The Okanagan Wine Weekend o' Fun

We all know what Canadians are good at. Hockey. Skiing. Saying 'eh?' at the end their sentences.
When you think of good wine though, your mind likely does not jump directly to British Columbia. Italy, Spain, Chile? California, Australia, Argentina? Not too long ago I too would have grouped Canada into the fine wine producing nations such as Antarctica and Ireland. No longer, my friends.

But what would travel be without growth? Without crossing cultural boundaries and breaking down those hard stone barriers in our minds and hearts? You can learn lessons from a book or website, a friend or television screen, but the lessons of true value are the ones we learn ourselves. And so, in a mission of self improvement, a triumphant quest for knowledge, I traveled to the distinguished vineyards of the Okanagan.

We left late afternoon on Friday with a 5 hour drive ahead of us, just two hungry people and foul mouthed dog. Vancouver is superb at many things, but easing traffic is not one of them. Local rumors attribute this to environmentally friendly city planners who want more people to live in the city than to commute. There are bike lanes and pedestrian controlled lights. An efficient bus and subway system, and easily walkable streets. But attempting to get out of the city on any of its major routes has been a nightmare. Eventually we broke free of the bumpers in front and behind of us and were zooming through the blackness the likes of which I've only seen in New Zealand, listening to NPR Food Podcasts and singing whatever songs came clumsily through the intermittent radio. We arrived at our hotel in Kewlona late and not long after were sound asleep, anxious to get an early start on the next day's wineventures.

After a tasty breakfast burrito at the charmingly named “Greatful Fed” restaurant, we were on our way to our first vineyard, Quail's Gate. Being a wine tasting novice, I was pleasantly surprised to realize that yes, they just give you wine. For free. And if you want to try a bit more it is a mere dollar!The wine was tasty, though the tasting room and gift shop were crowded and noisy. I felt slightly uneasy at first gulp, not sure of tasting etiquette or required interaction with the wine pourer. But I relaxed soon enough, and found it an interesting challenge to try to actually taste those notes of nutmeg and hints of pomegranate.

Next in line was Mission Hill Vineyards. A beautiful, hill top estate, complete with church, green patio pavilion, lush amphitheater and slightly snobbish air. The view of Lake Okanagan was spectacular though, and the wine better than the one before. We both adored the 2005 Shiraz, but had a hard time enjoying the smoky tobacco notes of the bolder Syrah.

(Do I sound like a connoisseur, yet? Not to worry, there are more.)

Onward we drove to the Naramata Bench Vineyards in Penticton. The vineyards here were much more our pace. They were small, family owned and not over crowded. There was one to two pourers in each place, all with an intense knowledge and pride in their offerings. We visited Stonehill Estates which had an excellent port, Mistral Estates, whose Chardonnay I really enjoyed (I am not a Chardonnay drinker,) and Spiller Estates, which not only had tasty fruit wines, but also an ice cream stand too cute to pass up.

As we gathered our bearings, ate our ice cream and played with the local dog we were able to really look around us and take in the absolutely incredible scenery. Though the skies had been threatening all day, they had yet to unleash even a sprinkle. The clouds were dark and dramatic allowing sun rays to filter through in reluctant and fierce golden slivers. The vineyards shook in the wind and shone in the sun and the grapes jingled as gems. What a beautiful place, this wine land!

After our break we drove farther up the hill to Laughing Stock Vineyard where a former stock market couple sold it all to live their dream of owning a vineyard. We sampled some of the best wines of the day where all proceeds from the two dollar tasting went to charity. (Is this tax deductible?)

We attended one final vineyard, which was a highlight of the day, at the colorful, fun and beautiful Elephant Valley Vineyards. This, like Spiller Estates was a fruit winery, and the one which sold me on the idea of fruit wine. Not being into sweet wines myself, I was quite pleased to taste the tangy pear and slightly bitter- sour apricot wines. But without a doubt, their cherry port was too good to pass up. We bought a bottle and some chocolate to have for our dessert.

All in all, it was an exquisite day; my first wine tasting experience, my first trip to the spectacular innards of British Columbia, my first appreciation for the wines of Canada.

And when Bryan asked if I wanted to go to one more vineyard at the end of the day, I muttered,

“No, I think I am kind of wine-d out.”

It was indeed, a day of firsts.