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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.
The Team
JUDY KINGSTON
Fearless Leader
The story of Serendipity is, in many ways, the story of Judy Kingston. Judy grew up in Toronto, completed her undergrad in Computer Science at Western University in London, Ontario, and her law degree at the University of Ottawa. In 2006 Judy took a leap of faither and left her life in Toronto to start her new adventure starting a winery.
Judy oversees all operations at Serendipity. She loves spending time out in the vineyard, but can often be found regaling guests in the tasitng room and Bistro as well.
KATIE O'KELL
Chief Executive Minion
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 y completed a three-month stage at New Zealand’s ultra-modern Delegat Wine Estate, where she worked harvest for the 2016 vintage, as well as 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 enjoys that every day at the winery is different. She manages the wine club, helps Shauna in the cellar during harvest, and enjoys regaling guests in the tasting room.
SHAUNA WHITE
Chief Grape Stomper
Shauna White was born and raised in Kelowna and grew up working on her family's farm, Pioneer Ranch now known as Sperling Vineyards. From pulling weeds at a young age and helping to harvest vegetables and fruit, working on the farm was always fun and rewarding for Shauna. It was when she had started college that Shauna was challenged by her grandmother as to what she would do for a career and it was her grandma who suggested to become a winemaker. After completing the viticulture course at Okanagan College, Shauna went off to Niagara College to graduate as a Winery and Viticulture Technician in 2006. And from there she travelled to learn more from other winemakers around the world. Shauna's practicum was completed at Domaine Laroche in Chablis, followed by vintages at Ponzi Vineyard in the Willamette Valley, Brokenwood Wines in the Hunter Valley, Le Clos Jordanne in Niagara, and Mt Difficulty in Central Otago before landing her first Winemaker job at Ravine Vineyard in Niagara. This was followed by a short stint at Road 13 in the South Okanagan before heading back to Ontario to pioneer grape growing and winemaking in Orangeville at Adamo Estate Winery. The time came to return to her roots and spend time with her family in the Okanagan and the timing was serendipitous to when Serendipity was looking for a new winemaker to join the team in 2022.
TRISTAN BUNKOWSKI
Executive Chef
To learn more about Tristan and the Serendipity Winery Bistro, click on Our Bistro.
