Amazing Moments Ahead

A world-class, one-of-a-kind golf resort deserves to be paired with a world-class one-of-a-kind winery. For Predator Ridge, the choice for a strategic local winery partnership was an obvious one, and when O’Rourke Family Estate opens its doors, homeowners will have a winery on their doorstep that surpasses anything the Okanagan has seen before.

O’Rourke Family Estate is the latest project from visionary Dennis O’Rourke and it takes what he began in 2009 with great success at O’Rourke’s Peak Cellars in Lake Country and expands it in the most spectacular way possible with this new flagship that combines winery with event space and accommodation, all built into the side of a mountain overlooking Okanagan Lake.

O’Rourke has had a connection with Predator Ridge since its infancy: his company, Sureway Construction Group Ltd., constructed many of the stacked rock retaining walls at the resort when it was first being built as a residential development in the early days.

The decision to partner up with O’Rourke’s wineries was an easy one, according to Brad Pelletier, senior Vice-President for Wesbild Okanagan.

“Since the 1970’s, he has owned a large property in the Carr’s Landing area. Living there and seeing this project evolve, he had a role in Predator Ridge from that starting point in terms of the development and the construction,” said Pelletier, who was running the large sports marketing company IMG when he first met O’Rourke. “We hosted the Skins Game in 2000 at Predator Ridge and we organized Sergio Garcia to stay at his place, and Dennis has been a member at Predator Ridge pretty much since day one so he is really closely aligned with this project.”

But to get to the story of O’Rourke Family Estate, you have to start at the beginning, with Peak Cellars, which is well-known for its seven-acre Goldie Road Vineyard overlooking Okanagan Lake.

A visit to Peak’s tasting room invites guests to sip award-winning wines from head winemaker Stephanie Stanley, such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling. After working up an appetite, it’s time to enjoy a delicious lunch or dinner from a menu featuring everything from handcrafted pizza baked in their outdoor forno pizza oven to mushroom gnocchi or beef tenderloin, thanks to the talents of award-winning chef de cuisine Scott Geiring.

And if you’re looking for the perfect wedding spot, say your “I do’s” under the covered pergola built from 120-year-old timber. O’Rourke doesn’t do anything small, so there is of course a heli pad provided for guests who prefer an alternate mode of transportation. And full-time gardeners and two greenhouses means the entire operation behind the bistro is truly farm to table.

O’Rourke, who affectionately refers to Peak Cellars as his “beginner winery,” claims he doesn’t know anything about wine.

“I drink the stuff, but I love building things — this is nice but the other one is much better.”

The “other one” is O’Rourke Family Estate, just a 12-minute drive away from Predator Ridge along Commonage Road.

Designed by renowned San Francisco-based architect Howard Backen, O’Rourke Family Estate sits on 300 acres offering panoramic and sweeping views of the vineyards, surrounding orchards and Okanagan Lake. The property features 110 acres of vines, 300 metres of winding tunnels and 12,000 square feet of caves that are the perfect temperature for storing and aging the wines. The estate-grown portfolio includes Pinot Gris, Gewurtztraminer, Riesling, Rosé, Chardonnay, Gruner Veltliner and Pinot Noir.

Two years ago, the first crush of Pinot Noir grapes was done up at O’Rourke Family Estate, under the direction of head winemaker Nikki Callaway. Guests can gaze down on the crush pad from a viewing deck and get a better understanding of the process that goes into making these world-class wines, all of which are aged in French oak barrels. In addition to the winery’s award-winning Pinot Noir, O’Rourke is making a name in the sparkling wine business: close to 18,000 cases were bottled last spring.

“Nikki wants to at least leave it bottled for another year before it’s released. I’ve tasted it and it’s going to be very good,” said O’Rourke. “We don’t buy grapes from anybody; any wine you’ll ever drink at this place is from grapes that were all grown here.”

