Exploring British Colombia's Wine Country--------the begining!!!!
DAY ONE: August 2nd-----Arrival at Kamloops!
I looked out the window of "WestJet" flight 631 as it was flying over the Rocky Mountains. Viewing the majestic mountains from over top always seemed like a spiritual experience to me. The sheer magnitude of these mountains and the massive tectonic power of the earth to form such splendor did not fail to amaze me. Then again, it was the power of the ice that did the final job on these peaks----carving out the cirques and valleys, making them seem so ominous yet so beautiful. "If this is all I see", I said to myself, "it is worth the trip!"
Yet it was not all I was going to see. I knew that! There was awaiting me a new adventure with the co-host of "Adventures in Wine Country", Greg Rist. where we were about to begin an exciting seven day stay in the Okanagan.
The series that had already taken us to Nova Scotia and Portugal now brought us to the west coast of Canada and the Okanagan Valley. From the air could be seen smoke though it looked like humidity rather than billowing smoke. As the plane descended upon Kelowna, the smoke cleared and appeared like a distant haze. The sun was still shining and when we did emerge from the plane, we could feel the tremendous heat of the day. We were in a heat wave.
That wouldn't have been anything to talk about with the exception at the time, Toronto was in something of a coldwave. The lows that B.C. was experiencing were the highs for Toronto.
Kelowna airport is quite small and it was easy to get our luggage and rent a vehicle that would transport us to our first stop, Osoyoos and the Spirit Ridge Resort/Nk'Mip Cellars (pronounced Inkameep).
Okanagan Valley
It was a very dry and warm summer in the Okanagan. There were fires though we did not see any. The only tell tale indications were a haze the floated down from the North. As I said before, it looked like Toronto on a warm, sunny and hazy day. The area was still breathtakingly beautiful as we cruised down Highway 97 South past small towns, high hills and some of the most enchanting lakes that I have ever seen. Long, blue and very deep. That can be a description used for most of them.
The valley is composed of four areas: Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon and Osoyoos. An extension of the Sonora Dessert, it is classed as semi arid. This translates to very dry!!! Irrigation makes it possible to grow crops including----grape vines. Grapes grow well here. Why not! 2000 hours of sunshine, dryness to keep diseases at bay and heat in the day to bring up the sugar levels and cool at night to keep the acidity up, that is a ideal climate for grapes. One hitch happened last year when the temperatures descended into dangerous territory (-23 Centigrade). Some vinifera vines died---especially flatter areas pockets of cool settled.
We travelled down along Lake Okanagan, past Penticton and Vernon. Within the limits of Penticton, on Lakeside Drive, there is a river that flows down to Lake Skaha along side Highway 97 South. Here a craze happens that I was not familiar with. it's called "Tubing" and people bring or rent large rubber tube boats and float the distance of about 7 to 10 kilometres down the creek to Lake Skaha. This attracts hundreds of "tubers" dressed in no more than bathing suits and bikinis-----sometimes sans tops----!!! Various pieces of items are taken with the participants including that nice kool one----especially on a hot summer day. As we continued on our way down the 97, we saw famous names that we read about in wine books and magazines: Mission Hill, Burrowing Owl, Quails Gate, Blasted Church. Soon we were close to the Town of Osoyoos and finally, Spirit Ridge and Nk'Mip!
I had pictured Nk'Mip alone-------a large symbolic winery in the middle of nowhere but surrounded by hills. It wasn't exactly that.
Osoyoos was anything but sleepy. It was small but it was also bustling with a large selection of convenience, grocery, liquor and fast food stores. There were touristy placards and Lake Osoyoos was a wealth of activity from swimming (love those bikinis) and boating. We drove down the main street until we came to the sign of Spirit Ridge.
A quick left turn and we headed up the road for about a mile or so until we came to a life size sculpture of a Native Canadian on a horse with hands held high as if to both welcome and pray. On one side of the road that headed up to the statue was natural desert on the other, vines.
Spirit Ridge
This was not what I anticipated. This was not a quiet winery alone in the wilderness. This was a very popular resort and winery. This was not just a hang out for oenophiles and their cronies. This was a cosmopolitan hotel part of which was still being built. There was a four star restaurant, gym, entertainment centre and just left of the resort, a Cultural Information Centre where guest could go and become more knowledgeable about Native Arts and Culture. The Osoyoos Native Band is in charge of the complex and have made it into a very profitable venture, thanks in part to their ingenuity and hard work and in another part to Vincor for assisting them with their winery.
As we walked from the parking lot and along the route to the main office of the resort, I couldn't get over the children playing, diving, splashing in the hotel pool while adults lounged in the Sun. For those who were so inclined, there was a desert horseback riding area as well as other activities that could take place in the town.
Checking in was a breeze, our hosts, Coletta and Associates did their job well. Greg and I were given a suite in one of the newer additions to the Resort. It wasn't anywhere near small. As a matter of fact, it was huge. Main kitchen/living Room with large HD television and a balcony overlooking the back of the Resort (which had a rather tall hill/mountain rising up-up-way up!).
On either side of the kitchen/living Room was a bedroom with its own en suite. My side also had a laundry room. The kitchen had a fridge, stove, cupboards, cups etc. There was a coffee make that made 12 cups----great news for me!
We later went to Nk'Mip winery across the road next door and looked around but since it was getting late, Greg and I decided to purchase a bottle of red---Nk'Mip Merlot and went back to the room where we satiated our lust for wine and food------a great Grandpa Burger from A&W. Burger! A&W? Hey, a great wine goes with any food and burgers are great also!
Wines
Nk'Mip Merlot: Great wine with nose of blackfruit, some wood and earth. On the palate it had great red/black fruit (blackberry, plum, black currant) flavours with a touch of anise and vanilla on finish.
