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Serendipity Winery is located in the heart of the Naramata Bench in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia.
Our Story
The adventure began in the fall of 2005 when owner, Judy Kingston, embarked on a holiday in the Okanagan. While there, she stumbled across a beautiful orchard for sale in Naramata. Having a passion for cooking fine food and enjoying delicious wine, Kingston had the first Serendipitous “aha” moment, where she decided to convert the orchard to a vineyard with the goal of establishing a new boutique food-friendly winery.
Beginning in the spring of 2006, the property was completely re-landscaped to provide the optimum slope and orientation for the new vineyard. Kingston selected the wine varietals for planting to match the micro climate and four distinct soil types on the property. In 2007, she planted eight acres of vines, with Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Franc as the main reds, and Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc as the whites. Subsequently she has added to the vineyard with additional plantings of Syrah, Pinot Noir and a little Malbec.
The first harvest was in 2009, and was of exceptional quality. It was a tribute to the many hours of hard work and dedication that Kingston put into the vineyard, and her goal of producing quality over quantity. In the time since releasing these first wines, the winery continues to delight, surprise, and capture accolades such as being named BC Winery of the Year, or being named the first Winemaker in Residence for the 2013 & 2014 Calgary Stampede (see our awards page for more information).
Since the days of having guests enter from a simple farm gate, Serendipity now boasts a picturesque winery, wineshop, and an out of this world bistro featuring seasonal, locally-sourced fine food designed to pair with the exceptional wine.
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Each guest of the winery is welcomed into the wineshop by the Serendipity family - especially since it’s usually Judy or her daughter & head winemaker, Katie O’Kell, greeting each guest with a smile. The mother-daughter team love to share their passion and good nature with Serendipity’s guests, and are happy to answer any questions about the vines or the wine.
A visit to Serendipity is all about discovery, surprise and warmth.
We hope to see you soon.

Our Team
KATIE O'KELL
Chief Grape Stomper
Katie was born and raised in Toronto and received her BSc in Biology at Hamilton’s McMaster University. After ruling out medical school, Katie was accepted into law school but had time off between her undergrad and the start of the next session, so she traveled to Naramata to assist her mom in the interim. She had already spent a few summers helping at the winery, so knew what she was getting into… almost. Katie ended up loving the work at the winery so much that she deferred her law school acceptance and has stayed on at Serendipity full time.
Katie has recently completed a three-month stage at New Zealand’s ultra-modern Delegat Wine Estate, where she worked harvest for the 2016 vintage. Katie has completed her winemaking degree with UC Davis in California, and got 100% on her final exam.
As a part owner with her mom at Serendipity, Katie spends most of her time in the cellar making wine, but also spends part of her day doing marketing and administration, helping Judy run the winery behind the scenes
TRISTAN BUNKOWSKI
Executive Chef
To learn more about Tristan and the Serendipity Winery Bistro, click on Our Bistro.



