Wonders of Wine and Food

The Okanagan Similkameen trip 2015

 

We have just return from a very enjoyable and most satisfying trip to the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys.  Everything was perfect; well almost it did reach 98 in Osoyoos which was a bit too warm.

We made our first trip to the valleys back in 1990s. Back then there were very few wineries and numerous wines to forget. In the following years that we have travelled to the area the number of wineries and the quality of the wines keeps increasing

In the 90s one got excited about visiting places like Mission Hills, for their wines and stunning winery or Larch Hills for its beautiful location and amazing Ortega.  You would run by Hainle  Wines as it was the first to produce Icewine. You found more wineries and a few good wines among the also runs.

Fast forward to 2015 and the amazing transition of the Okanagan and the Simlkameen . More wineries than you could visit in a month and all of them producing great wines. Many of the wineries producing wines that make the old world countries jealous.  Such as the extraordinary Cabernet Sauvignon at Painted Rock or the Allegetto at LaStella. which bring  to mind the collection at Culmina  oh so such good wines.

Not only do we see more wineries, but wineries of magnificent Architectural Designs with views that take your breath away. The winemakers and owners are friendlier and more knowledgeable as they realize hospitality is also important when presenting their wines. Even the staff is more aware of the wines and history of the vineyards.

Wineries like Painted Rock, Church and State, Mission Hill and Culmina have modern award winning facilities featuring everything from fancy dinning to helicopter pads. They are balanced out by the always popular and proven wineries like Quails Gate, Hester Creek, Nk Mip   and Tinhorn Creek.

I love the smaller quaint places like Seven Stones, Larch Hills, and  LA Frenz, D’Angelos and many others. Nor can one forget the unexpected when we arrived at Kraze Legz Vineyard and Winery in the tiny village of Kaleden. The location, the view the people the wines!!!

Our entire trip will be highlighted on our website. Please see Robert’s Report