Jim and Leslie D’Andrea of Noble Ridge Vineyards left careers in the legal and medical fields to grow grapes and make wine in the Okanagan Valley.

B.C.’s Okanagan Valley is now home to quite an accumulation of stories of successful couples who leave behind their “professional” lives to pursue the romantic fantasy of owning a vineyard, a dream that is extremely precarious and exceptionally labourious. But many persist through hard work and perpetual hurdles, and the reward is priceless: a lifestyle dream realized. Jim and Leslie D’Andrea of Noble Ridge Vineyards are living proof of this dream come true, and their advice to you is: Play with your dreams!

Planting vines in 2001 on newly acquired land in the Okanagan Valley was a huge change of scenery from the legal and medical fields that once dominated the career lives of Jim and Leslie, both Ontario natives living in Calgary. But with a ferocious determination to better enjoy life, family, and landscape, they fell in love with the Okanagan Valley, and committed to a lifestyle of nurturing noble grape varieties on a beautiful plot of land overlooking Vaseaux Lake (halfway between Penticton and Oliver). Flash forward 17 years, and Noble Ridge has expanded to 24 acres of vineyard, their portfolio is splattered with awards, and the region in which they planted roots has now been newly designated as Okanagan Falls, a legally recognized sub-region of the Okanagan Valley.

This is the payoff to chasing your dreams, and this is a dream that Jim and Leslie are fully committed to enjoying for years to come. Plus, now that their dream is real, they can really get to playing. This means in addition to showcasing premium wines, Noble Ridge has expanded their wine shop and doubled the footprint of their picnic area, to allow more opportunities for memorable and remarkable experiences for locals, and all visiting guests. And they are soon announcing a new initiative within their Noble Causes – so stay tuned in 2019, and don’t forget their Noble advice: Play with your dreams!

THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY:

Noble Ridge Wineyard & Winery
2320 Oliver Ranch Road, Okanagan Falls
(250) 497-7945
For more information, visit nobleridge.com

Laura Starr

Laura Starr is a freelance writer, sommelier and educator, with 20 years under her belt in the hospitality industry. She is also the Wine Editor of VITA Magazine, and sits on the board of directors for the BCHF.