winery Archives - Page 3 of 3

In Osoyoos

Adega on 45th Estate Winery in Osoyoos

November 25, 2015

Adega on 45th Estate Winery is right off Anarchist Mountain in Osoyoos, BC. This was our second winery stop in the area. If you’re going to Nk’Mip Cellars, this winery is on the way.

We noticed a few bike tours zooming by and it was a fantastic day to roam around Osoyoos on a bike. No clouds in the sky! I was kinda jealous but I knew my car would protect me against bugs.

The families were originally tree fruit growers in the south Okanagan valley. Now, the folks at Adega on 45th began growing premium grapes in 2009. They are known for their old world charm that meets new world technology in wine production.

Roaming around the vineyard is quite nice. I thought it was cool looking at the grapes and wondering how this becomes wine.

They offer free tastings on all their wine. Its a large open space inside the tasting room. What I liked is that the family members of the estate administer the tastings to all their guests.

I went with the white wines and liked the 2013 Felicidade for its clean, crispy and sweet taste.

M tried the reds and thats more of what he tends to enjoy.

Their patio overlooks downtown Osoyoos on this awesome Fall day. Overall, it was a good visit and definitely make a trip here when you’re in the area.

Address:
7311 45 St, Osoyoos, BC

Website: http://adegaon45.com/

In Lake Country

Gray Monk Winery: Vineyard + Tasting in Lake Country

October 5, 2015

Gray Monk Winery was established in 1972 by George and Trudy Heiss. Today, they have over fifty acres of lush vineyards overlooking Lake Okanagan, which produce some of the world’s finest wines. They have several award-winning VQA wine.

Look at all these awards. So many awards.

They offer Complimentary Winery Tours daily on the hour from 11am to 4pm. It lasts for 45 minutes.

Why wouldn’t you go and explore the breathtaking view. M and I got here at 11:15am and missed the tour.

We headed right to the Wine Shop for the complimentary tastings.

They have all their wines available in the shop:

Odyssey Series

Odyssey Cabernet Sauvignon
Odyssey Red Meritage
Odyssey Merlot
Odyssey Pinot Noir
Odyssey Rose Brut
Odyssey White Brut
Odyssey White Meritage
Odyssey III Port

Estate Series

Cabernet Merlot
Chardonnay Unwooded
Ehrenfelser
Gewurztraminer
Kerner
Merlot
Pinot Auxerrois
Pinot Blanc
Pinot Gris
Pinot Noir
Riesling
Rotberger
Siegerrebe

Latitude 50 Series

Latitude 50 Red
Latitude 50 Rosé
Latitude 50 White

For the complimentary tasting, you can choose from 4 wines from their Latitude and Estate Series. A majority of these wines are white. I didn’t mind since I love white wines. I liked the Gewurztraminer and Riesling.

You can also try their Odyssey Tasting, but it costs 3 wines for $5.00 or $2 per sample. It’s good if you are planning to buy some wine from their Odyssey series but want to try it before you purchase.

The prices are pretty good and very affordable. I would highly recommend Gray Monk for a great tasting wine that won’t break the bank.

They also have their Grapevine Restaurant and Patio. When you’re done your tasting you can enjoy lunch or dinner at their fine dining restaurant.

They are known for the creative and fresh dishes and pairs well with all of Gray Monk’s wines.

Plus, the view from the patio is incredible. Its on a beautiful slope overlooking Lake Okanagan and their vineyard.

So beautiful! We were quite lucky with the weather when we arrived since it was all blue skies.

Overall, one of the most beautiful wineries near Kelowna. It’s worth it!

Address:
1055 Camp Rd, Lake Country, BC

Website:
http://www.graymonk.com/

In Kelowna

Mission Hill Winery: Vineyard + Tasting in Kelowna

October 1, 2015

Mission Hill Family Estate welcomes guests around the world to experience winery tours and wine tastings. My second stop in Kelowna was to Mission Hill to take a look at their breathtaking architecture as well as taste some wine.

We drove up a long hill and through some large gates to get into the winery. It definitely has a high-class feel when you walk around the property.

It gave me a sense of a University town when I walked in.

The winery has a vast art collection, including one-of-a-kind sculptures.

To see more of the winery, they do offer tours as most areas are only accessible through tours. I didn’t have a lot of time, so I skipped the tour and went straight to the tasting. They do have different types of tours and you should try to reserve ahead of time.

Terrace Restaurant overlooks the rows of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the vineyard. It is an award-winning restaurant and has been named the top five winery restaurant in the world by Travel + Leisure magazine. Also, 2015 Diners Choice winner from OpenTable.

If you have time and want to indulge, it’s a pretty good choice to have dinner or lunch here.

Instead of dining here, you can bring some snacks with you. You can sit at their tables and just enjoy the surrounding scenery.

To find the tasting room, head past the statue in the fountain. The statue kind looks sad but I love the reflection.

