Monte Creek Ranch Winery – A Taste of Adventure
Just ten minutes outside Kamloops’ city centre lies Monte Creek Ranch Winery. Due to their outstanding wine and popular events in combination with sustainability, Monte Creek Ranch Winery is an ideal Kamloops tourist attraction. The rather young winery is one of Kamloops most awarded wineries and worth a visit, maybe even as a stop on the Kamloops Wine Trail. Monte Creek offers a variety of white, red, rosé and sparkling wines as well as blueberry and other dessert wines. Next to wine tastings the visitors can also see behind the scenes with a winery tour showing all the ranch animals, their vineyard, the Haskap berries and the beautiful views of the Okanagan.
Monte Creek Ranch Winery’s History
In the mid-2000s, a family located in the lower mainland came to Kamloops to buy land to open their own blueberry farm but started digging and quickly realized the soil wasn’t meant for blueberries but would be perfect for grapes. They started planting vines in 2009 on both sides of the Thompson River which has now grown to an incredible 75 acres of vines. They opened up fully to the public in 2015 with a beautifully designed building by an architecture located in Vancouver.
Credit: Monte Creek Ranch Winery 
Credit: Monte Creek Ranch Winery 
Credit: Monte Creek Ranch Winery
Monte Creek Ranch Winery’s tasting room building has a chandelier made to represent a lasso and spurs showcasing the ranch style and its bell tower symbolizes a place of gathering. The Monte Creek Ranch staff started to realize how important agriculture was to running a sustainable business so they later brought in cattle, pigs, and chickens to help with sustainable goals. Monte Creek Ranch Winery now sells over 10 different blends of red and white wine and has recently won “Best Winery of 2019” in the Kamloops This Week yearly awards.
Monte Creek and Billy Miner
Not only is Monte Creek Ranch’s land very fertile and combines every aspect needed for great viticulture and the production of good wine, but it is also a place of history. On Monte Creek Ranch’s wine labels of their “Hands Up White” and “Hands Up Red”, you will see a photo of either Billy Miner or the famous CN Rail train. Biller Miner was a famous bandit who would rob CN Rail because back in the day townsfolk would say “Billy Miner robs CN Rail but CN Rail robs us every day.” Monte Creek Ranch named these two wines after him because he was known as the “gentleman’s bandit” and would always say to people on the train “put your hands up and I won’t hurt you.” He was only ever there for the cash. His last robbery happened right outside of Monte Creek Ranch Winery’s windows where he and his bandits left with $15.50, a bottle of liver pills and a long time in prison.
Credit: Monte Creek Ranch Winery 
Credit: Monte Creek Ranch Winery 
Credit: Monte Creek Ranch Winery
The winery showcases a wall of history including mug shots of Billy Miner as well as how the farmland looked in the early 1900s that visitors are able to see if they book a tour. The Billy Miner theme is rounded up by the barn-inspired architecture of Monte Creek Ranch Winery that also incorporates some mission style aspects. The main building with the bell tower as well as the terrace and concrete structuring incorporates old with new and modern designs. It shows how history can be incorporated into modern days. Monte Creek Ranch Winery offers more information about Billy Miner and the surrounding farmland and its history on its website.
Sustainability and Beyond Organic
Credit: Monte Creek Ranch Winery 
Credit: Monte Creek Ranch Winery 
Credit: Monte Creek Ranch Winery
Since its beginnings, Monte Creek Ranch Winery cared about being a sustainable and low carbon footprint farm. Because of that the winery applies permaculture and works towards being a zero-waste facility. They are calling this their “Beyond Organic” sustainability project. Permaculture tries to combine a variety of plants and animals and see them as a full concept instead of single parts. As an active ranch with cattle and other animals like pigs, chickens, and bees, Monte Creek Ranch Winery has already started their plans and actions at making permaculture a large part of their business.
Monte Creek uses their own bee farm to pollinate their Haskap berries because unlike the grapes (which are self-pollinating), Haskap Berries need bees to help them survive. The winery also sells fresh honey inside the tasting room. Because of permaculture, Monte Creek Ranch Winery offers next to their wines, their honey, haskap berry dessert wine, as well as beef jerky from Monte Creek’s own cattle. More information about Sustainability goals can be found on the official UN Website.
Special Events
Monte Creek Ranch Winery hosts many different events throughout the summer as well as the other seasons. From the months of April to September is their “on season” which is when they host wedding ceremonies and receptions, host tours for large international tour groups, and put on special events such as Music at Monte, Wine Club member events, the ‘Get Corked’ run around the vineyard, fitness classes, etc. On their “off-season” which is October to March, they have a few events such as the wine club member pig roast and the Kamloops Wine Trail open house that takes place in November.
These events are advertised on Monte Creek Ranch Winery’s social media pages which make them easily accessible to potential tourists and change every season so there is always something fun and new for guests to look forward to. Monte Creek Ranch Winery also has future plans to expand its parking lot, as well as possibly building an amphitheatre in the vineyard for movie nights and large performances.
Credit: Monte Creek Ranch Winery 
Credit: Monte Creek Ranch Winery 
Credit: Monte Creek Ranch Winery 
Credit: Monte Creek Ranch Winery 
Credit: Monte Creek Ranch Winery