But That's Not All! More Okanagan Wineries

With wife & daughter about to taste at House of Rose.

Like a late night infomercial, my recent trip to the Okanagan wineries seemed to go on and on - but in a good way! After spending a day walking Naramata wineries, and then a day recuperating, we hit the wine road again, but this time in a car.

First, we had one winery left to visit in Penticton because we hadn't had time to see them all. We visited Three Sisters based on the fact that my wife is one of three sisters in her own family!

Another winery, another excellent tasting!

We tried yet another tasty Rosé. The 2017 Rosé ($20) was a lovely fruit forward Rosé with tastes of strawberry and even a hint of rhubarb. 

Next was the 2016 Cab Franc ($25 - out of stock, according to their website but might be some left in the winery). This wine had rich dark fruit flavours that would go well with grilled pork or maybe a skewer of beef. 

Finally was one I don't see that often in the Okangan - Tempranillo. This Spanish grape is one that I do like to have on occasion and the Three Sisters take on the grape, a 2016 Tempranillo ($29), was well done. This one had tastes of dark plums and black currants and was a rather bold wine. 

Getting in the car, we zipped down past Oliver and went to an old favourite, Tinhorn Creek. We have been wine club members for many years at Tinhorn Creek. We are Original Red members so we only have to commit to one case of reds each year - I think new members have to commit to two now. Being members of the 'Crush Club' has other benefits including wine discounts, first access to special events and parties, and special offers. 

The offer that excited us (same as last year) was their Canada Day offer. We were able to get three bottles of their highly drinkable 2016 2Bench White and three bottles of  their amazing 2013 2Bench Red (note the older label)  for $133 - a savings of close to $45! Well worth the detour! Tinhorn Creek was bought out by Peller last year but their wines and service seem unaffected by the change in ownership - it is still a great place to do a tasting and their wines are, for the most part, excellent. 

Heading north, we blasted through Penticton and went all the way to Okangan Falls and Synchromesh. We love Synchromesh Riesling - and I mean LOVE their Riesling - and had bought the Okanagan Wine Club 6 pack just so we could get our hands on some. Their riesling was sold out to the general public at the beginning of June! 

Not only did we get four bottles of four distinct Rieslings from four different vineyards, we also got two bottles of their excellent red blend, Tertre Rouge. While I haven't popped any of the 2017 Riesling yet (all $28 each except for the Stormhaven which is $40), I have to tell you that my wife and I opened a bottle of 2014 Tertre Rouge ($40) and it was absolutely wonderful - good, rich tannins as well as dark fruits and a glorious, long finish. This is a blend of Merlot and Cab Franc.

I spoke to one of the guys loading up the boxes when we arrived at the winery and he said that they might not do the Okanagan Wine Club next year (uh-oh) and just make these wines available on their own wine club. Might be worth looking into - a mixed case of 2 X 4 Rieslings, 2 Tertre Rouges, and 2 Cab Francs is $334.

Back in Kelowna, we decided to check out a couple more local wineries.

First up, after a long drive, and I mean a long drive, was House of Rose. This was an interesting winery - way in the back of beyond and just a little tasting room. 

We tried several of their wines, all with crazy names like 'Grapes with Benefits' and 'Hot Flash'. The names kind of put off my wife - not sure why 'Hot Flash' had that effect...  I wasn't a huge fan of most of their wines but I did like their 2017 Cool Splash ($19) which is a fresh, fruity blend of Pinot Gris and Riesling.  It was a little off dry and so will make a great patio sipper. 

Inside The Vibrant Vine tasting room

Our final stop for tasting was The Vibrant Vine - apparently they had just won some big award so was quite the popular place. At the front of the winery is a hostess with an iPad. You give your name and she gives you a pager, sort of like a restaurant. Then you go inside and can look at their merchandise while you wait to be called. Then, you are called in and the wine guy works his magic. I think that they are only supposed to be responsible for one group at a time because our wine guy seemed a bit choked when he was given another group. 

The tasting was excellent - the associate was funny and well informed and also poured generously! We came away with two wines, the first being their 2016 Woops (so called because on the first run, they didn't catch that the labels were upside down - $26). I loved the fruitiness and the fact that it was made from a blend of seven different white varietals. I also loved the label, especially when viewed through 3D glasses!

