In a dusty corner of Naramata Bench, 1 Mill Road winemaker Ben Bryant stumbled upon a mystery that perfectly encapsulates Okanagan Chardonnay’s evolution. While scrambling for replacement fruit after his planned vineyard was compromised by disease, he discovered an old site with massive trunks and vines of unknown provenance. “They don’t even know when it was planted,” Bryant explains. “It’s a mystery. But it’s got trunks on it like this,” he says holding up his hands. The resulting single-vineyard Chardonnay would become one of his finest expressions.
This discovery story reflects a larger narrative unfolding across British Columbia’s premier wine region. Nearly five decades after the first plantings, Okanagan Chardonnay has reached a turning point where heritage meets precision, and winemakers are finally confident enough to let the valley speak for itself.
“The Stewart family were definitely pioneers in planting Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the Okanagan,” says Kailee Frasch, winemaker at Quails’ Gate Estate Winery. “The first Pinot Vines went into the ground in 1975, closely followed by the Chardonnay.” Those early plantings laid the foundation for what has become the region’s most compelling white wine success story.
Beyond Imitation — Finding Okanagan’s Voice
The transformation of Okanagan Chardonnay reflects a philosophical shift that’s producing genuinely exciting wines. Where previous generations might have looked south to California or east to Burgundy for inspiration, today’s winemakers are developing a distinctly regional approach.
“My view is I take the vineyard for itself and then express it in the most thoughtful manner,” Bryant explains. “It’s like, let’s really look at the site, understand what it has to offer in terms of the fruit spectrum, and then mesh everything around the outside of the fruit to make sure that when we get to the bottle, we’re together.”
This site-specific philosophy has coincided with remarkable technical advancement. Frasch describes the relentless pursuit of improvement: “With harvest you get basically one chance per year to learn as much as you can. So we’ll try and run as many trials as we can without things getting too crazy.” These trials have led to breakthrough discoveries, including precise turbidity management that allows winemakers to dial in exactly the right balance of fruit purity and textural complexity.
The stylistic evolution favors restraint over power. Bryant describes his approach as “meticulous in elegance. So we’re not going to have big overblown wines. It’ll be much more restrained in how we express them”
This precision extends to viticultural practices. Bryant focuses on “pushing for earlier phenological ripeness. So I’ve got a natural level of acidity that I can frame everything else around versus push to this or be forced to push to because of the season or the wine I want to make.”
This approach allows winemakers to harvest with optimal flavor development while maintaining the bright acidity that gives Okanagan Chardonnay its distinctive character.
From 1975 Pioneers to Modern Precision
The continuity between Okanagan’s pioneering era and its current sophistication becomes clear when examining how established producers are reinventing themselves. Quails’ Gate exemplifies this evolution, building on nearly 50 years of experience while embracing cutting-edge techniques.
Frasch describes their ongoing transformation: “We’ve had all that time to understand what the clones are like on our site. And with the winter damage in the past few years, we’ve had the opportunity to replant a lot of our vineyards.”
Rather than viewing winter damage as a setback, forward-thinking producers have used replanting as an opportunity to refine their programs with newer clones and better site matching.
The replanting scale is massive. “We actually started our replanting last year, we did 45 acres in 2024, and then this year our target was around 75 acres. I was actually speaking to our viticulturist yesterday and we’re actually up to around 83 acres replanted for 2025,” Frasch notes. This represents roughly half their estate, with the strategic goal of having “80% of the estate planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which is great because we know those varieties do so well on this site.”
Meanwhile, smaller producers like Bryant continue discovering hidden gems throughout the valley. His Naramata Bench vineyard represents the kind of heritage site that adds depth to Okanagan’s story. “It is one of the oldest Chardonnay, own-rooted sites on the bench, back in the valley, but it’s on the northern side of the Naramata Bench Road,” he explains. These forgotten plantings offer unique expressions that wouldn’t be possible to recreate today.
The combination of systematic replanting at established estates and rediscovery of heritage sites creates a dynamic where Okanagan Chardonnay can showcase both consistency and diversity. Bryant articulates this vision: “The end goal is if we had a collection of single vineyard wines, whether it’s four, whether it’s six. And each of those is very representative of where it’s grown. To me, that is a more compelling story.”
The Future is Single Vineyards
The trajectory for Okanagan Chardonnay points toward increased vineyard specificity and quality focus. Established producers are concentrating their efforts on proven sites while boutique wineries explore unique expressions from individual blocks.
This evolution reflects growing confidence in what the region can achieve. Frasch describes Quails’ Gate’s strategic vision: “Our hope is to make even more of those higher quality reserve wines and focus more on Pinot and Chard.” This commitment to varietal specialization allows producers to invest deeply in understanding their sites and refining their techniques.
For smaller producers, the model increasingly resembles allocation-based systems that prioritize quality over volume. Bryant explains his approach: “We want it to be two and a half to 3,000 cases. We can still control and manage everything ourselves. We can be very particular, we can be very meticulous.”
Finding These Wines
Most premium Okanagan Chardonnay sells directly from wineries or through allocation lists, reflecting the limited production and high demand. BC Liquor Stores carries select bottlings, while specialty wine shops in Vancouver and Calgary often feature rotating selections from smaller producers.
Prices typically range from $28 to $60, positioning these wines competitively with quality Chardonnay from established regions worldwide. The combination of unique terroir expression, technical sophistication, and relative value makes this an ideal time to explore what Okanagan has to offer.
After nearly five decades of development, Okanagan Chardonnay has found its voice. The region’s winemakers have moved beyond imitation to create something distinctly their own; a culmination of a journey that points toward an even more exciting future ahead.