The Anti-Wine Tour: Because Grapes Don’t Need All the Attention

I love a classic Kelowna wine tour. Truly. But grapes have enjoyed some excellent public relations, and every now and then apples, honey, and a beautifully distilled botanical deserve control of the itinerary.

That is the idea behind our Anti-Wine Tour: four memorable Southeast Kelowna stops built around craft spirits, orchard cider, and mead, with one perfectly civilized wine loophole at the end. Wine has not been banished. It has simply agreed to share the van.

The drinks are the hook, but the people are the reason this has become my favourite tour. These places are shaped by local families, farmers, makers, and hosts who care deeply about what they create. You can feel that passion in the stories behind a bottle, the fruit growing outside, the bees working nearby, and the way a tasting becomes a conversation rather than a sales pitch.

*Featured photo courtesy of Luckhurst Farm & Distillery.*

So, what exactly is an Anti-Wine Tour?

Call it the Anti-Wine Tour, the Mostly-Not-Wine Tour, or four excellent reasons to give grapes the afternoon off. The planned route is delightfully straightforward:

1. Luckhurst Farm & Distillery for farm-crafted spirits
2. Soma Craft Cidery for orchard-to-glass cider
3. Meadow Vista Honey Wines for mead and a closer look at the world of bees
4. Wards Cider at The View Winery & Vineyard for cider—or wine, if you would like to invoke the loophole

This is not an alcohol-free tour, and it is not literally free of wine. Mead is honey wine, and The View makes traditional wine alongside Wards cider. “Anti-wine” simply means we are stepping outside the usual four-winery lineup and seeing what else Southeast Kelowna can pour.

Luckhurst: starting the day in good spirits

The first stop is Luckhurst Farm & Distillery, a family-owned farm and distillery tucked into the wooded countryside of Southeast Kelowna. Laura and Joe Luckhurst connect a family history of winemaking with a newer chapter in craft distilling, producing spirits such as vodka, gin, and limoncello on the farm.

What I enjoy most about Luckhurst is that the spirit has a story before it ever reaches the glass. The land, the family history, the labels, and the recipes all feel connected. It is polished without feeling corporate, interesting without becoming a lecture, and welcoming without trying too hard. In other words, it is an excellent place to begin a tour—and an even better place to make a “good spirits” joke before anyone else gets the chance.

Laura, Joe, and the people around Luckhurst are wonderful ambassadors for local craft. When one of the family or makers is on site, a tasting can open the door to the kind of conversation that makes a small producer so special: why they chose a particular botanical, where an idea began, or how a family memory found its way onto a bottle.

Soma: letting the apples take the wheel

From spirits, we move to cider at Soma Craft Cidery, a small, family-run farm with a working orchard, tasting room, and resident alpacas who appear to take their hospitality duties seriously. Soma grows apples on the property, presses them on site, and turns them into small-batch cider rooted in the farm itself.

There is something satisfying about drinking cider while looking at the place the apples came from. The distance from orchard to glass is refreshingly short, and the care behind the process is easy to understand: grow good fruit, treat it properly, and let it become something worth sharing. Apples, it turns out, have career ambitions too.

The family and team at Soma have built an experience that feels creative, relaxed, and connected to the land. They make it easy to ask questions, compare flavours, and appreciate how much thought goes into a beverage that is too often reduced to “sweet or dry.” Cider has nuance, and Soma gives it room to show off.

Meadow Vista: where honey gets a glow-up

Next comes Meadow Vista Honey Wines, where mead gives honey a rather impressive second career. Mead is made primarily by fermenting honey with water and yeast, sometimes with fruit, herbs, or spices. It is one of the oldest fermented beverages in the world, but in the right hands it feels anything but old-fashioned.

Meadow Vista is led by sisters Emily Vanderschee and Electra Logan with meadmaker and co-owner Andrew Durrant. Their different strengths fit together beautifully: Emily brings a love of local food and farm-to-table experiences, Electra champions education, community, bees, and pollination, and Andrew brings the technical knowledge and curiosity of a dedicated meadmaker.

