Maple Leaf Spirits Inc.

I booked for a tasting at Maple Leaf Spirits and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. With Covid happening I felt it was very safe and good measures being taken. It was a beautiful tasting and a beautiful view. The owner and spirit maker, Jorg, was very nice and overall it was such a nice time. Thank you! We bought Lady of the Cask Fine Brandy, Skinny Pinot Noir, Pear Liqueur, and the Peach Liqueur. Looking forward to coming back for more.

What a great alternative to all the wine tastings in the area! The spirits and especially the fruit liqueurs taste amazing. The owner Jorg and his wife explain everything about their passion and are so welcoming and kind. We enjoyed our visit a lot and would highly recommend it. Also, if you are not so much into high-proof drinks, take a look at their colourful pheasants or just enjoy the view over the vineyards on one of the comfortable benches.

A must stop on the Bench!!! Anette is an amazing hostess and the spirits that Jorg makes are to die for. And the view from their patio.... WOW

Loved our tasting! A nice little refresher after lots of wine. Their liqueurs are amazing, definitely recommend!

What? Didn’t you see it? The turn was right back there. I know, you were distracted by the two wineries on your left, and although worth your time and money, I was telling you to look right. Up that hill. You’d have probably missed it if I hadn’t told you, that distillery just there—what? Yes, I said distillery. I know you came here for wine, and there are dozens of opportunities for those, but there are few distilleries. And don’t they have worth to? Some of them blur the lines--what’s a port than just a wine spiked with hard spirits. Maple Leaf Spirits shares iconography with Lang Vineyards; that’s a winery but both deal with fermented maple syrup. The line blurs further; Maple Leaf does utilize grapes, but creatively turns them into grappa—how wonderfully original. And originality is a precious asset in a region saturated by dozens and dozens of buildings all pandering minor variations of essentially the same yeast-based fermented fruit drink. The Maple Leaf Spirits location itself is nothing special, at least the day we arrived, which was a few months back. They might have been renovating, but the time we arrived, it looked like half the place had been torn down. So, I cannot speak of the décor because it might have been in transition. It was a minuscule tasting bar in a small building fringed by dirt paths and absolutely no pageantry. But they do sell over a dozen different types of hard alcohol. I even purchased one, part of a scant few non-wine related bottles on our recent trip. The girlfriend and I had been touring Okanagan wine country, visiting 60 wineries in a week. We brought back 120 bottles. One was not a wine, but rather a Maple Liqueur from Maple Leaf. We wanted to purchase more, like the grappa above or maybe even one of the fruit brandies, but we ended up just getting the one…they are not cheap. These are bottled like, and carry a matching price of, icewines. In fact, when you compare them to the original—sorry that’s Original—Canadian Maple Wine by Lange Vineyards, the Maple Leaf competitor is six dollars more. But we don’t regret it, and I feel locations like Maple Leaf are vital in wine-dominated regions like the Naramata Bench. Our host at the time was friendly, and I really wish we had picked up another bottle, but what can I say, we were on a budget…kinda. You can find Maple Leaf just up the hill across from Red Rooster and Ruby Blues. I walked between the locations because they are all literally that close. Don’t miss it…I know that adorable Volkswagen microbus is begging for a photo, and you should snap it. Just stop. Park. Take a trek, and taste what’s up that hill.

We arrived at Maple Leaf Spirits expecting to try whiskey, but learned that isn’t what they make. Rather the proprietor (who is an extremely friendly gentleman and is happy to spend time with customers sharing his knowledge by answering questions) is focused to making cognac (though he can’t call it that) and other European style liqueurs. They act as really good digestives and are quite nice as a nightcap. The cognac has won several awards in Canadian competitions as well. We tried a Maple Liqueur he made (because well he is in Canada) and it was really nice! I got myself a bottle will be using it to spice up my coffee or have it over ice cream.

I've been to Naramata many times on day trips from Kelowna and I have to say this was my favourite Naramata tasting experience of all! One of the owners, Anette did our tasting and she was so personable and genuine. I appreciated that she seemed like she was in no rush and we felt no pressure to buy (but of course we did as it was all fantastic). The atmosphere and view were so lovely - we got to sit outside under a beautiful big tree at a patio table for our tasting and it was heavenly. All the fruit liqueurs were my favourite (I have a sweet tooth!). My top picks were the cherry and the pear but loved them all. They also had some less-sweet spirits for those in our little group that didn't have as much of a sweet tooth that they loved and bought bottles of. Highly recommend and will definitely return!

What an absolute pleasure! Old world craftsmanship in our back yard. The Lady of the cask is a world class liquor. I’ve never tasted better. The rest of the offerings at Maple Leaf Spirits are not far behind! We will be back again and again.