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+--- Thread: A day in the South Okanagan (/thread-15279.html)
- TheEngineer - 05-10-2008
It's late here so I'll just post a quick summary but took a day off from a business trip and took a gaggle of friends (and their family both older and younger) into the South Okanagan area. These were very casual wine folks who wanted to see more of the "winery life" than were really interested in wines.
Drive was just around 4 hours which was a bit longer than I thought it would be but definitely worth the drive. Came in on 3 and then up 3a to traverse 97 from North to South. First stop was Jackson Triggs where they told us it was Okanagan wine festival week. Perfect Timing. All tastings were free! Yes... Free is good.
More tasting notes later but the crew at Jackson Triggs hooked us up with maps, booklets and even lunch suggestions. We drove into the town of Oliver for lunch at a small sandwich shop called Cantalope Anne which did a very nice cabbage roll and british beef steak and kidney pies.
As this was as day trip only, we did not go to many wineries. We went next to Silver Sage on the advice of a local. Err...Error....Not worth the stop. We felt like we were intruding on their family day and did not feel welcomed at all. The wines were also nothing to write home about. I generally always buy a bottle at each winery that I go to out of respect but in this place I could not even do that. Nice place to look at though. We even stopped to take a few photos.
Next stop was Inniskillin where we bought a slew of icewines. The view they have of the valley just amazing. then Golden Mile Cellars, I like their wines very much and the owner Pam was a very gracious host. We stopped our tasting half way to go out to look at a bear that had entered her vineyard. Nice stuff! The onto Nk'Mip Cellars. What an amazing place and what a view. Wines were also very nice and I've always liked their merlot's. By this time it was getting late in the afternoon so we turned and headed back to Vanq.
I've only every visited the northern okanagan before (Mission Hill, Quails Gates, etc). The glacial lakes (which covers the valley) there were larger and more imposing on the view. In the South, the valley floor is in the middle and it is stunning to see. Hope to be back in a few and will head north and hit a few wineries that I will like more than the more casual group that I was traveling with that day. WE also saw a total of three black bears...
- Innkeeper - 05-10-2008
Sounds like a great trip. We've been travelling too; will post later.
- dananne - 05-10-2008
Thanks for the notes. It's an area Anne and I would like to visit.
Wonder if those bears have taken a liking to all the grapes -- in N GA, I know of at least one winery that had a heck of a time with black bears in the Cab Franc vineyard.
- Bucko - 05-10-2008
This is an area that will only get better with time. Some stunning wines are being made there.
Here are some notes I made from my trip:
Burrowing Owl Estate Winery
100 Burrowing Owl Place
RR1, Site 52, Comp 20
Oliver, British Columbia
877-498-0620
Open Easter to Oct. 31
Crush was in full swing at the winery. Bin after bin of Merlot grapes lined the loading dock, patiently waiting to be fed to the crusher. Winemaker Steven Wyse kept a close watch on the operations. “I am very pleased with the fruit this year,†Wyse said. “The sugars and acids are just perfect … with great concentration of flavors.â€
Merlot is only one of the wines that Wyse works his magic on. The Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir served in the tasting room by the Chef de Cuisine, Bonny Hill, are all solid, well-made wines. Hill states the wines “pair very well†with the food dishes in the winery’s Sonora Room restaurant (open for lunch and dinner).
2004 Burrowing Owl, Pinot Noir, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, $25 (CAD), 3,114 cases. The aromas are a nice mix of plums, cherries and cinnamon stick. Light to medium bodied, the wine shows great tannin and oak management. Generous fruit flavors linger on the lengthy finish; 90 points.
Golden Mile Cellars Estate Winery
13140 316A Avenue, Road 13
Oliver, British Columbia
250-498-8330
Open April 14 to Oct. 31
The winery at Golden Mile is modeled after a Bavarian castle. While it may sport a medieval façade, there is nothing old-fashioned about their wines. Winemaker Michael “Iron Mike†Bartier took time out from his barrel-racking duties to lead a tour of the facilities.
He was questioned about his barrel rotation program. “I don’t like wines that are overoaked,†said Bartier. “Oak is a seasoning. It should not be the main ingredient. It’s all about balance; let the vineyard express itself.†Based on several barrel samples, Bartier’s words ring true.
2004 Golden Mile, Black Arts Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, $35 (CAD) This straw-colored wine gives off aromas of peaches, sage, and grapefruit. Full bodied, balanced, and crisp, you’ll find just a dollop of sweet oak on the long, lovely finish; 90 points.
