Howling Bluff Estate Winery — Attraction in Penticton

We showed up hoping to either do a tasting or at least pick up a couple bottles of Pinot if they couldn’t fit us in. The guy in the wine shop opened the door, asked if we had a reservation (we didn’t), then said “you need a reservation!” and shut the door on us. It was stunningly rude. I have long been a fan of their wine, but I will never go back.

UPDATE: I am updating my review to respond to the owner’s comments. I was not aware of the reservation policy, which is why we did not have one. Some of the wineries on the bench have reservation policies, others don’t, others still accept walk-ins when space and time permit. I have no issue with reservation policies, and in fact support them. The person at the door, who I now understand to be the owner, did not ask us to wait, nor did we even get the chance to mention we would like to buy a bottle or two before he shut the door on us. Had we been asked to wait to buy a bottle of wine, we would have gladly done so. Had we been invited to make a reservation for some other time, we likely would have done so. So, my issue with this place has nothing to do with their well-justified reservation policy, but with the rudeness of the owner, which he has aptly demonstrated in his response...

As wine virgins from Ontario, we were surprised when we were told we needed to Visit Howling Bluff winery in the area known as the Naramata wine Bench from some long time friends from Ontario. We planned a special trip for our 20th anniversary and with No background / knowledge in wine attempted to look like we knew what we were talking about. We visited on a Sunday and Front of house Mel V. and her special assistant Bubbles made our first time magical, between the different classes of wine and the majestic views of the lake and mountains made our experience special, we spent most of the day enjoying the wine, the vineyard, and the views. We were even blessed to be able to meet Luke the Vinyard owner / wine producer and hear his story about the go go life of a businessman with the heart of a wine maker and how he was able to bring his dreams to life for his family and himself. If you are going to be anywhere near the Wine Bench or like us Need to visit this magical Canadian Jewel, Howling Bluff needs to be on your...

It was end of a long day that we visited Howling Bluff. I was looking for a good Pinot to have with dinner and had been disappointed with many of the wines I had tasted earlier in the day. Another winery suggested stopping at Howling Bluff which was not at all on our radar. A small unassuming place which is easily over looked. I am glad we stopped. We were greeted by a friendly gentleman who I think is the owner. He loved to describe his wines in terms of food and destinations. He was a lot of fun and I found a wonderful bottle of Pinot that I was after. We continue to travel to Osoyoos stopping at wineries over the next couple days. Howling Bluff was the best overall visit in terms of quality of product and...