Last year John and I drove past Golden Beaver on our way from Osoyoos to Penticton, however on the way home along Black Sage we totally passed it by. After breakfast we were trying to think of a game plan for today and realized we had yet to visit the winery with the silly name so it became our first stop of the day.

Located on Highway 97 halfway between Osoyoos and Oliver, Golden Beaver Winery is only in its third year but it making quite the impression locally, and internationally. Upon ascending the gravel driveway we were greeted by Stella in the tasting room with 5 bottles of wine ready to be sampled by yours truly.

Golden Beaver prides itself on pushing the envelope when it comes to its varietals, blends and releases. We tasted their Vidal, Pinot Gris, 2006 Merlot (apparently people think they’re crazy for releasing it already), the Pinot Noir Dry Rose, and the super tasty Merlot Vin de Cure.

It was really interesting to not only taste a Pinot Noir Rose but also to experience the crisp clean taste their wine achieves by being unoaked. Also, it was the first time I had tried a Vin de Cure, which was a real treat as Golden Beaver is the only winery in Canada that offers this.

After the tasting we received some excellent recommendations for lunch and other vineyards that might be of interest. On their website it states you can get the Golden Beaver 2006 Pinot Blanc at So.cial at Le Magasin in Gastown, however as we have yet to spot any in local liquor or wine stores we were sure to pick up a bottle (or four).

If you’re in the Okanagan doing the ‘wine tour thing’ I would highly recommend stopping by Golden Beaver. It doesn’t have the elaborate architecture or grandeur of some other places but what they lack in showmanship they definitely make up for in quality and tastiness of their wine.