After travelling so far North on some family business, we decided we needed a "vacation from our vacation" and came back to Victoria the long way, heading east from Cache Creek and south from Kamloops to the Okanagan for some R&R and, of course, wine.
I have always been fascinated/intimidated by choosing wine, but this short stay really helped me to develop better sense of the industry and taste profiles for local wine. I am already looking planning a stay again next summer for more liquid education!
We decided to stay in Peachland under the logic that it was more centrally located to visit both Kelowna and the Naramata/Penticton areas. It turned out to be the perfect choice!
The view of the lake and our patio from our bed
We booked a room in the Duck & Pug, a cute and wonderfully dog friendly guest house on the waterfront in Peachland. We were about 7 hours into our 8 or so hour drive and I said to my partner-in-food-and-life 'I'm wishing we had booked the room with the soaker tub, my whole body is craving some hot water and relaxation right now.' We arrived to discover our gracious hosts had upgraded us to the "Lucky Duck Suite"(complete with soaker tub!) and we truly felt like lucky ducks! The suite was gorgeous and then we walked out the door and realized we had unknowingly booked right in downtown Peachland and were a stumble away from a whole strip of cute shops and restaurants right along the waterfront. Peachland was a great little summer oasis, although one thing to note is that it is Peachland, not "Beachland" — the shore is rocky, not sandy, and most of the water access points are man-made.
But this post is about the wine! As I said, I really learned a lot on this trip. I have never been much of a white drinker, and never know what to order, but now I know much better what I like and what I don't like! Wine varietals on the West side of the lake (the Peachland/Summerland side) favoured the whites, producing lucious gewurztraminers, viogners and pinot gris. The few degrees difference on the Naramata side definitely made the reds more more style, I think. This small difference in regionality really isn't something you can comprehend without your feet on your ground and a sip of that wine in your mouth. I have so much more respect for people in the industry and their vast knowledge and comprehension of wine now than I ever did before — and know that I want to do a whole lot more travelling to understand this better in the future!
Day One:
Our fantastic wine touring transportation
We decided to be Responsible Adults and book a wine tour during our stay. We lucked out getting in touch with "Napa Nancy" from Napa North Wine Tours as it turned out she had a tour leaving from Peachland the very next day to do a tour of the so-called "Bottleneck Drive" in Summerland.
The tour was jam-packed with wine stops, visiting six different wineries and sampling 60 or so different kinds of wine from organic wine to wine fermented in concrete "eggs"! The experience was as educational as it was intoxicating and we ended our day with a convivial nap to ward off a day-drinking hangover.
Sumac Ridge
Our first stop was Sumac Ridge, one of the larger and more established wineries in the region. They were one of the first to start producing wine, but really that shows how young the wine industry is in the valley: they recently celebrated their 30th anniversary! As one of the "big players" they certainly have their processes nailed down, but they told us they still turn their champagne by hand... although they now have a fancy machine to extract the sediment before corking.
Takeaway: a small size of the Stellars Jay sparkling (not pictured, but our favourite!)
Saxon
Our second stop was Saxon Winery, a small organic winery that has recently changed hands and rebranded to reflect the English heritage of the new owners. It was nice to visit such a small winery where the owners are the ones giving the tasting!
Takeaway: the Pinot Noir Rosé.
Dirty Laundry
Our next stop was Dirty Laundry. We always credit DL with entering us into the world of white wine, so we were excite to visit! This winery has been extremely thoroughly branded within the mythos of the winery building's former usage as a laundry... and brothel/gambling den. The wine bottle labels reflect the winery's saucy history, and the women serving our wine sample flight were dressed like characters straight out of the film Moulin Rouge. We all left pinned with a branded clothes pin.
Takeaway: Gwurztraminer
Sleeping Giant
Sleeping giant technically doesn't produce "wine" in the strict, VQA, definition of the term as all of their wines are fruit-based, meaning their products are only available at select private liquors tores. Half of their space is dedicated to their wines, and the other half is jams and syrups made from the same fruit. The fruit wines are good on their own, but are also interesting in their versatility to be used in cocktails or spritzers. Their line-up was extensive! We left several styles un-sampled.
Takeaway: the Saskatoon
Bonitas
The family operation at Bonitas Winery featured Mediterranean-style wines with a steep hillside property overlooking the lake. Here, we stopped for lunch at their bistro. The wine was as much the star her as the view — and their vineyard is often used for wineries, with a long, sloping "aisle" between the vines down to the cliff side. My lunch was fantastic, although technically an appetizer/tapas Nancy recommended it as a full lunch. It was absolutely packed with flavour, and I especially loved the combination between the pesto and the balsamic vinegar, and then the texture combination with the prawn and the avocado.
Takeaway: we opted to share a flight of whites during lunch rather than take a bottle away (and still stay in budget!) Choice: two Pinots and the Viogner.
OK Crush Pad
Our last stop was the OK Crush Pad, a wine-maker collective that runs quite differently to the other wineries we visited. Unlike other wineries that typically produced wines from grapes of a single winery, the Crush Pad is half experimental wine making, half facility for hire for small and mid-sized batches of wine. They produce several distinct brands out of the winery, as well as producing a house wine for the Cactus Club and Edible Vancouver restaurants. I liked that they are getting all creative & community in their wine making... it was definitely a great way to finish off a fantastic tour!
