Help: Touring the Okanagan [Booze]
2010 Mar 23
Hi Brian,
Haven't done any BC tours yet, but I have family in and around the area, so it's just a matter of time.
I've heard nothing but good things about Mission Hill (www.missionhillwinery.com). The wines I've had of theirs are delish, and the winery itself looks beautiful.
Also, while I haven't had any of their wines, Burrowing Owl (www.bovwine.ca/) is a quality producer, from what I've heard.
Shame that Osoyoos Larose isn't open to the public. They'd be a good place to check out, too.
Good luck! I'd love to hear how things go.
Haven't done any BC tours yet, but I have family in and around the area, so it's just a matter of time.
I've heard nothing but good things about Mission Hill (www.missionhillwinery.com). The wines I've had of theirs are delish, and the winery itself looks beautiful.
Also, while I haven't had any of their wines, Burrowing Owl (www.bovwine.ca/) is a quality producer, from what I've heard.
Shame that Osoyoos Larose isn't open to the public. They'd be a good place to check out, too.
Good luck! I'd love to hear how things go.
2010 Mar 23
Hi Brian,
You'll love the Okanagan, it's so beautiful there. When are you heading there? Summers are really great but ungodly hot (which I love, but I prefer the dry heat).
I've been to Mission Hill, really great winery! It's a really big one though, I tend to prefer the smaller wineries. But the grounds are absolutely beautiful and the wines are yummy. I found the tour to be a bit too commercial though (mostly didn't like the 'video' the groups are herded into a room to watch). I prefer the smaller, more intimate tours that I've been to at other wineries in my travels. But Mission Hill is definitely really nice and worth a stop.
One I really loved was Summerhill Pyramid Winery (www.summerhill.bc.ca/), fairly small, but really nice and almost in downtown Kelowna. The people were really friendly, the wine was terrific and the food in their restaurant was amazing. (and the view on the water from the patio was incredible). Though everywhere in the Okanagan is very scenic, so no surprise there :)
There are so many in that area, you may not have enough time to do them all!
Good luck and have fun touring and tasting!
You'll love the Okanagan, it's so beautiful there. When are you heading there? Summers are really great but ungodly hot (which I love, but I prefer the dry heat).
I've been to Mission Hill, really great winery! It's a really big one though, I tend to prefer the smaller wineries. But the grounds are absolutely beautiful and the wines are yummy. I found the tour to be a bit too commercial though (mostly didn't like the 'video' the groups are herded into a room to watch). I prefer the smaller, more intimate tours that I've been to at other wineries in my travels. But Mission Hill is definitely really nice and worth a stop.
One I really loved was Summerhill Pyramid Winery (www.summerhill.bc.ca/), fairly small, but really nice and almost in downtown Kelowna. The people were really friendly, the wine was terrific and the food in their restaurant was amazing. (and the view on the water from the patio was incredible). Though everywhere in the Okanagan is very scenic, so no surprise there :)
There are so many in that area, you may not have enough time to do them all!
Good luck and have fun touring and tasting!
2010 Mar 23
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll give a full report when I get back Momo!
We'll we driving out from Vancouver next Tuesday morning, as early as possible, and will be returning to Van Wednesday evening. So it certainly won't be hot, but could very well be quite wet. Though last time I checked, that was the only time it wouldn't be raining for the next 14 days, so we'll see.
We'll we driving out from Vancouver next Tuesday morning, as early as possible, and will be returning to Van Wednesday evening. So it certainly won't be hot, but could very well be quite wet. Though last time I checked, that was the only time it wouldn't be raining for the next 14 days, so we'll see.
2010 Mar 23
How much time will you have? There are so many possibilities...
We did some Okanagan wine touring about five years ago, and had a great time. We drove from Vancouver, and started off in Kelowna, visiting a couple of places on the way in (including Mission Hill, definitely a must-see, and a good place to dine as well). In the Kelowna area, in addition to Summerhill Pyramid, I would definitely try to get to CedarCreek and Quail's Gate.
