Taste & Terroir

 

Living in the Okanagan Valley, my kids would often play hide-and-seek in the vineyard while I sat in a cool tasting room, sipping delicious BC wine. Local wineries were exceedingly family-friendly: there were grape juice slushies to slurp on the Naramata Bench, sheep to pet on a West Kelowna farm, trees to climb around Kelowna vineyards, and even a majestic amphitheatre hill to roll down, dresses flying and grass staining kids’ knees.

Now adults, my daughters join me in visiting wineries across the valley, connecting with owners over a glass and sharing their own harvest stories from teenage grape-picking days.

Visiting BC wine country is one of the most tangible ways to connect with the land, and with farming families that devote their lives to rows of vines. Children, parents, and friends see farm life in action, experience a living culture, develop a connection to place, and become part of our BC wine community.

The Crockett, Sidhu, Da Silva, and Schmidt families all run family and kid-friendly wineries, and they can’t wait to welcome your whole crew.

3BENCHES ESTATE WINERY

Teresa and Jon Crockett’s farm in the Similkameen Valley has been tended by their family for over 60 years. The sister and brother duo took over a cherry farm from their dad. The family planted grapevines and opened their own winery and tasting room in 2023. Today, with their dad Steve and his wife Kim, they tend the vines, peach trees, and plum trees, and also make wine and host visitors from around the world.

Guests are welcomed at 3Benches Estate Winery‘s little wooden building, full of family artefacts. Teresa explains, “It’s obvious this is a family-run place… the tasting room has history from both sides of the family, like the old, handcrafted maple farm furniture from the East Coast, and the old radio from my dad’s dad.”

It’s hard to visit 3Benches without running into a Crockett family member at work. It’s a different dynamic working daily with family, requiring patience and a long-term shared vision. “But I love it,” Teresa says, “because we work so well together after all these years. We don’t have to talk out every step. It’s like a choreographed dance.”

The winery has an outdoor seating area for family activities. Parents can keep an eye on their children while they play outside, and water bowls are always full for furry family members. After tasting, guests are encouraged to walk through the orchard and, if only for the day, enjoy the Crocketts’ way of life.

VASANTI ESTATE WINERY

The Sidhu family’s connection to the South Okanagan spans more than 40 years, with deep farming roots long before Vasanti Estate Winery was making BC wine. Harb Sidhu immigrated from India in 1980, and the Sidhu family spent decades growing vegetables, then premium grapes for some of the region’s most respected wineries.

Harb and his wife Jasbir raised their children, Gordie, Davinder, and Vik, immersed in agriculture around Oliver. Their familiarity with grape growing comes from their deep connection to the land and the vibrant South Okanagan farming culture. Over time, Harb helped extended family members settle in the region, creating a multigenerational farm where family life and vineyard work overlapped.
Although the Sidhu children initially pursued education and careers beyond the farm, in fields including biology and optometry, each found their way back to the family winery. Today, Gordie, Davinder, and Vik are all actively involved in vineyard work, cellar operations, and day-to-day winery management.

Vasanti means “new beginnings” in Punjabi, a reflection of the family’s transition from India to Canada, from vegetable farming to grape growing, and finally to winemaking. Guests to Vasanti are embraced into the family’s culture. From showcasing bottle labels decorated with India’s national flower, the lotus, to hosting the International South Asian Film Festival, the Sidhus invite visitors to celebrate their heritage while relaxing and enjoying the South Okanagan’s contemporary culture.

DA SILVA VINEYARDS & WINERY

The Da Silva family’s farming heritage stretches from Portugal’s Azores Islands in the mid-1700s to the Okanagan Valley, where the family settled in 1955. Like the Crockett and Sidhu families, they began farming orchard fruits in 1959.

Richard and Twylla founded Da Silva Vineyards & Winery in 2006. Richard makes both Portuguese-inspired and distinctly Canadian wines from their Naramata Bench vineyards, and from vineyards farmed by the Khair, Marchard, Avila, and Grewal families nearby. This spirit of collaboration extends beyond farming. Richard and Twylla host visitors from around the world in “the Kitchen” above their cellars, a Portuguese/Mexican tapas-style restaurant overlooking Okanagan Lake, guided by chef Abul Adame.

For visitors, sharing plates with family and sipping wines in “the Kitchen” at Da Silva is an opportunity to understand how decades of farming experience, steady relationships with other farming families, and a collaborative spirit translate into delicious food, exceptional wines, and an inclusive experience for families of all backgrounds.

INTERSECTION ESTATE WINERY

Founder Bruce Schmidt established Intersection Estate Winery on Oliver’s Golden Mile after purchasing the ten-acre property in 2006. When Bruce purchased the property, his son Ryan was 23. Ryan remembers being included in the winery’s tasting club, where his father used wine as a way to teach and connect. That same approach now shapes the visitor experience: guests are invited into the vineyard to see two distinct soil types, take part in simple hands-on experiments like adding water to soil samples, and taste how those differences appear in Merlot grown on different sites. The result is an educational, engaging experience the whole family can enjoy.

A year ago, Ryan stepped into the winery manager role, continuing his dad’s educational approach. Intersection remains deliberately small. As Bruce explains, “We aren’t large enough to have full-time anybody – that’s why family makes our little winery successful.”

That family connection now extends to a third generation. Ryan brings his son and daughter, ages ten and eight, into the vineyard and cellar, talking through grape growing and winemaking the same way his father once did with him. In fact, Intersection considers their longtime customers, devoted team, and visiting friends as all part of their winery family.

Bruce describes it simply: “Family for us is friends of friends… when our customers bring their loved ones to visit us, when our seasonal staff bring their own visitors to come in… this community has become our extended family.”

 

MORE FAMILY-FRIENDLY BC WINERIES

The Crockett, Sidhu, Da Silva, and Schmidt families remind us that BC wine is shaped by family, farming, and a long-term commitment to land, people, and shared work. These wineries aren’t designed for rushed visits. They invite families to slow down, walk the vineyard, and talk with the people who grow and make the wine. A family visit might mean watching grapes being tended, hearing stories passed down through generations, or sharing a table at the end of the day. Plan a visit and take your time. Let BC wine be part of a day your family will always remember.

 

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Arnica Rowan – is a global wine consultant, writer, and educator based in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. She is a partner in Terroir Consulting, supporting wine producers and regions around the world, and a founding director of Vinica Education Society, a non-profit focused on diversifying the wine industry through innovative education. Arnica is a frequent contributor to JancisRobinson.com and has been shortlisted for both the 67 Pall Mall Global Wine Communicator Awards and the IWSC Wine Communicator Awards for her commitment to meaningful storytelling and inclusivity.