Real Estate

House of the Week: A recent WL Cover Home in Naramata

The intersection of high design, vineyards and jaw-dropping views.

By Neal McLennan /

The intersection of high design, vineyards and jaw-dropping views.

Price: $3,500,000Details: 3,635sq/ft. 4 Beds, 4 Baths, 12.2 acresNeighbourhood: Naramata, BCThe Skinny: I know this home well. I spent an afternoon interviewing the owners for a feature story and to say that this is one of the most beautiful houses in the Okanagan is an understatement. Designed by Lucia Sakhrani of DS8, the house is not huge by Okanagan standards, but it’s so thoughtfully laid out that you can’t imagine anything else you might want. There’s a detached guest house that doubles as a yoga studio, there a chicken coop with passive solar air-conditioning, there’s an outdoor pizza oven and a small pool that’s cooled by solar power (welcome to Naramata in August). The views of vines terracing down to Lake Okanagan are stellar and they’re perfectly captured by the sighting. And about those vines: nine acres of them are yours, planted to high end Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes.The Pros: See above. 12 acres is the perfect amount of space in order to feel away from everyone but not have the huge hassle of maintaining a big swath of land. The grapes are currently managed by the acclaimed JoieFarm and presumably the future owner could continue the arrangement and both get the income from selling the grapes and the prestige of being part of one the best label in BC without having to do the messy work of actually making wine. This is no spec house, so all the finishings and construction (done by Ritchie Custom Homes) is done to an impeccably high standard. And while the home is very modern, it’s not slavishly so—there are plenty of warm touches that tell you this is family home not some concrete temple to minimalism.The Cons: The $$$. $3,500,000 is a lot of cake, even on the Naramata Bench. That being said the property just below (see here) is only 1.5 acres bigger and while it’s $1,300,000 less you don’t get the grape vines or the sweet house so by comparison this one looks like not a bad deal. Also, it’s not right on the lake, so if you have dreams of jet-skiing and barefootin’ you’re out of luck.The Verdict: Who is kidding who: we loved this property so much we put it in the magazine a short while ago. If I had the money and dreams of living the Okanagan idyll I’d buy it in a second.See our original story on this house here.See the entire listing here.

The Enderby Open Air Market and Cliff Avenue Pedestrian Market happen every Friday, and I love the mix of local crafts, the BEST chocolate and organic vegetables. I usually buy my produce there from my neighbours, the Green Croft Gardens and Curly Willow Farm.

This area is amazing for hiking. The Enderby Cliffs trail has a great view and a well-kept path.

As soon as it’s warm enough, I’m all about swimming, swimming, and more swimming: I hit Gardom Lake in early summer, then Mara Lake in mid-summer.

I love everything about the Shuswap River–boating, floating and canoeing. In August and September it has plentiful sandy beaches that are like paradise.

Neal McLennan

Neal McLennan

Neal McLennan is the wine and spirits editor for Vancouver and Western Living magazines, where he susses out the wonderful (and occasionally weird) options for imbibing across Western Canada.