Sage Hills Estate Winery

Sage Hills Estate Winery is a family-owned organic producer perched above Okanagan Lake in Summerland, where former fruit orchards were converted to vineyard beginning in 2006. Owned by Rick and Toby Thrussell, the winery has become one of the Okanagan Valley's most committed natural wine producers, farming its certified organic vineyards with compost and plant-based treatments instead of synthetic chemicals and following a nothing-added, nothing-removed philosophy in the cellar: wild yeast fermentations, minimal intervention, and bottlings that are unfined and unfiltered. Sage Hills also holds the distinction of being the first small net zero winery in the Okanagan, running entirely on solar power and even using lightweight glass bottles to shrink its footprint further. The estate vineyards produce Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris, supplemented by purchased organic Syrah and Cabernet varieties, and the lineup ventures confidently into skin-contact orange wines and Pet-Nat sparkling wines that appeal to natural wine enthusiasts. Visitors will find the tasting room at 18555 Matsu Drive open Friday through Monday afternoons, with sweeping views over the vines to Okanagan Lake that rank among Summerland's finest. A newly expanded patio invites guests to linger over wines by the glass or bottle accompanied by complementary snacks, making this as much a place to settle in and soak up the scenery as to taste through a flight. Summerland itself sits midway between Penticton and Kelowna on the lake's western shore, and Sage Hills pairs well with the town's other boutique wineries on a day of touring the quieter side of the valley. For travellers curious about organic viticulture and low-intervention winemaking, or simply seeking a beautiful patio with honest, distinctive wines, Sage Hills offers one of the Okanagan's most authentic expressions of the natural wine movement.