Daydreamer Wines at ARC Harvey
Family-Run Naramata Winemaking, Carefully Chosen Okanagan Fruit, and Small-Batch Character
Some wineries make their strongest impression by keeping things personal.
Daydreamer Wines is the Naramata Bench project of Rachel and Marcus Ansems, Master of Wine. Their family-run winery focuses on limited production, carefully selected Okanagan vineyard sites, sustainable winegrowing, and a patient, hands-on approach in the cellar.
At ARC Liquor Harvey, our Daydreamer collection includes six current listings: an aromatic Riesling, an easygoing rosé, lively frizzante, and three distinctive reds. The range gives customers a compact but expressive way to explore the winery.
Emily's 2025 Rosé is the relaxed patio bottle within that broader story—thoughtful in the cellar, refreshing in the glass, and made for warm afternoons that do not need a complicated plan.
A Family Winery Built from a Long-Held Daydream
Rachel and Marcus Ansems imagined their own small wine company for years before building Daydreamer on the Naramata Bench. Their aim was not to create the largest possible winery, but a memorable one where fine wine, family, vineyard health, and attention to detail remain at the centre of every decision.
Marcus is a second-generation Australian winemaker with an oenology degree from Adelaide University's Roseworthy program. His career has included more than 30 vintages across Australia, Europe, South Africa, and Canada, as well as earning the internationally respected Master of Wine qualification.
Rachel brings international experience in wine administration, retail, marketing, and photography, along with WSET Level 3 wine education. Together, they have created a winery whose professional depth still feels welcoming, independent, and unmistakably personal.
Our Daydreamer Picks at ARC Harvey
ARC Harvey currently carries six Daydreamer selections. The range moves from Riesling, rosé, and gently sparkling wine to Cabernet Franc, a polished Cabernet–Merlot blend, and the winery's signature Syrah–Viognier expression.
Day Dreamer Rosé 2025
Emily's fresh, lightly textured patio rosé for lake days, brunch, soft cheeses, fruit, simple salads, prawns, and relaxed gatherings. Thoughtful cellar work gives it shape without taking away its ease.
Emily's Summer Select • The Patio Rosé
Millie Frizzante
A lively, gently sparkling choice for aperitif hour, brunch, picnics, salty snacks, fresh fruit, and celebrations that call for something playful rather than formal.
The Relaxed Sparkling Bottle
Riesling
An aromatic, refreshing white for spicy dishes, sushi, prawns, salads, and customers who enjoy vivid fruit balanced by bright acidity and a clean sense of lift.
The Bright Pairing White
Amelia Syrah–Viognier
Syrah co-fermented with Viognier for dark fruit, fragrance, pepper, and savoury depth. A distinctive Naramata red for lamb, grilled beef, smoky barbecue, or an adventurous local-wine gift.
The Signature Naramata Red
Jasper Cabernet–Merlot
A polished red blend built around Merlot and Cabernet varieties, offering generous dark fruit and dinner-table structure for roast beef, steak, braised dishes, or mature cheese.
The Polished Dinner Red
Cabernet Franc
A varietal Cabernet Franc for customers drawn to dark berries, savoury herbs, freshness, and fine structure. A strong match for grilled meats, mushrooms, charcuterie, or herb-led dishes.
The Savoury Cabernet Discovery
Gentle Winemaking with Nothing Unnecessary in the Way
Daydreamer's philosophy begins with finding a vineyard whose fruit already has something worth expressing. Balance at harvest matters as much as ripeness, and the cellar work is designed to guide the fruit rather than cover it.
The winery favours hand picking, gentle handling, basket pressing, hands-on ferment work, restrained new oak, gravity, time, and limited additions. Daydreamer also states that its wines are vegan friendly and made without animal products or byproducts.
That careful approach has earned national attention, including Best Red Wine in Canada at the 2019 All Canadian Wine Awards and Platinum recognition for Syrah at the 2018 and 2019 National Wine Awards of Canada. The awards support the same idea found in the glass: this small winery takes detail seriously.
Naramata Roots with a Valley-Wide Perspective
Daydreamer is based on the Naramata Bench, just outside Penticton, where elevated vineyards, Okanagan Lake, granite-influenced ground, and long summer light help shape aromatic whites and expressive reds.
The winery also works with selected sites elsewhere in the Okanagan, matching varieties to vineyard conditions rather than forcing every wine into a single estate formula. That wider perspective allows the portfolio to move confidently from Riesling and Pinot Gris to Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Syrah.
Daydreamer says its grapes are grown without systemic pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides, and that its farming and winery decisions are intended to conserve resources, reduce waste, and keep vineyards healthy over the long term.
Not Sure Which Daydreamer Wine Fits? Ask Emily.
Tell Emily what you are serving, whether the bottle is for a patio, brunch, barbecue, dinner, or gift, what styles you normally enjoy, and how much you would like to spend.
She can help you compare the easy refreshment of Rosé or Millie Frizzante with the aromatic lift of Riesling or the deeper character of Jasper, Cabernet Franc, and Amelia.
That makes a small-production winery easier to discover. You do not need to know every grape or cellar technique—you only need to tell Emily what would make the bottle right for your moment.
Emily's Daydreamer Pick
Planning a lake day, sunny patio, last-minute brunch, picnic, or relaxed gathering with fruit, soft cheese, salads, and light snacks?
Ask Emily why Day Dreamer 2025 Rosé earned its place as the patio rosé in her Summer Selects Collection.
Discover Daydreamer Wines Through ARC Harvey
At ARC Harvey, we want customers to understand the story behind a producer without having to leave the ARC experience to find it.
This Daydreamer collection allows shoppers to explore six current listings, compare aromatic Riesling and relaxed bubbles with distinctive Okanagan reds, ask Emily for guidance, and move toward the bottle that fits their food, taste, occasion, and budget.
From the easygoing 2025 Rosé to aromatic Riesling, gently sparkling Millie, and the deeper character of Amelia, Jasper, and Cabernet Franc, Daydreamer offers a personal route into thoughtful Naramata winemaking.
Explore Emily's Day Dreamer Rosé Explore All Emily Selects