Turner Winehunt ‘08
I found the above-mentioned winery on a roadtrip with my brother through BC’s wine belt, the length of the Okanagan Valley* from Osoyoos up through Kelowna. While I wouldn’t encourage anyone to weigh my opinion on wine with much gravity, here’s what we liked and could afford, and therefore bought, from south to north:
‘07 Pear wine - Forbidden Fruit Winery, Cawston (These guys also make a DELICIOUS cherry port, but it costs $30 a half bottle.)
In justice, I really ought to mention Burrowing Owl, the first Oliver winery we visited. Very good reds we couldn’t quite afford, but I neglected to take notes, so I forget which ones we tried.
‘07 Kerner - Oliver Twist Winery, Oliver
‘06 Pinot Noir and ‘05 Late Harvest Kerner - Stoneboat Vineyards, Oliver
The Pinot is dark and flavourful, and the Kerner is an ambrosian desert wine, well worth the $20 for half a bottle. For general delectability of range, this winery was the find of the trip.
‘07 Pinot Blanc and ‘06 Meritage - Lake Breeze, Penticton
There was also an interesting Gewurtztraminer, so spicy it was almost hot, but we had to leave it behind.
‘07 Gewurtztraminer - Township 7 Vineyards, Penticton
‘06 Pinot Noir - Greata Ranch Vineyards
‘06 Cabernet Sauvignon - Mission Hill Family Estate
Mission Hill is B.C.’s foremost winery, perched on a hill with a bell tower that makes it look like an abbey. The von Mandl family’s coat of arms contains a pelican feeding its young with its own blood. I asked the keeper of the guest book if she knew what it meant. She said “Uh, something about altruism…” I set her straight.
‘06 Pinot Meunier - Recline Ridge Winery, Tappen
‘05 Kerner - Granite Creek Estate Winery, Tappen
This winery and the last are not actually in the Okanagan, but the Shuswap Lake region a bit further north, the distinguishing features of which seem to be extravagant mixes of exotic flavours and a tendency to sweetness. Neither winery is large or widely acclaimed, but both Recline’s reds and Granite’s whites are plenty tasty for me. Granite Creek’s store is in the basement of a log cabin that seems to be the family home, next to a vineyard that backs onto pine forest. A semi-surreal and utterly worthwhile trip down the spur line.
*For my American friends, the Okanagan is Canada’s southern California. Dried up hills covered in sage brush, just waiting for a little irrigation to bloom like Eden. Resort towns, unbearable summer heat, lots of wine and lots of orchards. The most obvious differences are snow in the winter and fewer Mexicans.