Cassini Cellars

Cassini Cellars is an award-winning family winery on Highway 97 just south of Oliver, in the Golden Mile Bench area of the South Okanagan, a stretch widely regarded as one of Canada's finest grape-growing regions. The winery's philosophy is that each bottle should communicate something distinct and unique about the place it comes from, and that terroir-driven approach has earned Cassini numerous awards and a reputation as one of the most celebrated producers along the Golden Mile. The portfolio is impressively broad for a boutique operation, spanning reds and whites that include Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Syrah, Shiraz and Pinot Noir alongside Chardonnay, Roussanne and Muscat. The warm days, cool nights and complex soils of the Oliver area give the reds in particular the ripeness and structure that have become signatures of the South Okanagan.

The tasting room sits conveniently right on the highway between Oliver and Osoyoos, making Cassini an easy and worthwhile stop on any southern valley wine route. The wine shop is generally open daily except Mondays, welcoming guests for tastings through the current releases, and the winery maintains an active presence for visitors planning ahead. Oliver proudly calls itself the Wine Capital of Canada, and a stop at Cassini pairs naturally with the dense cluster of wineries along the Golden Mile and Black Sage benches on either side of the valley. For travellers who enjoy comparing styles, the breadth of the Cassini lineup offers a single-stop education in what the South Okanagan can do, from aromatic whites through to big, cellar-worthy reds. Visitors should note the winery's website may occasionally have technical issues, so calling ahead or checking current hours through search listings is a sensible precaution in the off-season.