Naramata Bench 5 Winery Tour

The best part of the Naramata Bench 5 Winery Tour is its mix of wine, scenery, and easy transport. You visit five very different wineries in about six hours, from the cheerful Ruby Blues Winery to the lake-view patio at Lake Breeze Vineyards, without needing to plan a route or find a sober driver.

I like the included tasting fees and the reserved lunch stop, since both remove common hassles. I also like the small maximum of 14 people, which should feel more personal than a large coach outing. The main drawback is that lunch costs extra, and the exact pickup time and winery order can change.

Key points at a glance

• Five wineries in one half-day: The route includes Ruby Blues, Bench 1775, Lake Breeze, Wesbert, and Three Sisters.
• Lake Breeze is the long stop: You have about 90 minutes there for lunch, local food, views, and a slower break.
• All tasting fees are covered: You do not need to keep paying at each cellar door.
• Pickup and drop-off are included: An air-conditioned vehicle collects you from your accommodation in the covered area.
• Guides make a difference: Vicky and Don are praised for being friendly, helpful, informative, and fun.
• Plan for extra lunch money: The meal is not included, and pickups outside Penticton or Naramata may begin earlier.

Five wineries, one easy day on the Naramata Bench

This tour gives you a useful introduction to the Naramata Bench, a wine area known for its views over Okanagan Lake and its concentration of wineries. Instead of spending your day comparing maps and guessing how long each stop deserves, you follow a ready-made route in an air-conditioned vehicle.

The tour lasts about six hours. Five winery visits take place within that time, with most stops lasting 45 minutes and Lake Breeze receiving a full 90 minutes. That longer pause matters. Wine tasting can become tiring when every stop is rushed, so the lunch break gives you time to eat, sit down, and enjoy the setting.

The advertised start time is 10:30 a.m., but treat that as a guide rather than a fixed pickup appointment. Your final pickup time is sent by text the day before, and you should be ready 15 minutes early. If you stay outside Penticton or Naramata, expect an earlier collection time to allow for driving.

Vivid Tours limits the group to 14 people. That is a practical size for a tasting room. You can hear the guide, ask questions, and move between stops without the slow shuffle of a large bus. It also means the tour may feel social, so it suits people who enjoy sharing a day with others rather than having a private outing.

Ruby Blues Winery starts things on a friendly note

Your first stop is Ruby Blues Winery, where the tone is described as fun, inviting, and relaxed. You have about 45 minutes here, enough time for an introduction to the local wine scene and a first tasting without using too much of your day.

This is a useful opening stop because it sounds approachable rather than formal. If you are new to wine tasting, a welcoming first visit can help you settle into the rhythm: taste, ask questions, compare impressions, and decide what styles you prefer.

The short visit also keeps the route moving. You should not expect a long winery tour at every stop. The focus is sampling and learning, with the guide helping connect each place to the wider winemaking process.

Bench 1775 pairs wine with broad views

At Bench 1775 Winery, the setting becomes a major part of the experience. The winery is known for views along the bench toward the lake and mountains, so this is a good place to pause and take in the scenery between tastings.

You have another 45-minute visit. The winery produces refined wines that have received national attention and awards, which gives this stop a slightly more polished feel than the casual opening at Ruby Blues.

For you, the value here is not only the pour in your glass. A wine region makes more sense when you can see the slopes, lake, and surrounding country that shape the growing conditions. The guide can also help explain how grapes become wine from the early stages of production through to the finished bottle, one of the tour’s stated aims.

Keep your expectations measured. The available details do not promise a full production walk-through or a behind-the-scenes cellar visit at every winery. You are buying a guided tasting day, not a technical winemaking course.

Lake Breeze Vineyards is the day’s main pause

Lake Breeze Vineyards receives the longest visit, about 90 minutes, and this is likely to be the most complete stop on the route. Its tasting room and patio look over the Naramata Bench and Okanagan Lake, while the farm-to-table restaurant focuses on local Okanagan food.

Lunch is not included in the $164.10 tour price, but reservations are arranged at the winery bistro. That is a meaningful convenience. You can sit down for a proper meal without spending part of the day waiting for a table or working out where to go next.

The patio setting adds something that a tasting counter cannot. You can slow down, eat, and take in the view instead of treating lunch as fuel between appointments. The stop also includes small farm details, such as resident chickens and pigs, plus house-made lattes. Those touches give the winery a more relaxed, local feel.

The practical point is to budget for lunch separately. The tour includes bottled water and tasting fees, but not the cost of your meal. You may also want room in your schedule for wine purchases, since buying bottles is separate from the tour price.

Because Lake Breeze lasts 90 minutes, this stop shapes the whole day. If you prefer constant movement and as many tastings as possible, the long lunch break may feel slow. I think it works well for most people, especially anyone who wants scenery and food to be part of the outing rather than treating the day as a series of quick samples.

Wesbert Winery focuses on the fruit and place

Wesbert Winery brings a different idea to the route. Its approach is minimal intervention, allowing the fruit and the Naramata growing conditions to show through in the finished wines.

You spend about 45 minutes here. The stated goal is balanced, full-flavored wine that works for many occasions, which suggests a practical tasting rather than a highly specialized one. This can be useful after several stops because you can compare how different producers handle similar regional ingredients.

I like having this kind of stop on the itinerary. Five wineries could easily blur together if they all offered the same polished presentation. Wesbert’s emphasis on fruit and local growing conditions gives the guide another angle to discuss when explaining how wine is made.

Again, do not expect every winery to provide the same format. The point is variety: different settings, different production choices, and different expressions of Okanagan wine.

