
Kim acknowledged that 2024 has been a challenging year for many in the hospitality trade.
"But," he added, "we're grateful that we get the continued support from the local community on days like today."
Later over at Lake Breeze Vineyards, we ended our tour chatting with a big and seriously upbeat group of friends keeping warm by a fire and celebrating a couple of birthdays.
"You know," said Pentictonite Heather Yurkoski, "we started here and should already have moved somewhere else. But they make it so comfortable that we’re finding it hard to leave."
Had it not been for the Winterfest marketing they'd spotted online prior to their get-together, Yurkoski wasn't sure what they would have done.
"Most of us are from Penticton, though one is from Vernon and another is from Kelowna," she said. "And we wanted to get together for two birthdays.
"So we checked around to see what the girls can do and we saw this event. Without it we probably would have sat around a pub somewhere. But we're loving this."
Next up for the wineries of Naramata Bench is "Big Hearts, Small Bites," Feb. 15, 2025.