With pine trees lining it on either side, the driveway leading to the winery does little to reveal the surprise that awaits. Enter the gates, and arrive at the unexpected; the magnificence of O’Rourke Family Estate truly has to be seen to be believed, with natural elements such as stone, soil, rock, glass, sand, mahogany and ebony used in abundance. With its vast, modern buildings overlooking Okanagan Lake, an amphitheatre, an indoor theatre, multiple decks, a restaurant and underground caves, O’Rourke Family Estate is much more than a winery.

Predator Ridge Homeowners will be able take advantage of the many amenities the winery has to offer: tasting rooms, concerts in the amphitheatre, private parties and a wine club. Or make an evening or weekend of it and stay in one of two luxury homes located amongst the vineyards on the property: the Georgie Award-winning five-bedroom Log Home or the Cottage Inn The Vines. A third home is set to open and will be available to rent next year. Or for the ultimate in extravagance, there will be eight luxury Owner’s Suites, four within the winery itself and another four just next door.

A lower level bar is carved into the rock, with spectacular views of the lake below. A private dining room will be on site for guests to enjoy chef ’s dinners with wine pairings, and for a truly magical experience, dinners will be able to be arranged inside the caves themselves . Underground tunnels connect one space to the next, such as an event space that is connected to a tasting room. An on-site bakery will be used by the chefs for the restaurant’s own use. And O’Rourke is also exploring the idea of cooking classes.

“So whatever event we or Predator Ridge wants to put on, we will be able to do it,” he said.

Pelletier calls the new project transformational, with O’Rourke taking what is already emerging in the area with the eight wineries that are part of Lake Country’s Scenic Sip Wine route and now truly solidifying the area in the business of world-class wineries.

“It’s amazing what he’s assembled at the Peak but it’s just so fortunate for us here that he’s got such a legacy at Predator Ridge. He knows so many of our members and we’ve been close friends for over 20 years. As I’ve told him, the greatest thing about our partnership is that we never have to build a winery at Predator Ridge because he is our defacto winery,” said Pelletier. “He thinks the same way as we do in terms of the power of partnership and the potential of what can be done together,” said Pelletier, who is in regular contact with O’Rourke to discuss the partnership and the project under construction.

Pelletier said at more than 180,000 square feet, the flagship winery is one that he envisions Predator Ridge homeowners treating as their own, where they will have priority access to large-scale events such as concerts, as well as the availability of exclusive vintages.

“Diversity is key and I don’t think you can be a credible wine tourism destination with one or two wineries, you need a volume, and O’Rourke Family Estate really puts it on the map. And the fact that they have a Commonage Road address like we do is just so impactful especially since we celebrated our 30th anniversary in 2021. For the first 20 years, it was just Predator Ridge trying to establish the whole equity in this area for tourism and for this residential community, and then Sparkling Hill Resort came on and now with these wineries: here we are, we have best-in-class leaders in their category. There’s just nowhere like Predator Ridge anywhere in this country, there’s no Sparkling Hill anywhere in this country and there’s certainly nothing like Dennis is building anywhere in this country.”

All are what Pelletier calls destination activities, destination interests, destination lifestyle pieces, and at Predator Ridge, everyone benefits from that.

“This is what excites me so much about what’s happening. It’s not all on our shoulders anymore because we have such great partnerships, and Dennis will share his commitment to this partnership,” he said.

While an opening date for O’Rourke Family Estate is something of a moving target, and the winery is still under construction, it is still very much a space that is beginning to function as it should: wine is being made and stored, fundraising events have been held, meeting space is in use upstairs.

O’Rourke sees his flagship winery as something he is building for future generations, and one that is constantly evolving.

“This thing is probably being built for 25 years from now — it’s not being built for today,” he said. “You can see why it’s hard to explain to anybody — it has to be seen. You’ll see a lot of difference in the next coming years.”

And soon, Predator Ridge homeowners will see for themselves the magnificence that is O’Rourke Family Estate.