Okanagan Wine Trip '07 - Final thoughts

Overall, I was very happy with this trip. The Okanagan is really starting to come into it's own. They are still at a point where the bigwig critics of the world feel that they must judge Okanagan wines on a more forgiving scale, and that is something that really needs to change.

My opinion on one issue hasn't changed, and was in fact reinforced this year. More emphasis needs to be placed on the micro-climates within the Okanagan, and what grapes grow well where. Consistently when I taste red wines where the grapes were grown in the Kelowna area, they just seem a bit green, and somewhat harsh. I get the impression that the grapes just don't get enough hang-time to acheive full phenolic ripeness. The whites from central Okanagan are outstanding - especially a lot of the Germanics and aromatics.

The southern Okanagan is starting to live up to its potential. The wines made from bordeaux grapes from the Black Sage Bench are getting better and better. They are getting to the point where they may start rivalling California in quality. Interestingly enough, my favorite Pinot Noirs seem to be those grown on the opposite side of the valley, on the east-facing slopes by the 'Golden Mile'. Maybe its just a bit less sun exposure, giving those little pinot berries the extra cooling they need at night.

If the Okanagan is going to become a true world-class wine region, each winery and winegrower needs to really take a good look at what grows best in their vineyards, and re-plant as necessary. Personally, I am not a fan of the more obscure varietals being grown here either - the Foch and the Zweigelt just don't seem to do it for me.

So, without further adieu - my favorite wines of the trip!
(This is based on wines I actually tasted while at the wineries. Wines based on spec are not included.)

Best Rose - Arrowleaf Red Feather 2006
Best White (Aromatic) - Arrowleaf White Feather 2005
Best White (Barrel aged) - Mission Hill S.L.C. Chardonnay
Best Pinot Noir - Quail's Gate Pinot Noir 2005
Best Meritage Blend - TIE:
**Burrowing Owl Meritage 2004 (This was a great straight-ahead bordeaux blend)
**Desert Hills Mirage 2004 (A nice smooth bordeaux blend, with the most amazing burst of vanilla on the finish)

Cheers!

Okanagan Wine Trip '07 - Day 3

Sunday - my final day of tasting in the Okanagan this year. My schedule was a bit lighter today, as I expected (as always) to spend a bit more time at Mission Hill.

I started out driving across the floating bridge to the Westbank, circling towards Mount Boucherie. My first stop of the day was at Little Straw - it was an impromptu stop, but one that I'm happy I made.

Little Straw is another small producer on the Westbank. I've never tried any of their wines before, but I had some time to kill, so I stopped in. They have just recently finished a new tasting room - very nice!

One of the owners ran me through the vast majority of their wines, and two of them really jumped out at me. First, their "Tapestry" - their proprietary white blend. It's a mix of Geuwurtztraminer and some other aromatics - a very refreshing, quaffable white. The final wine that was poured for me was their riesling icewine. I prefaced tasting it by telling the host that I am not a fan of icewine - too cloying for my tastes, and he replied that this was an "icewine for people who don't like icewine" - I would have to agree! It had outstanding peach and apricot flavours, good sweetness, but enough acidity to clean off the palate.

From there, it was over to Quail's Gate. While they haven't excited me in the past couple of years, I did enjoy their Pinot Noir this year (even though the refused to crack open their family reserve pinot for me to try.) I tried a few of their other wines, but nothing really jumped out at me. My general distate for Foch continued.

Following Quail's Gate, I headed up to Mission Hill. This is always a perennial favorite stop of mine, just for the gorgeous architecture, if nothing else!

I signed up for the 'Reserve Tour' - a guided tour of the grounds and the cellars, followed by a tasting of some of their more pedestrian wines. To kill time beforehand, I hit the tasting bar, and got hooked up with some of their higher quality offerings. The S.L.C. series of wines were the most impressive - their Chardonnay had the obligatory tropical fruit, with a moderate amount of oak - quite pleasant, and much better than many of the overoaked American chards coming out these days. The S.L.C. Syrah was also quite enjoyable - good fruit concentration, well integrated tannins, and a bit of spice.

While I was there, I also pre-ordered a case of Oculus for myself and some friends. While this is the most expensive wine I buy from the Okanagan, I have found it's well worth the $60 per bottle, once it's been laying down for 6 or more years.