The other wine we bought was the 2015 Dragon (around $35?) . It is a blend of Merlot, Cab Franc, and Syrah and is a lovely blend that I am considering putting in the cellar. 

After all that tasting, and driving, we ended up at Meadow Vista for an outstanding charcuterie board and a proscuitto and peach flatbread accompanied with little glasses of their Bliss sparkling honey wine which has been added to cherries - very tasty for $19 for 500ml and $27 for a litre. I would whole heartedly recommend their little bistro as a great place to grab lunch when you are wine touring in Kelowna!

And I Would Walk 500 More - Naramata Wine Walk Pt. 2

Waiting to order a fabulous dinner at  Poplar Grove in Penticton

By the time we left Bench 1775, we were more than halfway through of our walk. That was a good thing because time was marching on and most of the wineries closed by five.

Continuing on our somewhat epic wine walk from Naramata, we left the Bench 1775 winery and continued to head south on Naramata Road. As it was now the afternoon, it was starting to get a bit hotter. Luckily the wineries weren't quite as far apart. Even more luckily, there were some wineries that were very close to the actual road, rather than up or down a humungous hill.

As we rounded the curve on the road, we came upon Black Widow Winery. I had never heard of this winery before and was intrigued by its name, thinking that it was probably more flash than substance. Happily, I was wrong. The wines were all very good, as attested by the John Schreiner poster that was subtly tacked on the wall of the wine shop.

Our host's name was James and he had a good knowledge of the different wines. Black Widow is a very small winery that has limited production and is only open form noon until 4pm.

First up was their 2017 Sparkling Web ($24), a frizzante style bubbly (which means gentle bubbles) that had a nice citrusy taste to it.  It is made from two white grapes, Gewürztraminer and Muscat Ottonel. Great patio bubbles.

Next was the 2017 Muscat Ottonel ($25) - because if it's good in the bubbles, it's gotta be good on its own! I was a bit surprised that my wife liked it so much as it was a touch sweet but it had some nice acidity that kept everything in check. Another good patio wine which would also go with something with a bit of spice.

Finally, the favourite wine for me was the 2016 Phobia ($29). This blend of Syrah and Merlot was a little softer than your typical Syrah but spicier than your average Merlot. There were some tannins in the wine but I think it would be a good one to have in the next year or so. This was a very dark wine but tasted mostly of red fruit.

We continued up the hill - and ended up at Hillside Winery. Our host at this winery was Barbara and she was wonderful. I put "very nice tasting" and later "really good tasting" in my notes so I was obviously impressed by how she welcomed us, took the time to showcase the wines, and was very knowledgable about the wines.

The 2016 Reserve Viognier ($24) was our first wine and I really liked it. Viognier is a bit of a different taste from other whites but I love the peachy flavour and the slightly thicker feel to the liquid. This would be great with duck, pork, and many other grilled meats. It would also be good with some Upper Bench brie!

I do like a fragrant Gerwurz and the 2017 Gerwurztraminer ($20) was not a disappointment. This was a bit off dry and won gold at the all Canadian wine competition. I really think the Okanagan is doing a fabulous job with Gewurz right now and this is proof positive.

Finally, from Hillside, the 2015 Syrah ($26), This one had definite white pepper on the palate with medium tannins and a rich, long finish. This one might go into the cellar for a year or two.

It seemed a bit more of a walk as we made our way to the next winery. There was a hint of moisture in the air and, for a moment, we were worried that we might get rained on. However, the threat passed and we continued on our way. We came to three wineries that were cheek to jowl and decided to visit two of them.

The first of the two was Red Rooster, a likeable name with likeable wines.  Stephanie was the person who did our tasting and did a super job, as did almost everyone on this wine tour. I was very impressed by the enthusiasm and expertise of the people doing the tastings.

Our first wine that we bought was a 2016 Riesling ($17). I'll be honest; I used to think that Synchromesh was the only excellent Riesling in the Okanagan. This trip has shown me something else. This was a very nice off dry wine that would be great for just sipping - and that's important in summer!

Next was the 2017 Rosé ($25). This is made from nine different varietals, predominantly Pinot Blanc and  Malbec. A very interesting blend and a taste to match! Definitely fruity but with a nice soft finish.

Finally, we had the 2015 Meritage ($35) which was a wonderful blend of Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Malbec, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. This was a wonderful, powerful, exciting wine and I will probably cellar it for a couple of years.