Three Sisters Winery ends with a generous tasting

The final stop is Three Sisters Winery, where your included flight contains five wines. You also have access to the vineyards and patio, along with time to purchase bottles.

Ending with a five-wine flight gives the last stop a clear tasting focus. By this point, you will have sampled across the day and may have a better idea of what you like. That makes the final tasting useful for comparison, especially if you are deciding which bottles to take home.

The vineyard and patio access also give you one more chance to enjoy the setting before returning to your accommodation. Keep track of your favorites as you go. Five wineries can mean many samples, and it is easy to forget which producer poured the bottle you liked best.

The itinerary gives you 45 minutes here, so shopping and tasting may need to share the same window. If you want to buy wine, tell the guide early enough to avoid feeling rushed at the end.

What the $164.10 price really covers

At $164.10 per person, the price is not simply five tasting appointments. It includes an air-conditioned vehicle, hotel or accommodation pickup and drop-off, a guide, bottled water, and tasting fees at all five wineries.

That package can offer good value if you would otherwise need to arrange a driver, pay for separate tastings, and organize lunch reservations yourself. The driving is especially important. You can taste throughout the day without worrying about getting behind the wheel afterward.

The value depends partly on your starting point. Pickup from accommodations in the Penticton and Naramata area fits this route naturally. If you are staying farther away, your collection time may be earlier, and the day can feel longer because of extra driving.

Lunch is the main additional cost. You should also plan for gratuity and any bottles you decide to buy. Those are not included, so the advertised price is best treated as the starting cost for the day rather than the full amount you will spend.

Guides Vicky and Don shape the experience

The guide can make or break a wine tour, and the strongest praise here goes to Vicky and Don. Vicky is described as friendly, helpful, fun, and willing to handle whatever the day required. Don is praised for being informative and good fun.

Those comments point to the kind of service you want on a group tour: clear help, a relaxed manner, and someone who keeps the day moving. You are not left to work out the route, tasting order, or pickup details on your own.

One practical note is that the wineries visited may not always match the planned sequence exactly. A tour company may adjust the route, and the actual stops can differ. That means you should book this for the overall Naramata Bench experience rather than for one winery alone.

The positive side is flexibility. If the route changes, you can still receive a full day of tastings and scenery. The tradeoff is that anyone determined to visit a particular producer should confirm the current route before booking.

Who will enjoy this Naramata wine tour

I would recommend this tour to you if you want a simple way to sample the region without renting a car. It suits couples, friends, solo visitors who enjoy small group outings, and anyone staying in the Penticton or Naramata area.

It is also a good choice for mixed-interest groups. Wine drinkers get five tastings, while people who care more about scenery and food receive lake views, a patio lunch, farm details, and vineyard access.

The tour may be less suitable if you want a private vehicle, a slow visit at every winery, or a highly technical education in viticulture and winemaking. The group can reach up to 14 people, and each stop is timed.

It also may not suit an early riser who wants a full-day start before 10:30 a.m. The scheduled start is late morning, with the exact pickup time confirmed the day before. Vernon and Sparkling Hill pickups are not available on this tour, so you need to check your accommodation location carefully.

Simple planning tips for a smoother day

Keep your morning free until the pickup message arrives. Since the exact time is confirmed by text the day before, do not assume the 10:30 a.m. listing time is the moment your vehicle reaches your door.

Wear something comfortable for a day of sitting, walking around patios, and moving through tasting rooms. You will want to keep your hands free for a water bottle and any purchases, though bottled water is provided.

Eat lightly before pickup, but leave room for the Lake Breeze lunch. Since the meal is extra, check your budget before the day begins. A card or other accepted payment method will also be useful for lunch and wine purchases, though the available tour details do not specify payment methods.

If you have a favorite wine style, tell your guide. Vicky or Don can help you compare what you taste across the five stops. You should also keep notes in your phone, particularly if you plan to buy bottles at Three Sisters or another winery.

Book ahead during busy periods. This tour is booked an average of 31 days in advance, which suggests that last-minute spaces may not always be available. Free cancellation is allowed up to 24 hours before the start time, but cancellations or changes made inside that window are not refunded.

Should you book it?

Book this tour if you want five tastings, reliable transportation, scenic stops, and a proper lunch break in one manageable day. The included tasting fees and pickup service make the $164.10 price easier to justify, especially if you would otherwise need a designated driver.

The strongest reasons to choose it are the small group size, the Lake Breeze patio and local food stop, and the friendly guiding style associated with Vicky and Don. The main cautions are the extra lunch cost, possible route changes, and the fact that each winery receives limited time.

For a first look at the Naramata Bench, I think this is a sensible choice. You get enough variety to learn what the region offers, without spending the day behind the wheel or worrying about the next reservation.

FAQ

How long does the Naramata Bench 5 Winery Tour last?

The tour lasts approximately six hours, including transportation between the wineries and the scheduled visits.

What time does the tour start?

The listed start time is 10:30 a.m. Your finalized pickup time is confirmed by text the day before, and you should be ready 15 minutes before that time.

Are hotel pickup and drop-off included?

Yes. Pickup and drop-off at your hotel or accommodation are included, provided the location is within the tour’s service area. Vernon and Sparkling Hill pickups are not available on this tour.

Is lunch included in the tour price?

No. The tour includes a reserved lunch stop at the Lake Breeze winery bistro, but you pay for your own meal.

Are wine tasting fees included?

Yes. Tasting fees are included at the wineries visited. The Three Sisters Winery stop includes a flight of five wines.

How many people can join the tour?

The tour has a maximum group size of 14 people.