Thompson Okanagan Specialty Food Producers include:
Planet Bee Honey Farm
Visit Western Canada's largest outdoor honeybee observatory. Watch over 10,000 honeybees create the raw material for this Vernon farm's famed honey products.
- Tours are run by a beekeeper guide who opens up a hive, offering visitors an inside look at life in a bee colony
- Feeling brave? "Suit up" to get up close and personal with the bees
- The sweetest part of the visit? Honey tastings, of course!
Summerland Sweets
In the sun-kissed hills above Summerland, you will find the company renowned for its exceptional jams, syrups, fruit-wine bases, jellied fruit candy, and gourmet brittles.
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Summerland Sweets uses only top-quality tree- and vine-ripened fruit picked at the peak of flavour to create its superior products
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This company has skillfully crafted jams and syrups from original family recipes for over 40 years
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Take a tour, complete with tasty product samplings, during the summer months.
Carmelis Goat Cheese Artisan
If you like goat cheese, head to this remarkable boutique business just outside of Kelowna. Family-owned-and-operated, Carmelis makes over 20 varieties of goat cheese from 100 percent goat's milk produced on the farm.
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Standouts include Goatgonzola, an earthy blue cheese as well as Chevretal, a sweet and nutty aged cheese similar to parmesan
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Your kids will love the kids (baby goats). At any one time there are more than 100 goats onsite
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Book a tour of the dairy plant, aging cellar and milking station.
Poplar Grove Winery
This exceptional Penticton winery produces both award-winning wines and discriminating cheeses. Sample vintages accompanied by Double Cream Camembert, mild Naramata Bench Blue and intense Tiger Blue cheeses.
Gort's Gouda Cheese Farm
Gort's has been hand crafting cheese on the farm near Salmon Arm for over 20 years. Choose from several varieties of gouda, maasdammer and feta. Take a scheduled tour in July or August, or by appointment at other times.
The Village Cheese Co.
The artisans at this Armstrong company create over 20 varieties of cheese using traditional methods and fresh, top-quality cow's milk from a nearby family farm. Watch the cheeses being made through a viewing window.
The Jammery
The Jammery, located in Winfield (just north of Kelowna) is where dozens of jams, syrups and jellies made from local BC fruit are produced on-site. Flavours range from traditional strawberry and blueberry jams to the more exotic such as cranberry jalapeno pepper jelly. The top-secret surprise: The Jammery’s line of liqueur jams. Try raspberry with kirsch or blueberry with amaretto for an indulgent treat. Watch the jam production process and sample the sweet treats.