Reviews of Connoisseur Wine Tours (Travel Agency)

Katie Dolmat

Update regarding owners response: We were told we are not getting a dime back after this company ruined our day. We were never told that the resort we were staying at was too far to accomodate. If nick was given 2 addresses (the wrong address he is referring to was in a February email), it was his job to read the confirmation email that was sent a week prior and send a driver to the right one. We wanted to pick our wineries and after the driver suggested all the wineries we went to were "too expensive" i think we made the right choice (painted rock, mission hill, poplar grove etc). 50% back doesn't seem excessive as it was Nick's job to provide the service that we paid for and the contract was broken when our day was shifted by over an hour. And we actually didn't get an 8 hour service, because our day had to be rushed to get to all the wineries before they closed. After the way you spoke to ally on the phone after our tour we don't feel giving you a call is appropriate and we are taking other measures to get this issue resolved. Thanks for your response. *original review* The company we originally planned on booking through was unavailable and recommended conneseiur wine tours. Horrible decision. We are 8 20-something girls who just wanted a weekend getaway and a full day of wine touring and fun. We planned which wineries we were going to ourselves and were just looking for a bus and driver to take us around. First off, when we confirmed our booking about a week before our trip nick kreuger (owner) let us know that he hadn't entered us in the system by mistake but would make sure we had a bus available on the date we were requesting. So already, we wouldn't have the Mercedes van we originally booked. Second, we booked the bus for 9:45 to leave by 10. The bus didn't show up until 10:45 because the driver went to the wrong resort based on an email that was sent back in February. The confirmation email that was sent a week prior to the trip with the correct address was ignored. Because of this, our entire day was shifted. We had lunch reservations and tastings that had to be moved. Nick originally said that he'd take care of it but didn't, and we had to call around during the drive. We were rushed around and the driver seemed to be in a hurry to get us home by the original time of 6pm rather than extending it to make up for being late. The driver was speeding in extremely treacherous road conditions, and suggested that we skip a winery in order to accommodate for us being late....and wouldn't put music on for the ride, which put a huge damper on an already stressful day. On top of all this, nick was absolutely awful to deal with. After telling us to call him after the tour to discuss a refund, he told us the mistake was our fault for telling him we were staying in kelowna when la casa resort was actually not "technically" in kelowna (as non locals we had no idea - the address is in kelowna) and said "we would not be getting a dime back" We will be lodging a complaint with the better business bureau and disputing this charge. Absolutely horrible customer service.

Kevin Ferrigan

Excellent guide and great stops throughout the day. 10/10 would recommend

Christine Ferrigan

Would highly recommend this company! Nick was a highly knowledgeable and super chill guide. Did not seem invested in one winery or another...wants to provide an experience tailored for the customer. We will definitely book this company again! Thank you Nick for our awesome day:)

Chanel Naicker

Our group recently went up on May long weekend. Nick was amazing! He was Very friendly. We had a group of 17 girls and he was very accommodating. We provided great snacks and fun atmosphere. I will definitely be recommending him to friends and family for the future.

Brian Rennhack

Good wine

Jessica VanSickle

Nick was a great driver! He was so friendly and informative. We had an awesome tour of the Naramata Bench. Will definitely be back to book another tour on a different route!

Elizabeth Smith

Our wine tour with David was fantastic! He planned our tour according to our request for the Summerland area and white wines. The variety was exceptional from small, organic to larger with expansive views of the Okanagan Valley while sitting on their deck. David took photos of the 2 groups on our tour at each of the wineries which were great keepsakes, reminding us of the different wineries we visited. He chose an excellent restaurant for lunch which topped off the tour. We weren’t rushed through the wineries and because David kept us on schedule, we were able to visit a local artisan shop in town. This was so appreciated by all on the tour and was the perfect compliment to our tour. Thanks for a professional, enjoyable day in Wine Country, David!!

WaltandJackie Jewell

Nick provided us a great selection of wineries, a brewery and a distillary on his tour. Lunch at the Bad Tatoo brewery was excellent. He had a surprise treat for all of us well; individual snack trays and freshly made Indian fry bread baked by his mother! Excellent!. We also learned a lot about his Indian Nation.

Sheena George

Never been there lol but might check it out in the summer :)

Kayla Bordner

The tour that we booked was great! There was 11 of us and we had our own van complete with AC and snacks! All of the wineries that we went to were breathtaking and the wine was delicious! Our driver kept us on schedule the whole day and added a lunch stop in the middle! Great tour overall!

ROBERT ALLEN JACK

He is such a great host and all around decent fella,.