Practically next door was Little Engine Wines. I have to give a big shout out to the tasting room associate, Solana. Here it was, 5 minutes before closing time, and two sweaty travellers stumble through the door for yet another tasting. Instead of trying to get it over with, she took her time with us and was wonderful; friendly, helpful and enthusiastic. She brought the whole experience up a notch.

When we actually started the tastings, we had some very nice wines. The first wine that we really liked was the 2017 Caboose Rosé ($25).  It's made from Merlot and Pinot Noir and was a very nice, rich Rosé with a deep rich colour.

They say that Pinot Noir is a grape that the Okanagan should specialize in - and we really enjoyed the Silver Pinot Noir ($35). This was a smooth, red fruit wine that is supposedly good until 2023! Not sure if I will risk that as I am a little gun shy about aging Pinot Noir wine after my Tinhorn Creek disaster!

By the time we were finished doing our tasting at Little Engine, it was past five and the time for tastings was over. That left only one option - dinner!

We headed back down the road and walked for another 30 minutes until we arrived at our last stop, Poplar Grove.  Of course, we didn't have a reservation, not knowing when we would arrive. The host at the front said that it would be an hour wait but I told him (with just a hint of a catch in my voice) our saga of walking from Naramata and that this was our destination - our Valhalla! After checking with the manager, happily, he was able to seat us on the gorgeous patio of the Vanilla Pod restaurant.

When we were at Little Engine, Solana told us to be sure to have the potato cakes for an appetizer if we had dinner at Poplar Grove. That's exactly what we did and they were unbelievably good! I envisioned little crab cakes made with potatoes but, instead, we were served a riot of shredded potatoes, salsa and avocado. For dinner, my wife had their pasta special while I had the duck breast - it must have been a pretty big duck...  Both entrees were amazing! Highly recommended.

We accompanied our delicious meal with a bottle of Poplar Grove 2017 Blanc de Noirs Rosé ($22). We loved the Rosé so much that we bought a couple more bottles to take home- it was light and crisp and is the perfect food friendly Rosé.

My wife commented that the restaurant had French service - there was no hurry to get the food out and we really enjoyed the slower pace. We find that, far too often, a dinner out goes way too fast and we are in and out in an hour or so. This time we spent well over two hours enjoying the food, the wine, the excellent service, and the amazing view.

After splitting a vanilla gelato, we paid our bill (a little pricey, but well worth it after our trip) and took a taxi back to our motel in Naramata.

I checked my phone - we had walked over 20km in our wine touring and had visited eight wineries - a wonderful wine walk!

I Would Walk 500 Miles - Naramata Wine Walk Part 1

Naramata Walk Pt. 1

We love to walk. My wife and I enjoy a nice stroll or hike. We also enjoy a nice wine tasting. So we decided to combine them in one, sun-drenched, route-marching, wine-slurping day.

Naramata Bench is an area of the Okanagan stretching north from Penticton along the Okanagan Lake. There are around 45 wineries along the bench which is about 15 kilometres by road from the village of Naramata to the city of Penticton. We decided to walk and visit some of them.

We drove from Kelowna and arrived at the Naramata  Courtyard Suites which is a little motel that has been revamped and was a cozy place to stay (I think we paid about $150). We parked our car, checked in with the motel, and headed off.

The first place we were going to visit was Bella Sparkling because, at 11 in the morning, nothing is better than some bubbles! About half way there, which was in the opposite direction than the rest of the wineries were, I noticed that there weren't a lot of signs to the winery and I was heavily dependent on my Map app. Checking their web site, I realized that the winery was only open on Saturday and Sunday - and this was a Monday! We turned around and headed back towards the motel.

Getting out of Naramata was arguably the hardest part of the walk. It was a pretty steep, sustained hill but thankfully it was still a bit cool. There were a couple wineries right in Naramata but we wanted to get a couple kilometres along before we stopped.

Posing by the ironwork at Serendipity Winery.

Our first winery for actual tasting was Serendipity. They were 'just off the road' - or at least, that's what I told my wife. "See, it's right there!' A good kilometre or so down a steep hill, we came to the gates of the winery, followed by another steep hill into the tasting room.

Being a little off the road, it was not terribly busy. The person behind the counter was quite friendly and we enjoyed tasting the wines they had on offer. One of my favourite was the 2016 Rosé ($22) which was crisp and fruity. It also had a rich red colour, unlike some other rosés on the market. It is made of all red grapes.

