There's nothing more low-brow, high-brow than a hot dog lounge at a winery.
"Absolutely," said Zach Wheeler, the hospitality manager at JoieFarm Winery on the Naramata Bench, with a laugh.
"The Hot Dog Lounge is meant to be unpretentious, super-approachable, retro and affordable. It's all about being fun and casual."
Fun and casual it is.
My wife, Kerry, our little hot dog Daisy the bichon frise-cross, and I take a seat on the sunny patio with a view of Okanagan Lake.
We order glasses of the 2022 Traditional Method Sparkling, which was made specially for The Hot Lounge.
It's a bubbly, off-dry blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier that pairs nicely with all four hot dogs on the new summer 2026 menu by cutting through the fat in the wieners and the spice of the various toppings.
Hungry and completely hot-dog curious, Kerry and I ordered three of the four dogs on the menu and asked for each to be cut in half so we could have the full, sharesies, try-it-all experience.
All dogs have a slightly crispy-skinned all-beef wiener nestled in split a soft, white submarine sandwich bun.
The various toppings give the dogs their names:
- The Classic Ballpark: nostalgic ketchup, mustard and relish, just like you remember from your childhood
- Han Seoulo: kimchi, cucumber, sesame, soy-lime aioli, fried shallot and green onion
- Mexican street: corn, onion, garlic, tajin spice, cilantro, tomato aioli and feta cheese
- The Tailgate: Frank's Red Hot Sauce, citrus slaw, blue cheese crema and scallions
Kerry declares her favourite is The Tailgate, mine is the Han Seoulo and Daisy appreciated whatever chunks of wiener we slipped her under the table.
The Classic Ballpark is priced at $11, the three others at $15.
But, you can get a happy hours deals from 11 am to 1 pm daily when every dog costs $11, wines (the sparkling, A Noble Blend aromatic white and Pinot Noir) are $10 a glass and a rotating selection of beer is $8.
The Hot Dog Lounge at JoieFarm is the first and only at a winery in the Okanagan.
"We wanted to offer something other than the standard charcuterie and pizza that's available on the (Naramata) Bench," said Wheeler.
"We're finding Joie's loyal fans like the playfulness of The Hot Dog Lounge, but we're also finding that people
The hot dog imagery is also ideally suited to promotion and merchandise, with little red hot dogs and glasses of wine appearing on everything from dog bandanas, of course, and t-shirts to label of the Traditional Method Sparkling.
Last year, The Hot Dog Lounge went through 8,000 dogs, with popularity increasing and the season starting earlier this year on May 1, this summer's goal is 10,000 dogs.
Check out: https://joiefarm.com/
Wood-fired pizza
If your Naramata Bench food yearning is pizza, Chain Reaction Winery is serving gourmet pies fresh from the outdoor, wood-burning oven on the patio.
"We opened the pizzeria in 2024 when we needed another revenue source after the deep freeze in January 2024 meant a lack of grapes," said Linda Chamaschuk, who owns and operates the winery with her winemaker husband, Joel.
"Joel always wanted a little restaurant and I always kiboshed it. But when 2024 came around, I couldn't say 'no' anymore," she continued with a laugh.
Linda calls it a high-quality, low-quantity venture, because there are only 10 tables on the gravel patio and the oven can only bake two pizzas at a time.
However, pizza cook time is only three minutes because the heat from the apple and cherry wood fire is intense.
By the way, Joel makes the dough of 00 flour two days ahead of time and lets it ferment so the crust is always light, yet chewy, and can often be eaten by people with a gluten intolerance.
Settled at a table with a view, Kerry, Daisy and I peruse the menu of 10 pizzas and zone in on the burrata special ($26).
It's made with the creamy 'stracciatella' interior of a burrata cheese ball, along with some mozzarella and gruyere cheeses, halved cherry tomatoes, basil and balsamic drizzle.
Yummy with the suggested wine pairings of 2025 Last Dance Rose and 2023 Reserve Pinot Noir.
You can also do a full wine tasting right at the table while you have pizza for a best-of-both-worlds experience.
Reservations are recommended, walk-ins are welcomed if there's space.
Check out: https://www.
Steve MacNaull is a NowMedia Group reporter, Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. Reach him at smacnaull@nowmediagroup.ca. His wine column appears every Friday afternoon in this space.