Stag’s Hollow Winery
RR1, Site 3, Comp 36
Okanagan Falls, British Columbia
250-497-6162
Open May to October, other dates by appointment
Stag’s Hollow is the culmination of a dream for Larry Gerelus and partner Linda Pruegger. They purchased a ten-acre vineyard near Okanagan Falls in 1992. Their first wines were bottled in 1995; winery construction began during the same period. The completed winery bears an odd resemblance to an Oklahoma train station built by a Cajun architect.
Gerelus is very much a hands-on winemaker, closely following the grapes from the vine to the bottle. He is “very pleased†with the vineyard’s macroclimate. The gravel and clay soils and dry weather provide ideal growing conditions for the grapes.
2004 Stag’s Hollow, Tragically Vidal, Okanagan Valley, Canada, $14 (CAD). The wine is very floral and grapefruity on the nose and palate. The zippy acidity gives lift to the pineapple and citrus fruit. Balance is ideal; 91 points.
Wild Goose Vineyards
2145 Sun Valley Way
RR1, Site 3, Comp 11
Okanagan Falls, British Columbia
250-497-8919
Open April to October, other dates by appointment
With the advent of irrigation, Adolf Kruger was able to purchase an inhospitable section of land east of Okanagan Falls in 1983. He confidently planted Riesling and Gewurztraminer vines. The grapes were sold under contract to Mission Hill Winery until winemaking facilities were established at Wild Goose in 1990. The resulting wines were an instant success.
“I turned over the reigns to my son [Hagen Kruger] a few years ago,†said Kruger, as he poured samples. “He’s doing a great job. We just won five medals at the fair last week. What do you think of our Gewurztraminer?â€
2004 Wild Goose, Mystic River Gewurztraminer, Okanagan Valley, Canada, $19 (CAD). You’ll find loads of terpenes and tropical fruit on the nose, with lovely floral accents. These floral notes continue in the mouth, with bright acidity balancing the threshold sweetness; 91 points.
- TheEngineer - 05-10-2008
As we tried a lot of wines I won't post on all of the notes.
Jackson Triggs, 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, Nice light hay colour, floral nose, very crisp, clean but not much else going on. Very middle of the road.
Jackson Triggs, 2006 Okanagan Icewine, nice floral and honey nose, Rish clean texture with strong acidic backbone. All manners of tropical fruits going on, pineapple, coconut, star fruit, and citrus.
Inniskillin 2006 Malbec, nice dark color solid nose of dark fruits and restained oak, good lith texture, not a heavy wine. Great density of dark fruit falvours though and in great balance with the acidity and tannins. Wow for $29.99
Inniskillin 2006 Bordeaux blend. A bit lighter and brighter than the Malbec, a bit more lighter nose, pensil shavings, cherries, red fruits. Nice texture, not heavy again and very good balance.
Inniskillin 2006 Vidal icewine Okanagan. White florals adn light honey along with. Super mouthfeel, thick, clean smooth, and the finish lasts forever.
Inniskilling 2006 Riesling Okanagan, even better than the Vidal, more solid, less playful perhaps, great refined floral nose, and what a finish. Beauty!
Inniskillin 2006 Coyote Vineyard, Riesling, is pretty much the same as the above, except it has even more stuffing. It is an intense experienc and leasts even longer.
Golden Mile 2006 Chardonnay, straw colour and a pretty nose of citrus. Again another very clean and well made wine.
Golden Mile 2006 Syrah, the is a dark colored dense wine. Nose of dark fruits, spiciness, hints of herbs, and a hint of sweetness. Much the same on the palate but shows nice restaint. Many in our travel group called it the wine of the trip.
Golden Mile 2006 Bordeaux Blend. Another very dark wine but this was lighter on its feet than the syrah. great balance and the structure could use a bit of time before allowing the wine to do well.
Nk'Mip Cellars 2005 Merlot, A very dark rich version of a merlot that would not be out of place in CA, but done further north, showing a bit of restraint also. Great density of dark fruits, nice acidity keeps things reasonably fresht.
Nk'Mip Cellars, 2006 Icewine : nice light floral nose but on the palate, a bit of a let down compared to the day's other icewines. More aciditic than the others and lacking their elegance.
- Bucko - 05-10-2008
Those Icewines are killers, eh?
- TheEngineer - 05-11-2008
Bucko, they were all fantastic, especially the ones from Inniskillin. The nose is explosive!! It hits you all on and then you had to step back, totally impressed. Then you needed to step back to the glass to really look for what is there. Impressive and crazy...
I was hoping to find a new bottling of the Golden Mile Cabernet Franc but now apparently it is all gone into the Bordeaux blend. That was such a nice wine.
I really wanted to go to Burrowing Owl but some of my roadie crew (the sub 4 year olds) were getting a bit tired. They were so good though for pretty much the whole day!
[This message has been edited by TheEngineer (edited 05-11-2008).]