We also purchased the 2016 Viognier (also $22) which is a fuller bodied white and one that has a wonderful taste. We also considered getting the Pinot Noir but preferred to wait until a later date. 

I'm sure this happens all the time, especially considering the number of cyclists visiting the different wineries, but we thought we were quite clever n asking the winery to hold the purchased wine for us until we returned the next day with the car. 

After hiking up the hill to the gate and the next hill that led to the road, we continued on our journey. The main road at this point was quite pleasant to walk.

Outside Joie Farm Winery in their little jardin. 

We skipped a couple more wineries and then went down from the road to visit Joie Farm Winery. I love their Rosé - but it is easily available at the liquor store. I was excited to try some of their other wines and I was not disappointed! Their Rosé was, of course, wonderful but we enjoyed their other wines as well. Our service was excellent - the guy behind the counter was a teacher from Ontario whose brother lives in the Okanagan so he decided to work and holiday over the summer!

The 2016 "En Famille" Reserve Riesling ($24) was a fruity, delicious wine that is just a touch off dry (in the German 'spätlese' style). It was a juicy, delicious wine and we ended up with two bottles. Although great with a variety of food, this is also a wine to enjoy on its. own.

The 2017 Noble Blend ($22) is a blend of Gerwurz, Riesling, Pinot Auxerrois, Pinot Blanc and Muscat. This is another fruity white that would be good with certain foods but would also be wonderful sipping on the deck.

I made arrangements to pick up the wine the next day. However, the winery is closed on Tuesday and I had to make arrangements to meet one of the workers to pick up our wine. She was very nice about it, though, so everything worked out!

Next up was Lake Breeze. We didn't actually do a tasting here but stopped for lunch. On their gorgeous outdoor patio,  I drank an ocean of fizzy water and used their bottle to fill up my water bottle as it was almost empty. The service was excellent as well as our lunch.

I had the Bench Burger which included one of my favourite Italian cheeses, Pecorino, as well as mushrooms and truffle aioli. Yum! Accompanying it I had a glass of their Meritage which paired well with the rather lean meat. My wife had the Grilled Chicken Sandwich which included another one of my favourite Spanish cheeses, manchego, as well as avocado cream accompanied by a food friendly Pinot Blanc.

We thought about doing a tasting there as well but, considering that we had a fair ways to go, we decided, instead, to press on.  As I walked up the hill back to the road, I felt a strange chill on the back of one of my legs. I had just applied some more sunscreen so I thought that it must be an extra thick application. However, the cold spot kept occurring, seemingly randomly. Was this some sort of strange skin condition brought on by the intense sun? Or had this hill climbing caused some sort of ligament/vein/artery issue? Did strokes start this way? I asked my wife if she could see any hideous discolouration but she couldn't see any.

Finally, I decided to take drink out of my water bottle. My full water bottle. That was now half empty because the gas from the fizzy water was forcing some of the liquid through the top - and onto my strangely chilled leg!

After the water episode, we hit a fairly long stretch of road that was bereft of wineries. Up and down we went, with no wine and just fizzy water that kept escaping from my water bottle. We probably spent an hour or so going from Lake Breeze (about the 2600 block) to Bench 1775 (1700 block. In the city, those nine blocks would be fairly close but out on the bench, it seemed to take forever!

Finally, we arrived at Bench 1775. It was by far the busiest winery we tried. The guy doing the tasting was polite but not overly friendly. Maybe because we were all sweaty? The wines were nice, though, but we couldn't do the same deal that we did at every other winery on the bench. However, the guy did waive the tasting fee and we did go back the next day and purchased up our wine.

We purchased two wines at Bench 1775. The first was their Brut Rosé ($22). This Chardonnay and Pinot Noir blend was crisp and just a bit fruity but would be wonderful on it's own or with something that wasn't too heavy. This is a killer value as it is done in the traditional method (like real Chanpagne).

The other wine was a 2016 Semillon ($19). This is made of wine from two different vineyard, one in Naramata (cooler) and one in Oliver (hotter) so the wine ends up being tasty ad complex. A really good food wine (chicken, fish, pork, etc.).