That mix of talents is a big part of the charm. A visit is not only about discovering what mead tastes like. It is also a chance to think about honeybees, local agriculture, flavour, and the surprising range that can come from honey. The people at Meadow Vista make an unfamiliar category feel approachable, and their passion has a way of turning “I have never tried mead” into “Why have I not tried this before?”

Wards at The View: the diplomatic ending

The final stop is Wards Cider at The View Winery & Vineyard, where the Anti-Wine Tour signs a peace treaty with wine. Guests can choose Wards cider or have wine from The View, so nobody has to defend their preferred fermentation method.

This property carries generations of Okanagan agricultural history. The Ward and Turton family story stretches back through orchard life in Southeast Kelowna, and the tasting room sits in a vintage apple-packing house built in 1922. President Jennifer Turton-Molgat has led the winery and cidery since 2006, carrying that family connection to the land into a modern tasting experience.

It is a fitting finish because Wards and The View bring the whole idea together: local fruit, family history, skilled makers, cider, wine, and a beautiful sense of place. Traditional wine lovers still get an option, cider fans stay on theme, and everyone gets to end the day somewhere with a story worth hearing.

The real secret ingredient is the people

I can list the beverages—gin, vodka, limoncello, cider, mead, and perhaps wine—but a list does not explain why I love this route. The real pleasure is meeting the people who care about the farm, the orchard, the bees, the bottles, and the history. These are not anonymous beverages arriving from an anonymous warehouse. They come from businesses with personalities.

In my experience, the owners and teams behind all four stops are genuinely wonderful: generous with their knowledge, proud of their work, and excited to help guests understand the craft rather than simply taste it.

Depending on who is hosting on the day, you may meet an owner, a maker, a family member, or a knowledgeable tasting-room host. A specific person’s attendance cannot be guaranteed, and we would never pretend otherwise. What we can say is that every stop carries the fingerprints of passionate local people, and the warmth behind these places comes through whether you are speaking with an owner or a member of the team they have trusted to welcome you.

For me, that is what turns a tasting into an experience. You remember a drink, but you also remember the person who explained it, the story that made you laugh, or the detail that changed how you tasted the next sip.

Who should book this tour?

The Anti-Wine Tour is a lovely fit for:

• Wine-tour veterans who want a new plot twist
• Cider fans who would like to compare two distinct orchard experiences
• Curious guests who have never tried mead
• Spirit lovers who enjoy small-batch stories and farm settings
• Mixed groups where not everyone wants four traditional winery tastings
• Locals who think they have already seen Southeast Kelowna
• Anyone who believes the best part of craft beverages is meeting the people behind them

It is also simply a fun day. Nothing about learning how something is made requires us to become terribly serious. We can appreciate fermentation, family history, bees, botanicals, and orchard agriculture while still agreeing that “honey wine” sounds like something invented to improve a Tuesday.

What to expect when you book

The four featured stops are planned in order: Luckhurst, Soma, Meadow Vista, then Wards at The View. We coordinate the visits for your date; if a venue cannot host the group, we will contact you before changing the plan. Current pricing, pickup details, tasting-fee inclusions, availability, and the Dog-Friendly Tour option are shown on the Anti-Wine Tour page. You can also review what is included in a Kelowna wine tour or compare all tour packages.

Ready to give grapes a little less attention? Book the Anti-Wine Tour. If you have questions about the route, a mixed group, accessibility, or bringing a dog, contact us before booking.

Quick FAQ

What makes this an Anti-Wine Tour?

The route swaps the usual four traditional winery stops for Luckhurst spirits, Soma cider, Meadow Vista mead, and Wards cider at The View. It is a craft-beverage tour with a playful name, not a campaign against grapes.

Is it completely wine-free?

No. Mead is honey wine, and the final stop gives guests the choice of Wards cider or The View wine. If you want a glass of wine at the end, no one will confiscate your membership card.

Will we meet all of the owners?

Owners, makers, family members, or knowledgeable hosts may be present, but no particular person can be guaranteed. The stories and passion behind each local business remain a central part of the experience.

How do I reserve it?

Use the Anti-Wine Tour booking page to choose your date and guest count. We coordinate the featured stops and follow up if anything about the planned route needs attention.