In the tranquility of our organic vineyard and farm, you can now enjoy a sumptuous wine country stay, complete with stunning views, gourmet lunches and dinners, and personalized guided tours.

For details of our new accommodation, including pictures, descriptions and rates, please visit our listing on BBCanada.com.

Our beautiful team of mares is: Duke’s Miz Mitzy (Meagan) (right) foaled in Alberta in 2000. She is a substantial Suffolk weighing almost 1900 pounds. Gretel (Greta) (below) foaled in Montana in 1995 is slightly smaller than Meagan, weighing in at about 1650 pounds. The team, who work the farm as singles and double, is a treasured addition to Working Horse. Their beautiful spirits and contribution to our organic sustainable heritage farming practices is invaluable. The addition of the Suffolk breed to the Working Horse family is all part of our ongoing dedication to helping preserve heritage plant and animal species.

About the Breed: Suffolk draft horses are the oldest breed of draft horse in the world and were bred exclusively for farming, originating in the English county of Suffolk in the early 16th century. They were often called Suffolk Punch due to their stocky build and strength.

This important heritage breed almost became extinct after WWII when fossil fuel-driven power was becoming rapidly available to farmers. Farmers were offered the opportunity to “trade” their horses in as a down payment on a loan for the new modern equipment. On some farms up to 40 horses a day were traded, in other words, sent to slaughter by the equipment companies. As a result of these practices, by the 1970s the Suffolk was almost extinct with only 6 registered breeding mares remaining. Today, the horse is still on the endangered species list but their numbers are on the increase thanks to people who recognized their unsurpassed attributes as working horses. The breed is very strong, stocky, sure-footed as well as smart, gentle and hardworking.

Working Horse Winery, Vineyard and Farm blends a rich winemaking history, historic vineyards and heritage farming techniques with a contemporary approach to making premium wines from organic grapes.

The farm was first homesteaded at the turn of the century and abandoned in the 1930s. Not until 1973 was the farm revitalized, when present owner Tilman Hainle planted the organic vineyards by hand.

Tilman's new boutique winery and organic farm, Working Horse, is where the New World's first Icewine was made in 1973. Together with his father Walter, he started making Icewine commercially in 1978.(Pictured on right: The oldest existing bottle of Icewine in North America)

The new winery and historic farm is the realization of Tilman's and his partner Sara Norman's vision for the property as a modern working example of sustainable heritage farming.

Working Horse Winery will be honouring its long winemaking and farming history by offering the opportunity for guests to visit our Icewine Interpretation Centre. The centre will include historic artifacts and information documenting the birth of Icewine in North America, as well as displays that demonstrate how Canadian Icewine is made today.

The original vineyards at Working Horse are over 30 years old and include unique and rare heritage varietals. Farming practices at Working Horse incorporate organic, biodynamic and sustainable principles with heritage farming that uses draft horses.

Native wildlife, farm animals and humans co-exist on this breathtakingly beautiful property in Peachland that overlooks Lake Okanagan. The 22-acre farm reflects a nurturing holistic approach to land use and how to work with local growing conditions.

Culinarians and naturalists alike will appreciate the farms extensive herb and vegetable gardens, interwoven amongst many acres that are representational of the Okanagan’s natural ecosystem.

Through our passion for draft horses and desire to show others how they can be used in farming, we hope to help preserve these gentle giants and encourage others to do the same.

Winemaking at Working Horse continues to honor the organic principles that master winemaker Tilman Hainle was the first to establish in Canada in 1993. Sustainable winemaking to us means the production of small lots of premium wines made from the vinifera grown on the farm.

We consider our fruit precious, so it is lovingly hand-picked and hand-sorted. Each year it is the expectation of the farm that we will have a bear enjoy some of our harvest. Tilman says, "You know when the grapes are ready to be harvested if the bear ate some of them the night before".

Working Horse wines are carefully crafted to reflect their specific terroir and the passion for the land on which the vines are grown. The packaging of Working Horse wines reflects the farm and our commitment to the environment with some of the highest recycled and recyclable content in the industry. Each vintage is created with fruit that is nurtured by the winemaker to uniquely represent the best properties of that harvest year.

epicure /,epi, kjur/ (noun) a person who takes particular pleasure in fine food and drink – Canadian Oxford Dictionary

At Working Horse Winery we take great pride in our ability to offer more than wine from organic grapes. By expanding our farm to include extensive organic gardens, we can offer guests a feast for their culinary and enologic senses.

A special focus on food and wine pairing will include cooking classes, sensory education and development. Education doesn’t need to be complicated; it can be as simple as a sensuous walk through the vineyards, vegetable and herb gardens, enjoying a swing in a hammock or going to feed the chickens.

The garden and vineyard programs at the farm are experimenting with growing once-forgotten heritage varietals. Tilman (pioneer of the first winery restaurant in British Columbia) and his partner Sara Norman are dedicated to supporting local and organic growers. We feel that our farm is a great example of a sustainable lifestyle through its diversification.