Sandhill Wines — Attraction in Kelowna

Unlike all the other wineries on our extensive journey through the Okanagan, Sandhill is not located atop a hill surrounded by picnic tables, vineyards, and tour busses. Instead, it’s nestled at a corner on the edge of the industrial area of central Kelowna, an extended walk from the beach.

No vines. No picnic tables. No view. Just a brutalist piece of architecture you’d think was just a bottling depot rather than a winery, one with not just one but several tasting lounges. On our second and longest wine trip (there’s been three), Sandhill was on the tail-end of 60 wineries and 120 bottles purchased. On our recent trip, only a few weeks ago, it was revisited given my friends and I literally walked by it. It was then we picked up a bottle of 2016 Hidden Terrace Sauvignon Blanc. It didn’t last, as we drove out to a picnic and downed it to the last drop against a homemade charcuterie. It was an honorable death to such a bottle.

Sandhill feels like a corporate winery, regardless if it is or not. It features numerous labels all sharing space in a colossal lounge. The first time we visited, we were guided into a small chamber draped in dark tones and dim lighting, bottle bottoms sticking out from the wall behind the tasting bar. Apparently, this wasn’t Sandhill…or maybe it was. It’s all very confusing. There’s a huge sign outside showing Sandhill, but inside, you’ll find Wayne Gretzky (his wine, because I’m sure he has better places to be), Calona Vineyards, Conviction, and Peller Estates, the majority I think are all owned by Calona.

The only conclusion I could come up with is that Calona leases a boutique outlet in the Sandhill Winery building, but how do you review one if not reviewing them all? I know we were standing at the Sandhill tasting counter because we bought a Sandhill wine a few weeks ago, but the previous year, it must have been Calona we had been visiting. This is one of those strange occurrences where you have one building with two entrances leading into the same space but two different addresses and two different companies. So, you can end up entering Sandhill and having a tasting at Calona (like we did last year) or enter through Calona and end up at a tasting at Sandhill (which happened this year). So, check that…it wasn’t 60 wineries; technically it was 61.

I guess this is a great location then, as you can wander from one tasting to another without going outside. And here I thought Naramata was tightly packed. Sandhill is certainly the larger of the two tasting rooms. It also has the better wine. Conviction is not bad, but I’m not a fan of the Gretzky wine. Maybe it pairs well with wings; I don’t know. Sandhill is a beautiful location with above average wine that is easy to access from anyone in town. Despite its lack of a view, it is still...

Three people and a baby walk into the Sandhill Winery in Kelowna (sounds like the beginning of a joke but it turned out more of a Shakespearean tragedy). We are the only people in the whole place. Three staff walk by without noticing us. After no contact for 5 minutes we sit down - finally a staff comes over, no hello or how are you, instead a confused “Can I help you with something?” like we just wandered into a place that was off limits... followed by “well, you can’t sit there” indicating the one place we can stand (as the only three people in the whole place) and very reluctantly starts to pour the wine samples we purchased. From the get go she lets us know that she does not have that many bottles open and she is not going to the trouble of opening new ones so will just have to taste what is open. There are only two white wines open so a member of our party asks if there is a Rose she can try instead since she is not keen on reds. The woman rolled her eyes, laughs, looks at us like we were to be run out of town on a rail covered in tar and feathers, and tells us the Rose has been sold out for months! (like we should have known better). When a second member of the group (me) makes a comment about one of the red wines the response from her is “well, I don’t know if you have ever tasted wines from Italy” which is a strange comment since I have a strong European accent.... While making sure we felt like idiots while serving the last drops of her bottles that tasted like they have been open a little to long, she was very verbal about how our two year old could not touch anything (again strange since the two year old was watching Paw Patrol on the iPad the whole time). I asked for a cup of water for my daughter (who pours some on the concrete floor). “That’s just water right?!” staff exclaimed. I’m thinking uh yeah... what else did you serve the toddler... Horrible experience, will never visit again. Luckily we went to Quails Gate for a tasting after, an amazing experience with a wine quality close to the Italian wines I had while I...

July 2024: Emily poured our wine today. They have a very spacious tasting area, and have gigantic photos high up on the wall of the different vineyards throughout the Okanagan where they source their grapes. My partner really enjoys white wine, and I have a preference for red. Their Merlot and Petite Verdot were very nice. Of particular interest for my partner was a white wine that we’ve never heard of before… Sovereign Opal. This wine was very bright and fruity when first smelling it. It smelled very delightful. Bright aroma of tropical fruit and melon, and tasted as good as it smelled. Sure, some people may not enjoy the sweeter white wines, but this one was good. I think it was the sweetest white wine they had on offer that day. Regardless, Emily was very friendly and knowledgeable, and the pace of the tasting was just right. I did appreciate how there is no vineyard in sight while you’re tasting their wine, but they can speak to the vineyards on the pictures on the wall, where the grapes are sourced. I suppose that was one thing that was missing, was driving through a vineyard or being beside one during your tasting Regardless, the overall experience was good.

Early 2024: It was a sunny afternoon, and we finally got a bit of a break from the smoky skies, and decided to take it in a wine tasting at Sandhill wines.

Kiara poured our wine today. And with just a few years in the wine industry, she answered our questions regarding the wine, and seems to have a genuine passion for the wine industry here in the Okanagan. We enjoyed some of the white wines, as well as the red. This location is close to Downtown Kelowna, and there is not a vineyard in sight. Don’t let that dissuade you from taking in a tasting here. It’s just a different...