Rachel Galope

Nick made our day by catching up the wine tour schedule. Roy made the rest of the day fantastic. Personalized tour with my daughter; very knowledgable, great customer service, & nice person in general

Rebecca Stover Larsen

Had an Amazing Day! Very well organized! He even called ahead and got us into a couple more places. Went way beyond our expectations! Thanks for a fantastic day Nick! HIGHLY RECOMEND THIS COMPANY!!

Terri Spear

14 of our family and friends shared an incredibly fun day with our host Ian! This experience was 5 star in every way! Thank you for a day for the memory books!

Don Miller

Our family holiday July 4th in Osoyoos ten of us boarded Nicks' comfortable Mercedes Van and started our tour of 6 wineries. Nick surprised us with an individually wrapped snack lunch as well as cold bottled water. Best ever wine tour experience I have ever had and my family members echoed the same. I would book again with Nick and advise anyone who is thinking about a wine tour in the Okanagan to do so. Don/Wendy Miller Chilliwack BC

Monique Vetten

Nick was a great tour guide. He picked a great set of wineries to our liking and set us up for an awesome lunch at one of the wineries. He was very knowledgeable on the local wines and shared a lot of stories on the local land marks. I would recommend connoisseur wine tours to any of my friends and family! I will definitely be coming back!!

amber knudtson

We had a wonderful time! Nick was very knowledgeable, friendly, and fun. He personalized the tour to our tastes and made it an exceptional experience. I would book with him again and again. Definitely worth it!

Tanner Key

We had an awesome time with Rod as our tour guide. The transportation vehicle was exceptional. Rod was a very friendly and knowledgeable tour guide with a passion for wine. All of the wineries we visited gave us a wealth of information about the wines and wine industry in the area.

catherine coombs

very knowledgeable of the history of each winery, will choose & recommend again.

Lorraine Coffey

Designed tour around us. We had been on a different tour before and he made sure we didn't go to the same wineries. He also made decisions based on the type of wines we like.

Angela King

Just went on the most fantastic wine tour ever for my Stagette with the kindest funniest tour guide Rod . Rod was so great drove around chatting with us crazy girls having a great time opening door calling ahead to make sure the wine tasting were ready for us labeling all are bottles even helping us carry them it . It was all around just perfect. Thanks a bunch. Everyone should chose you guys for there tour ????????????????????

Alyssa Teindl

Unfortunately, we had a terrible experience with Connoisseur Wine Tours. We booked a Summerland wine tour several weeks in advance. Everything seemed good to go - confirmation emails and a reminder email the day before our tour. On the day of the tour, we were ready for our 10am pickup. After waiting for about 20 minutes, we started calling the office to ensure our driver was enroute. No one picked up our calls. Finally, after 1 hour of waiting and trying to call, someone picked up. They contacted the driver and he said he didn't have anything scheduled for us (But we got numerous confirmation emails!). The head office was NOT accomodating or helpful at all. They did not apologize or find a solution for us. They just blamed the situation on COVID. It was so disappointing. I would not recommend this company to anyone. I strongly encourage you to book with another company so you can actually experience a wine tour.

Julie Herman

Great transportation to wineries! These guys are friendly and easy to book with. If you have particular wineries to see they can accommodate. Always a pleasure to tour with them and excellent vehicles! They are super familiar with the wineries in the okanagan. I would recommend the Naramata tour.

S Corben

Amazing Experience. Picked up in a new 36 passenger bus with leather seats and plenty of space. We spent the week touring wineries, and made stops at many including Gray Monk, and spent the next few days south as well touring Tinhorn Creek, Red Rooster, and Black Hills Estates. Great all around.

Mandy Staines

Had a fun experience today, A terrific tour guide, gentlemen, and chauffeur made the wine tour a lasting memory for my group and myself, NOT to leave out the fact that we toured some very extrodinary hidden gem wineries as well as some fun favorites!! Highly recommend touring with connoisseur!!

William Bailey

I highly recommend this tour company.

Lauren Robertson

This was the worst wine tour experience I’ve ever had. We phoned to book Nick’s driving services and after paying (in full) Nick didn’t enter us into his system and double booked the bus. He then called to assure us a different bus would arrive to pick us up. A week before our event, he phoned a week before the event saying he had no record of our payment, and we had to forward him proof that we had paid. The driver was an hour late and when we called to complain he told us we gave him the wrong address and it was our fault. He told us to call him after the wine tour and we would work out a refund. We were late to every winery, had to change each reservation and our driver got lost twice and drove extremely unsafely. When we got back to our hotel and phoned Nick for the reimbursement, he told us it was our fault he was late and that it wasn’t his job to confirm with his customers where to pick them up. He also told us La Casa wasn’t in Kelowna (which it is) and he wouldn’t refund us anything. He yelled at us on the phone for 20 minutes and told us the entire experience was our fault. Overall, the worst experience I’ve ever had. Do not use this service as Nick is extremely unprofessional, rude, and ruined our experience.