East Kelowna Slopes

The East Kelowna Slopes Sub-GI is an area of 6178 acres with around 203 acres of vineyard, mostly defined by the escarpment overlooking Mission Creek and the floodplain between Mission Creek and Bellevue Creek in south-east Kelowna. Some vineyards are close enough to benefit from the moderating effects of Okanagan Lake.

The northerly latitude of this sub-GI makes for a cool climate, but the gentle sloping vineyards have good air drainage making for a long growing season. Featuring prominently on the border of the East Kelowna Slopes sub-GI is the Mission Creek escarpment which wraps around the north of the region and then rises up to the rocky areas at elevations between 500-550 metres in the south towards Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park. The south-west corner boundary is the escarpment overlooking Bellevue Creek.

Terroir

Estimated average 1340 growing degree days.

The slopes and terraces with their north-west aspect are mostly coarse gravel and sand glaciofluvial (glacial meltwater) and fluvial (stream deposited non-glacial) soils. There is some glaciolacustrine (lake bottom) soils below 450 metres elevation and in the north-west area glaciofluvial soils over glaciolacustrine.

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