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.