At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them, lest we forget.

That is why you can kneel in a beautifully decorated gothic Basilica untouched by the iconoclasm of the last forty years, in misery over the sickly-sweet vapidity of “Peace is Flowing Like a River.” And it’s why you can be brought to tears by a small congregation confidently singing the Kyrie in a cramped, misshapen church. You have entered the cave in Bethlehem, where the faithful have found the Lord in unworthy surroundings and come to do Him homage. The first scene recalls instead the Temple in Jerusalem after the veil was rent, when the great edifice still stood to the glory of the Lord, but the Lord had left. It is among Christ’s greatest mercies that he will never leave the tabernacle to escape bad music.

A little background: with one or two possible exceptions, all eighty or so donors had very western names. I would be mildly surprised to find anyone on the list not falling into the religious categories “Christian” and “N/A”. And yet this speaker found it necessary to mention as many sects as she could think of, from Islam to Buddhism with stops at Catholicism and something like new-age. It was manifestly not for the benefit of the donors or their families, or even herself. So what was the point? I’ve come up with a couple of hypotheses:

1. She’s used to talking to more mixed audiences. This theory’s boring, so on to the next one.

2. She feels that a service for the dead has to involve prayer. She also feels that in an academic gathering, there is no room for any mention of God. So the best choice is to have prayer, but make it so pluralist that no one suspects you of taking it seriously. Some will think you’re being profound, some will roll their eyes, but anything’s better than making claims of truth you might have to defend later.

This hypothesis feels a bit superficial too, but I can’t come up with a better one. Takers?

‘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.