Happily, after we had visited Bench 1775, the vineyards seemed to be closer together. Mind you, at this point, if the winery was up a steep hill or down by the water, we tended to skip it as we wanted to make it to Poplar Grove in time for dinner. Some of the ones that we missed out that I really wanted to see up to this point included Nichol, Kettle Valley, Foxtrot (although you need an appointment), and Terra Vista (Spanish varietals). If only they splashed out for an outdoor escalator.....

Vertically Challenged - When Wine Tasting Turns Ugly

And the winner is....
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the winner....
is....
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Recently I participated - no, not just participated - I hosted my first vertical tasting. A vertical tasting is when you taste different years or vintages of the same wine.

I have done two before, one at Hester Creek where I tasted different vintages of their flagship wine, the Judge, and one at my daughter and son-in-law's to try three different vintages of Quail's Gate Syrah. Both of these events were very informative and wonderful ways to spend the evening. It is also a really good way to understand how aging can add so much to the quality of the wine.

I thought I would return the favour to said members of my family and I brought over a vertical of a wine that I felt should be drunk now. These were all Pinot Noir wines from Tinhorn Creek.

Back when I didn't know that much about wine (about a year ago) I  figured that any wine I got from my annual Tinhorn Creek case that had the words "Oldfield" on it was going to be, not only a really good wine, but one that would age well (Oldfield is their higher tier wine - named after the original winemaker, Sandra Oldfield). Not the best way to do things, I know.

Once I actually took the time to catalogue my wine cellar, I found that I had a few Pinot Noir wines that had been sitting around for a few years. Now, if the Pinot Noir was from Burgundy, that would be a good thing as some of their Pinot Noirs can age for years. However, Okanagan Pinot Noirs (as well as most other New World Pinots) just don't typically do that well.

In my cellar I had Tinhorn Creek wines from 2011, 2012 and 2013. All of them had been aged one year in oak and three in the bottle before I got them so the oldest had been in my cellar for three years.

The watch dog of the wines, my daughter's dog, Nebbiolo.

Tinhorn Creek uses screw tops for all of their wines so there were fewer chances for some of the wine faults that can happen - although with just three years of aging, I don't think it would have been a big problem. All of the wines were kept in my cellar (the storage locker of my condo) which is underground and closed off - and uninsulated as well. Not perfect but the best I can do.

We each had three glasses in from of us, one for each vintage. We cracked all three and started sniffing. Interestingly, the 2011 had the lowest amount of alcohol meaning it was a cooler year, the 2012 had a medium level of alcohol meaning it was a warm year, and the 2013 had the highest alcohol, meaning it was the hottest year of the three.

The 2011 had a fairly complex nose. As my son-in-law said, it had a bouquet, rather than just an aroma. It seemed quite interesting with cherries dominating but also other red fruit and some earthiness as well. The 2012 also had more of a bouquet rather than an aroma - similar to the 2011 but a bit stronger in the fruitiness. The 2013, on the other had, had an aroma of cherries and that was really it - it did not have the complexity of the other two.

Ah, but then we started to taste.

I was quite excited to try the 2011. However, when I tasted it, it was lacking the fruitiness that it had when first bottled. In fact, it tasted rather flat and watery. It was not good on the palate. We had waited far too long to drink this wine!

I was a bit devasted that I had brought this wine to share. I had looked so forward to drinking this with the group and found that it was not what I was expecting at all.

Then we tried the 2012.

It, too, had lost a lot of the wonderful fruitiness that Pinot Noirs are known for. It was also quite bland and somewhat tasteless, although not as watery as the 2011. This was not going well!

Lastly, the 2013.

It was, well, OK. Even after just a year in the cellar, it had lost some of those wonderful fruity flavours that it had had when I had tried a bottle last year. It was certainly better than the other two, but not great.

Then my son-in-law said, "Try the nose on the 2011 and 2012!"

Going back to these, the wonderfully complex bouquet that I had smelled before was gone! I could barely smell anything from these two vintages! It was like the delicate bouquet had blown right off of the wines!

We did manage to drink most of the 2012 and the 2013, but left the bulk of the 2011.

Was I disappointed? Absolutely.

Did I learn anything? Of course!

It is said that most wines should be drunk when you buy them. A lot of us think we know better and go counter to that notion. This was a great lesson on why aging is often not the best thing to do!

As I take my WSET 3 in September, I am eager to learn more about how to tell if a wine is good for aging.

Hmm - maybe I should go through my cellar again and take out some more 'aging candidates'!