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Canada

Okanagan Valley

3 000 ha under vine

Soils
Glacial and sandy soils along a long, deep lake; near-desert in the south
Climate
Continental, from cool north to arid, sunny south

On the map

Okanagan Valley — 3 000 haMendoza — 150 000 haCentral Valley — 120 000 haNingxia — 40 000 haMarlborough — 29 000 haColumbia Valley — 25 000 haSonoma County — 24 000 haNapa Valley — 18 000 haPaso Robles — 16 000 haStellenbosch — 15 000 haWillamette Valley — 11 500 haBarossa Valley — 11 500 haMaipo Valley — 11 000 haSwartland — 10 000 haCanelones — 7 500 haMcLaren Vale — 7 000 haCasablanca Valley — 6 000 haMargaret River — 5 800 haNiagara Peninsula — 5 500 haClare Valley — 5 500 haCoonawarra — 5 700 haHawke's Bay — 5 000 haFinger Lakes — 4 000 haHunter Valley — 2 500 haYarra Valley — 2 500 haTasmania — 2 000 haCentral Otago — 2 000 haConstantia — 450 haOkanagan ValleyMendozaCentral ValleyNingxiaMarlboroughColumbia ValleySonoma CountyNapa ValleyPaso RoblesStellenboschWillamette ValleyBarossa ValleyMaipo ValleySwartlandCanelonesMcLaren ValeCasablanca ValleyMargaret RiverNiagara PeninsulaClare ValleyCoonawarraHawke's BayFinger LakesHunter ValleyYarra ValleyTasmaniaCentral OtagoConstantia
Blob size ≈ vineyard area · approximate locations · coastlines from Natural Earth

Strung along a long, deep glacial lake in the interior of British Columbia, the Okanagan is Canada's most surprising wine region — its arid southern end a near-desert of sagebrush and sand, sunny enough to ripen Bordeaux reds and Syrah, its cooler north suited to Riesling, Pinot and aromatic whites.

The long summer days of its northern latitude and the lake's tempering influence give wines of ripeness and freshness alike. Beautiful, remote and fast-improving, the Okanagan is western Canada's answer to serious table wine — and, in its cold winters, to icewine.

The vineyard

Indicative share of plantings

The wines

Okanagan Red Red wine

Through time

Indicative presence index, 0–100Origins & Antiquity — 0The Monastic Middle Ages — 0Exploration & the Fortified Age — 0Classifications & the Golden Age — 0Phylloxera & the World Crises — 5The Modern & New World Era — 72Antiquity0500150017001875195072
Phylloxera & the World Crises 1875 The Modern & New World Era 1950