We then headed south to Penticton for our next night's stay. There are some good wineries to stop at along the way - I would particularly recommend Sumac Ridge in that area. Near Penticton, there is Township 7 (they have a couple of wines coming out in the next Vintages release), and the Naramata Bench area on the east side of Okanagan Lake. Naramata is getting a lot of buzz these days, and I would plan to spend at least one day exploring it - wineries of note include Lake Breeze, La Frenz, Kettle Valley, Elephant Island (fruit wines), Hillside, Laughing Stock, Nichol, Poplar Grove, and Therapy. Better make that two days! :-)
From there, we moved down to Oliver for our next night's stay. Along the way, good stops (Okanagan Falls area) include Blasted Church, Stag's Hollow, Wild Goose, and Hawthorne Mountain (See Ya Later Ranch). The latter has a great view of the valley. In the Oliver-Osoyoos area, a ton of choices - such as Burrowing Owl, Tinhorn Creek, Church & State, Gehringer, and maybe a couple of the biggies, Inniskillin Okanagan and Jackson-Triggs. If you get as far south as Osoyoos, Nk'Mip is definitely worth a stop.
It's a beautiful area for wine touring, with lots of excellent dining possibilities too - the only trouble is, you'll be tempted to buy a bunch of wine, and then be faced with the problem of how to get it home. We took about six cases back to Vancouver with us, and shipped it home from there. This is technically illegal, but some shippers will still do it, marked as "glassware" or some such. It all arrived in perfect shape, but it was pretty expensive to go that route... in future, I'd settle for enjoying the wine in the wine country, and just selecting a few special bottles to bring home in checked baggage. That's what we did last fall, when we were back in Vancouver for a visit with our daughter, and did a little wine touring down in Oregon.
Hope this helps... be sure to give us a report when you get back!
We did some Okanagan wine touring about five years ago, and had a great time. We drove from Vancouver, and started off in Kelowna, visiting a couple of places on the way in (including Mission Hill, definitely a must-see, and a good place to dine as well). In the Kelowna area, in addition to Summerhill Pyramid, I would definitely try to get to CedarCreek and Quail's Gate.
We then headed south to Penticton for our next night's stay. There are some good wineries to stop at along the way - I would particularly recommend Sumac Ridge in that area. Near Penticton, there is Township 7 (they have a couple of wines coming out in the next Vintages release), and the Naramata Bench area on the east side of Okanagan Lake. Naramata is getting a lot of buzz these days, and I would plan to spend at least one day exploring it - wineries of note include Lake Breeze, La Frenz, Kettle Valley, Elephant Island (fruit wines), Hillside, Laughing Stock, Nichol, Poplar Grove, and Therapy. Better make that two days! :-)
From there, we moved down to Oliver for our next night's stay. Along the way, good stops (Okanagan Falls area) include Blasted Church, Stag's Hollow, Wild Goose, and Hawthorne Mountain (See Ya Later Ranch). The latter has a great view of the valley. In the Oliver-Osoyoos area, a ton of choices - such as Burrowing Owl, Tinhorn Creek, Church & State, Gehringer, and maybe a couple of the biggies, Inniskillin Okanagan and Jackson-Triggs. If you get as far south as Osoyoos, Nk'Mip is definitely worth a stop.
It's a beautiful area for wine touring, with lots of excellent dining possibilities too - the only trouble is, you'll be tempted to buy a bunch of wine, and then be faced with the problem of how to get it home. We took about six cases back to Vancouver with us, and shipped it home from there. This is technically illegal, but some shippers will still do it, marked as "glassware" or some such. It all arrived in perfect shape, but it was pretty expensive to go that route... in future, I'd settle for enjoying the wine in the wine country, and just selecting a few special bottles to bring home in checked baggage. That's what we did last fall, when we were back in Vancouver for a visit with our daughter, and did a little wine touring down in Oregon.
Hope this helps... be sure to give us a report when you get back!
2010 Mar 24
A restaurant we really liked in Kelowna is Fresco, but they're not in the cheap category, and I think they're only open for dinner. Lunchtime usually finds us on the wine trail, so we head for a winery that has an eatery on the premises. My recommendation would be to head for the Summerhill Pyramid winery, which is a very short drive from Kelowna (on the east bank of the lake). Then you can do some tasting, and try their resto: www.summerhill.bc.ca I haven't eaten there, but it looks like a good spot.
2010 Mar 24
the restaurant at Summerhill is REALLY good. I just had pizza (they have a good variety of lunch/dinner foods) and it was excellent!
There actually a lot of good restaurants in Kelowna, I went to a nice cafe but I forget what it was called...darn. But there were quite a few good places I wanted to check out if I was there more than a day.
Have a look at tripadvisor (www.tripadvisor.com), I always do my food research there before I travel! :)
There actually a lot of good restaurants in Kelowna, I went to a nice cafe but I forget what it was called...darn. But there were quite a few good places I wanted to check out if I was there more than a day.
Have a look at tripadvisor (www.tripadvisor.com), I always do my food research there before I travel! :)
Brian Mc