Harvest is a beautiful season in the Okanagan. Apples are plentiful, squashes and other root vegetables are abundant in local markets, and above all, the wine industry is in full force. It’s an exciting—albiet hectic—time for the area, especially after such a devastating year before. 

Naramata in particular is a wonder when it comes to grapegrowing conditions, especially after the 2024 frost damage. Oddly on one side of a rolling hill, entire vines were wiped out, while just over the bend certain grapes remained hearty and healthy despite all obstacles. It left us to wonder, just how was the Bench fairing?

So we visited three different wineries to get the inside scoop on all things 2025 harvest season. The result? A lot of positive and exciting news, especially when it comes to the spring releases in just a few short months! So for those looking to book their next Naramata getaway trip come March (aka, us!!), trust us when we say, you don’t want to miss out on these three names…

Nichol Vineyards, The House of Pink Pinot Gris

With vineyard rows on either side, the scent of harvest hit us the second we stepped onto Nichol Vineyard’s property: sweet, slightly savoury, and full of grape juice. Along the vines, heavy red grapes waited for their turn, ripe and ready for the picking; in the distance the sunshine glistened off Okanagan Lake as the wind offered a gentle, early-autumn breeze that ruffled the soon to change vineyard leaves.

A historied brand, Nichol Vineyards is among the first three wineries that settled along the Naramata Bench. Their home vineyard dates all the way back to 1989, and they were the first winery to plant Syrah vines in all of Canada—and yes, you read that right, all of Canada. Their esteemed heritage is evident as the team loads the last of the Pinot Gris into the press, one of their top sellers and most anticipated release next spring.

“Lots of fruit this year,” says winemaker/owner/vigneron Ross Hackworth—he wears many hats. “It was a great growing year, so it’ll taste delicious.” 

Matthew Sherlock, head of marketing for Nichol Vineyards and partner with Hackworth for Lock & Worth Winery, said this year will produce really clean fruit, really juicy wines with nicely high pH levels and low acidity. “Easy wines to drink,” he explains with a smile as he moves stems out of the way in the press.

Unlike other wineries across the Okanagan, Nichol decided not to accept American grapes post-frost, and instead held off on too many sales over the last year to prolong their stock. Even this week, with the announcement wineries could once again purchase international juice, they will not accept any, remaining purely local.  

Their style is dry, low intervention winemaking. “We’re really small, really hands-on,” explains Nicole Hackworth. “Not mechanized. We’re authentic.” They’re even close to being dry farmed, meaning limited irrigation.

Nichol Vineyards is well known for their distinct Pinot Gris. 

Thanks to extended skin contact, each bottle is a soft blush colour, giving it a unique appearance that is distinctly Nichol. Because of the rough 2024 harvest, they ran out of bottles by June and July, so wine club members and fans of the winery will be happy to hear the ‘25 vintage will be available early next spring—perhaps even before the New Year. However, it’s sure to sell out, and they are already taking a waiting list, so be sure to contact them to reserve a few bottles…

As we finished off today’s visit, the team were all high-fives and excited smiles as they pressed the last press of the Pinot Gris grapes for the 2025 season. Now, the juice is off to fermentation in the tanks.

Modesta, Home of the ModPods

After their first year open to the public for tasting experiences, Modesta is in full swing of an exciting harvest. With only four acres total on their estate, their yields are low but high in quality, producing only around one thousand cases annually. The majority of the property is a collection of Pinot Noir single clones, but there are a handful of Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay vines as well, offering guests both red, white, and rosé varietals.

Owners Mark Morrison and Tanya Tougas designed the winery architecture themselves, using the design to emphasize the Okanagan landscape and with a bowling hill that creates a small natural amphitheatre where guests can enjoy a glass of wine overlooking the vineyards and lake. It’s a feast for the senses, allowing a cool breeze to float through the estate and offer the delicious autumn chill to swirl around you. 

Their approach to harvest is very old school, meaning hand-harvested grapes placed into buckets and then wheelbarrowed up to the small crush pad. They place a heavy significance in single-clone harvesting, giving each cluster their own unique characteristics, attributes, tannins, and structure. With a goal to ferment separately, guests can truly taste the subtleties in terroir once the wines are released in the next year or so. 

Earlier this harvest they de-stemmed their Pinot Noir for the 2025 Rosé at midnight with a strategic approach to have skin contact last only six to eight hours. It was an early morning when they returned to press, but an exciting experiment they’re sure to enjoy once they release the bottles to guests in early spring.

But perhaps Modesta is most known for their ingenious “ModPods,” a fully functional production facility during these busy months that then turn into private tasting spaces. In the summers the team uses them as casual and comfortable seated areas while the fall and winter transforms them into working rooms for the winery.

“The flexibility gives the pods a unique characteristic,” explains Tanya Tougas. “It’s a blend of form and function that reflects Modesta’s philosophy—thoughtful design, grounded in purpose, but always re-imagined to create something memorable.” 

One of the things they both love about winemaking in Naramata is the sense of community this quaint area provides. There is a lot of collaboration between wineries on the Bench, with Modesta currently borrowing a small press from a winery down the road. 

“There is this incredible collaboration to work together to elevate Naramata Bench and Naramata wineries as a destination,” Tanya says. At the heart it’s all about supporting the tourist experience and highlighting the exceptional quality of our region.

Another reason you should come visit in the spring and taste this sense of community in every sip!

Tightrope Winery, a Fast and Furious Harvest

Further up the bench, Tightrope is in a bit of a different stage than some of their colleagues. Currently, they are near the tail end of their busy grape picking and pressing stage, having nearly completed all estate vineyards and just waiting for one last batch from elsewhere down the bench. 

“This harvest was fast and furious,” says owner and winemaker Lyndsay O’Rourke. “It’s really early for us to be done before thanksgiving.”

However, this is a welcome surprise, offering their team an unexpected respite while their neighbours continue the brutal grind of wrapping up the process. As is often the case with farming, the timeline is controlled by the grapes themselves, so when they’re ready to go, you have to go go go. It can mean weeks on end of repetitive cycles to get the grapes from the vines into the tanks before they’re bottled in a few months (or, in the case of reds, barreled and bottled in up to three years).

According to owner and viticulturalist Graham O’Rourke, this year’s yield was up more than anticipated, which is also a welcome surprise after the devastation in 2024. While Tightrope was able to produce some Riesling and Pinot Gris last year, like many others they also lost some of the vines as well with replanting underway earlier this year.

But this summer was the perfect growing season. Even, balanced. While it was a wet and humid spring—which can bring some pest control and mould issues—the summer was great for the wines to find their legs again after such brutal winters.

 “It wasn’t crazy hot,” Lyndsay O’Rouke explains. “The fruit that’s coming in is ripe in flavour with lower sugars, so lower alcohol. Reds are showing nicely so far, and the Pinot Noir was just pressed off. It smells lovely.” 

It’s heartwarming to see such a positive result after the industry got hit in 2024. What an exciting time along the Bench as wineries bring in plenty of grape varietals perfect for us to sample in the spring of 2026.

We can’t wait to raise a glass and celebrate the enduring spirit of our Okanagan wine industry from the banks of the Naramata Bench this upcoming March. 

XX,

Your Okanagan Curators