After a few hours at Mission Hill, I backtracked heavily to stop in at Tapestry. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a huge disappointment. Their website said they were open Noon till 5PM on weekends, but when I arrived, the road was blocked off with a sign indicating they were open only by appointment. It was quite frustrating to have wasted an hour and a half of my day, especially after hearing glowing recommendations of their wines. Even Jancis Robinsion had great things to say about their Rieslings.. I guess I don't find out for myself this year.

Crossing across Kelowna again, I headed down to Adora Estate Winery, south of Peachland. Another small producer, with some decent wines. It was a small tasting room, but I was treated very well there. A few standouts were the barrel fermented Pinot Gris (I'm used to stainless stell Pinot Gris - this was an interesting change), and their Wright Vineyard Merlot.

From Adora, it was onto my last stop of the day - Sumac Ridge. This is one of the larger wineries in the Okanagan - a huge tasting room and restaurant, and loads of wines to choose from. Again, I ran through a good chunk of their wines. Their Stellar Jay's Brut sparkling wine was decent, but nothing to write home about, in my opinion. I was surprised by their Rose - apparently it's a fairly new wine for them, but it was quite enjoyable - a bit more residual sugar than the Arrowleaf, but the requisite berry flavours were present and accounted for. The other standout wine from them was their 2004 Black Sage Bench Meritage - a well integrated bordeaux blend. I found this one to be drinkable now, with a bit of decanting, but it could probably go for another 2-4 years.

Thus ended my tasting trek for this year. Next up, I'll post my thoughts on the trip, the Okanagan industry in general, and my favorite wines from the trip.

Okanagan Wine Trip '07 - Day 2

Day 2 started off with me driving straight down from Kelowna to Osoyoos - about a 90min jaunt. It's pretty amazing how much the climate changes going just this short distance - you pretty much enter a desert. It even looks like the people that built the buildings in Osoyoos thought they were in New Mexico - loads of that 'Santa Fe' sort of architecture.

My day started out at Nk'Mip Cellars. An impressive complex, which includes the winery, a golf course, a resort, and condos.

Wine-wise, I enjoyed both their meritage and Pinot Noirs. The icewine was a bit too cloying for my tastes, as are pretty much all icewines - all sugar and little acid to cleanse the palate.

One amusing point to note - being so close to the border (and also being Memorial Day weekend in the US), this tasting room must have had the highest percentage of American tourists I've ever encountered. Let's just say it was pretty easy to differentiate them from the Canadians.

I hopped back in my car and headed back up to the Oliver area. The next stop on my list was Golden Mile Cellars - a perennial favorite of mine. I tasted a number of their wines. None of the whites they offered jumped out at me this year, but I enjoyed the Road 13 red blend as a fairly straightforward bordeaux-style blend (with a bit of syrah sneaked in there). I also stocked up on the 05 vintage of their Black Arts Pinot Noir. It wasnt open for tasting, but this is a wine I'll buy on spec, after my outstanding experience with the 04 vintage.

Next stop - Desert Hills Estate Winery. This is a small winery on the Black Sage Bench. Last year their estate Syrah blew me away, but alas they are sold out and haven't released the new vintage yet. I tried a couple of their other wines, and quite enjoyed their 'Mirage' - their trade name for their bodeaux blend.

From there, it was off to Burrowing Owl winery. I deemed to give them another shot after my horrendous experience there last summer. The place has been totally redone - the tasting room is in a brand new building (part of their new small resort, which I fully intend to stay in for a couple of nights one of these years) - the original building is now devoted to their restaurant.

I ran through the majority of their wines - I found the whites to be quite pedestrian, while the Pinot Noir was quite enjoyable and fairly approachable (but would age well for a couple of years still), and the '04 Meritage lived up to the reputation of that wine - a great bottle for $45.

I stopped for lunch at the Sonora Room restaurant at Burrowing Owl. Easily one of the most picturesque viewpoints in the Okanagan. I was seated on the patio, high above the vineyards, which rolled down the hill to the edge of the lake. It was an outstanding view. Unfortuntely in my rush to get out of the hotel, I forgot to bring my camera. Lunch consisted of pieces of sauteed free range chicken breast with a wild mushroom ragout, served over a roasted garlic an asiago polenta cake, with grilled asparagus. Dessert was an interesting take on a white chocolate tiramisu.

From there, it was about a 45 minute drive back north to the Naramata Bench. My first stop here was at La Frenz, another of my favorite wineries. Unfortunately, I came out a bit too early this year, and many of the wines (specifically the reds) haven't been released yet. I consoled myself with a couple of bottles of Riesling, and was on my way.