Takeaway: The Haywire Pinot Gris
Day Two:
My saintly partner-in-food-and-life offered to drive so that we could visit a few wineries on the Naramata side of the lake before we came home, so we did a scaled back self-guided tour of several of the wineries. It was definitely less fun than the wine tour itself (half the fun is sharing the experience with others!) but it did mean we got a bit more of a picture of the scene.
Kettle Valley
We didn't do a proper tasting here, but visited because we had heard that they have a slushie machine that uses gewurztraminer grape juice! It was a smoking hot day, so to start it off on a shaded patio with a cold, refreshing slushie was a great treat. The slushie itself does not contain alcohol (although they will add a sample size in upon request) so was of added value in that the driver could partake, too. This would also be a great way to finish up the day, especially as it is at the very far end of the Naramata Bench region!
Hillside
We stopped here for a luxurious sunshiny lunch. Hillside's bistro sources their ingredients locally and we thoroughly enjoyed everything we had! In fact, we ordered what we thought would be a small meal (soup and a salad for me, tuna appy and a wrap for my p.i.f.a.l. and we were both stuffed after the appetizers! We sampled a little bit of wine each as well — their Pinot Gris reserve for myself, and the Muscato for my p.i.f.a.l.
Takeaway: the Muscat
La Frenz
This was our last formal sample stop, and I am very glad we did. Their sample room was packed, too, but we managed to sneak in and ended up picking up more than one bottle. They also had a small patio where you could sit and enjoy a slightly larger glass from their special flight menu, which we sadly did not have time or a sober driver for!
Takeaway: the Alexandria
Pentage
This last stop was a bit unique - one of my former coworkers had an in at the winery and organized a private tour of the winery for us, although they will open a tasting room in the fall. It was exciting to see something in progress and hear the passion of the assistant winemaker as he described the vision of his boss, who is currently sourcing more equipment to complete the project. In addition to viewing the space that will be their tasting room, we got to peek in to the "wine cave" — the storage facility built right into the hillside, allowing the wine temperature to stay more stable and cool regardless of the weather outside! This behind the scenes chat really put a nice finish on our regional tour as we got to ask all sorts of questions that we didn't know we had about the process, and sampled two of their wines that are available at select liquor stores and restaurants in BC.
Sumac Ridge
Our first stop was Sumac Ridge, one of the larger and more established wineries in the region. They were one of the first to start producing wine, but really that shows how young the wine industry is in the valley: they recently celebrated their 30th anniversary! As one of the "big players" they certainly have their processes nailed down, but they told us they still turn their champagne by hand... although they now have a fancy machine to extract the sediment before corking.
Takeaway: a small size of the Stellars Jay sparkling (not pictured, but our favourite!)
Saxon
Our second stop was Saxon Winery, a small organic winery that has recently changed hands and rebranded to reflect the English heritage of the new owners. It was nice to visit such a small winery where the owners are the ones giving the tasting!
Takeaway: the Pinot Noir Rosé.
Dirty Laundry
Takeaway: Gwurztraminer
Sleeping Giant
Sleeping giant technically doesn't produce "wine" in the strict, VQA, definition of the term as all of their wines are fruit-based, meaning their products are only available at select private liquors tores. Half of their space is dedicated to their wines, and the other half is jams and syrups made from the same fruit. The fruit wines are good on their own, but are also interesting in their versatility to be used in cocktails or spritzers. Their line-up was extensive! We left several styles un-sampled.
Takeaway: the Saskatoon
Bonitas
Takeaway: we opted to share a flight of whites during lunch rather than take a bottle away (and still stay in budget!) Choice: two Pinots and the Viogner.
OK Crush Pad
Takeaway: The Haywire Pinot Gris
Day Two:
My saintly partner-in-food-and-life offered to drive so that we could visit a few wineries on the Naramata side of the lake before we came home, so we did a scaled back self-guided tour of several of the wineries. It was definitely less fun than the wine tour itself (half the fun is sharing the experience with others!) but it did mean we got a bit more of a picture of the scene.
Kettle Valley
Hillside
Takeaway: the Muscat
La Frenz
This was our last formal sample stop, and I am very glad we did. Their sample room was packed, too, but we managed to sneak in and ended up picking up more than one bottle. They also had a small patio where you could sit and enjoy a slightly larger glass from their special flight menu, which we sadly did not have time or a sober driver for!
Takeaway: the Alexandria
Pentage
This last stop was a bit unique - one of my former coworkers had an in at the winery and organized a private tour of the winery for us, although they will open a tasting room in the fall. It was exciting to see something in progress and hear the passion of the assistant winemaker as he described the vision of his boss, who is currently sourcing more equipment to complete the project. In addition to viewing the space that will be their tasting room, we got to peek in to the "wine cave" — the storage facility built right into the hillside, allowing the wine temperature to stay more stable and cool regardless of the weather outside! This behind the scenes chat really put a nice finish on our regional tour as we got to ask all sorts of questions that we didn't know we had about the process, and sampled two of their wines that are available at select liquor stores and restaurants in BC.
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