END Of First Day
I looked out the window of "WestJet" flight 631 as it was flying over the Rocky Mountains. Viewing the majestic mountains from over top always seemed like a spiritual experience to me. The sheer magnitude of these mountains and the massive tectonic power of the earth to form such splendor did not fail to amaze me. Then again, it was the power of the ice that did the final job on these peaks----carving out the cirques and valleys, making them seem so ominous yet so beautiful. "If this is all I see", I said to myself, "it is worth the trip!"
Yet it was not all I was going to see. I knew that! There was awaiting me a new adventure with the co-host of "Adventures in Wine Country", Greg Rist. where we were about to begin an exciting seven day stay in the Okanagan.
The series that had already taken us to Nova Scotia and Portugal now brought us to the west coast of Canada and the Okanagan Valley. From the air could be seen smoke though it looked like humidity rather than billowing smoke. As the plane descended upon Kelowna, the smoke cleared and appeared like a distant haze. The sun was still shining and when we did emerge from the plane, we could feel the tremendous heat of the day. We were in a heat wave.
That wouldn't have been anything to talk about with the exception at the time, Toronto was in something of a coldwave. The lows that B.C. was experiencing were the highs for Toronto.
Kelowna airport is quite small and it was easy to get our luggage and rent a vehicle that would transport us to our first stop, Osoyoos and the Spirit Ridge Resort/Nk'Mip Cellars (pronounced Inkameep).
Okanagan Valley
It was a very dry and warm summer in the Okanagan. There were fires though we did not see any. The only tell tale indications were a haze the floated down from the North. As I said before, it looked like Toronto on a warm, sunny and hazy day. The area was still breathtakingly beautiful as we cruised down Highway 97 South past small towns, high hills and some of the most enchanting lakes that I have ever seen. Long, blue and very deep. That can be a description used for most of them.
The valley is composed of four areas: Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon and Osoyoos. An extension of the Sonora Dessert, it is classed as semi arid. This translates to very dry!!! Irrigation makes it possible to grow crops including----grape vines. Grapes grow well here. Why not! 2000 hours of sunshine, dryness to keep diseases at bay and heat in the day to bring up the sugar levels and cool at night to keep the acidity up, that is a ideal climate for grapes. One hitch happened last year when the temperatures descended into dangerous territory (-23 Centigrade). Some vinifera vines died---especially flatter areas pockets of cool settled.
We travelled down along Lake Okanagan, past Penticton and Vernon. Within the limits of Penticton, on Lakeside Drive, there is a river that flows down to Lake Skaha along side Highway 97 South. Here a craze happens that I was not familiar with. it's called "Tubing" and people bring or rent large rubber tube boats and float the distance of about 7 to 10 kilometres down the creek to Lake Skaha. This attracts hundreds of "tubers" dressed in no more than bathing suits and bikinis-----sometimes sans tops----!!! Various pieces of items are taken with the participants including that nice kool one----especially on a hot summer day. As we continued on our way down the 97, we saw famous names that we read about in wine books and magazines: Mission Hill, Burrowing Owl, Quails Gate, Blasted Church. Soon we were close to the Town of Osoyoos and finally, Spirit Ridge and Nk'Mip!
I had pictured Nk'Mip alone-------a large symbolic winery in the middle of nowhere but surrounded by hills. It wasn't exactly that.
Osoyoos was anything but sleepy. It was small but it was also bustling with a large selection of convenience, grocery, liquor and fast food stores. There were touristy placards and Lake Osoyoos was a wealth of activity from swimming (love those bikinis) and boating. We drove down the main street until we came to the sign of Spirit Ridge.
A quick left turn and we headed up the road for about a mile or so until we came to a life size sculpture of a Native Canadian on a horse with hands held high as if to both welcome and pray. On one side of the road that headed up to the statue was natural desert on the other, vines.
Spirit Ridge
This was not what I anticipated. This was not a quiet winery alone in the wilderness. This was a very popular resort and winery. This was not just a hang out for oenophiles and their cronies. This was a cosmopolitan hotel part of which was still being built. There was a four star restaurant, gym, entertainment centre and just left of the resort, a Cultural Information Centre where guest could go and become more knowledgeable about Native Arts and Culture. The Osoyoos Native Band is in charge of the complex and have made it into a very profitable venture, thanks in part to their ingenuity and hard work and in another part to Vincor for assisting them with their winery.
As we walked from the parking lot and along the route to the main office of the resort, I couldn't get over the children playing, diving, splashing in the hotel pool while adults lounged in the Sun. For those who were so inclined, there was a desert horseback riding area as well as other activities that could take place in the town.
Checking in was a breeze, our hosts, Coletta and Associates did their job well. Greg and I were given a suite in one of the newer additions to the Resort. It wasn't anywhere near small. As a matter of fact, it was huge. Main kitchen/living Room with large HD television and a balcony overlooking the back of the Resort (which had a rather tall hill/mountain rising up-up-way up!).
On either side of the kitchen/living Room was a bedroom with its own en suite. My side also had a laundry room. The kitchen had a fridge, stove, cupboards, cups etc. There was a coffee make that made 12 cups----great news for me!
We later went to Nk'Mip winery across the road next door and looked around but since it was getting late, Greg and I decided to purchase a bottle of red---Nk'Mip Merlot and went back to the room where we satiated our lust for wine and food------a great Grandpa Burger from A&W. Burger! A&W? Hey, a great wine goes with any food and burgers are great also!
Wines
Nk'Mip Merlot: Great wine with nose of blackfruit, some wood and earth. On the palate it had great red/black fruit (blackberry, plum, black currant) flavours with a touch of anise and vanilla on finish.
END Of First Day
posted by Chuck Byers - Wine Consultant | 1:48 AM
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