I wound my way up the road to Therapy Vineyards. As a whole, I wasn't really blown away by the wines here. The 'Super Ego' showed some promise, so I purchased a bottle.

One last stop for the day at Lake Breeze. I again ran through the list of wines available for tasting, and found them all to be pretty pedestrian - nothing really jumped out at me here.

Then it was back to the hotel to relax for a bit before heading out for dinner. I went for a walk around the shoreline, trying to decide where to go for dinner, and came across DJ's in the Grand Okanagan hotel. DJ's is a 'Mexican Fusion' restaurant - this aint Taco Bell, folks. Nice atmposphere instide - the music seemed to alternate between Santana and Shakira. I started out with a chicken quesadilla with cilantro pesto and homemade salsa fresca - really flavorful. My main course was a Baked steak burrito - a massive tortilla stuffed with large chunks of grilled steak, refried beans, cheese, and salsa, dressed with a bit of sour cream, and served with refried beans and rice. An outstanding meal, considering the fairly reasonable pricing. After a hard day of wine tasting, I chose to wash all this down with a couple of cervezas.

That was about it for day 2. Sunday will be the finish of the wine tastings, and then the journey back to Calgary on Monday.

Okanagan Wine Trip '07 - Day 1

Day 1 - May 25th

Well, here we go again for my annual jaunt through the Okanagan wine country. Having done this twice before, I have a better feel for where to go, where not to go, and how to pace my trip.

Armed with my trusty laptop, this time around I can blog as I go and give you daily updates - just like a real journalist would!

I left Calgary just after 10AM.. After a quick stop in Golden for some lunch, I made it into the Okanagan around 4:00PM local time.. Since it was early enough and it was on the way, I figured I'd stop in at Arrowleaf cellars - a great way to start my trip, being that they're one of my favorite wineries here..

I tasted about 5 of the usual suspects:

White Feather - their house white blend - a nice quaffable white - not a lot of depth here, but great for patio season.

Red Feather - my favorite wine here - their Rose blend - after some sweet-talking, I managed to get my hands on a half a case of the as yet unreleased 2006 vintage (already a silver medal winner) - primarily Pinot Noir and Chardonnay this year. Looking forward to the hot weather to drink some of this!

Chardonnay - a decent Okanagan chard - very little oak, unlike so many of the bottles coming out of California

Solstice - their red blend, primarily Merlot and Zweigelt.. I wasn't blown away, but I'm usually not by their reds. They just seem better at the whites and rose.

Vidal (I cant remember the name - its new for them) - it's an off-dry white - the grapes are picked at the same time as the one they use for their late-harvest vidal, so you can guess that the sugar content is pretty high to start with. I assumed that they fermented it for a bit longer to get the excess sugar out - this seemed to be confirmed by the relatively high 13.6% alcohol content..

All in all, I walked out of Arrowleaf with a case of wine for myself and some friends..

After Arrowleaf, I headed straight into downtown Kelowna to check into the Royal Anne Hotel - I like this hotel - reasonably priced, and just a block from the waterfront. And - it's a nice 5 block walk away from...

Bouchons Bistro. Ahhhh...

Once again, my love affair with this restaurant has been rekindled for another year. I walked in a little before 7, and as always, the owner / Maitre'd was out front to greet me - showed me to a table on the patio. Over the next 90 minutes, I was back in culinary heaven.. I started out with French onion soup simmered with Chablis, paired up with a glass of Alstian Geuwurtztraminer. Following that was a duo of duck leg confit, with some mushrooms sauteed with pork belly, some seasonable vegetables, and of course the obligatory pommes frites (this is a brasserie style restaurant after all).. I paired that up with a glass of Quail's Gate Reserve Pinot Noir, which worked nicely. I followed up the main course with a chilled lavendar souflee with passionfruit puree, paired up with a glass of their house sauternes. Add on an espresso, and I was 'fini'.

I followed up that fabulous meal with a trip to the casino.. I think I will now write a book of my experiences, titled "How to lose at blackjack like a professional".. Up until tonight, I didn't think it would be possible to lose so much money while holding 19 or 20 in your hand. Fortunately, the other gents at the table were having similar luck.

So, now its time to retire for the evening, and prepare for Day 2. Saturday is my day to conquer the southern Okanagan, and hopefully squeeze in a couple more good meals to boot.

Cheers!