At the Tasting Bar, they offer one complimentary white and one complimentary red wine.

You can also do 4 additional tastings for $8 to try their other wines. I gave the additional tastings a try and split it with M since he only wanted 2 more and I wanted 2 more too. The ice wine stood out as it wasn’t too too sweet.

They even have the World’s Best Pinot Noir.

Overall, it was nice to stop at Mission Hill to get a sense of their wines. Next time when I’m out dining at a restaurant, I’ll remember which wines from Mission Hill are my favourite.

Address:
1730 Mission Hill Rd,
West Kelowna, BC

Website:
http://www.missionhillwinery.com/

In Kelowna

Quails’ Gate Winery: Vineyard + Tasting in Kelowna

September 30, 2015

Quails’ Gate in West Kelowna was our first stop on our BC road trip across the Okanagan. It was highly recommended by friends as they have beautiful views, complimentary tastings and their Old Vines Restaurant.

It is located minutes away from Mission Hill Winery, so make sure you add this to your stops if you are ever in Kelowna.

Once you park in the lot, their Wine Shop is the main centrepiece of the public vineyard. It was built in 2007 and looks modern and beautiful. They have a patio on the second floor, so you can see the stunning views of the Okanagan Lake and their vineyards.

How can you not love this beautiful view? So awesome.

Inside the Wine shop, there are tons of things to buy, but most people gravitate to the tasting bar at the back by the windows.

Complimentary tastings are available everyday. They have one white and one red. When I was here, they offered:

2014 Chasselas – Pinot Blanc – Pinot Gris
2012 Old Vines Foch

2014 Chasselas – Pinot Blanc – Pinot Gris is their most popular white wine. I quite enjoyed it, its fresh and fruity. Great for the summer.

2012 Old Vines Foch has black ripe cherry, milk chocolate with notes of toasty vanilla. I’m not a red wine drinker, but M did enjoy it.

If you want to keep on trying more wines, they have Tasting flights, 3 choices for $5. But, it’s waived if you buy 2 or more bottles of wine.

You can choose from:

2014 Dry Riesling
2014 Chenin Blanc
2014 Gewurztraminer
2014 The Bench Pinot Gris
2013 Quails’ Gate Chardonnay
2013 Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay
2014 Rose
2013 Quails’ Gate Pinot Noir
2013 Stewart Family Reserve Pinot Noir
2013 Quails’ Gate Merlot
2013 Stewart Family Reserve Old Vines Foch

All the wines they have for the tastings are available to purchase. I bought 2 bottles and got the tasting fee waived.

They also do private winery tours for at least 10 people. Since it was just M and I. We just wandered around their vineyard and looked around.

Grapes! It was cool to see them on their vines.

There is also have a picnic area if you brought your own lunch. The view is great too.

Overall, it was a great stop along the Winery Trail in Kelowna. There’s lots of vineyards to see, so make sure you pace yourself and not get too drunk.

Address:
3303 Boucherie Rd,
Central Okanagan, BC

Website:
http://quailsgate.com/

In Kelowna

Old Vines Restaurant: Dining at Quails’ Gate Winery

September 29, 2015

Quails’ Gate Winery is located in West Kelowna and is a beautiful vineyard right by Okanagan Lake. Their wine ship is the centrepiece at the estate, which houses their tasting bar and gift shop. Complimentary tastings are available daily, year round. They also do additional flight tastings and tours.

Old Vines Restaurant is just located on the left side of the Wine Shop. Their menu highlights the abundant resources of the Okanagan Valley.

M and I were quite hungry driving from Vancouver, so we made this our first meal on our Kelowna adventure.

We came at the end of September, so sitting outside was a tad chilly around noon. This didn’t stop other groups from soaking in the sun and the beautiful view.

Sitting inside is equally as beautiful. Just ask for a seat by the window.

Their wines are available on their menu. If you aren’t too familiar with them, maybe you should do the wine tasting in their wine shop prior before dining here.

2014 Dry Riesling (5oz -$8) has a crispy and zesty taste. You can notice the subtle notes of honeysuckle, lime cordial, and orchard fruits. I mainly got this since it pairs well with the crab cakes appetizer.

Sparkling Lemonade is non-alcoholic and made by Boylan Soda. M said it was good.

Dungeness Crab Cakes ($19) has shaved fennel & apple slaw and a buttermilk “rémoulade” dressing.

This crab cake is packed with crab and no filler. Very good! It is quite pricey for an appetizer, but when on vacation, you gotta indulge.

Farm Crest Chicken ($24) is served with pattypan squash, creamy polenta, and chicken jus. They suggest pairing it with the 2013 Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay. The chicken was juicy and had a nice char on the outside.

Cache Creek Natural Dry Aged Beef Burger ($24) has a Tiger Blue dressing, Spanish onion, Brassica aioli, and bacon. It is served with fries. They suggest a pairing with their 2013 Merlot. The burger patty was cooked to a medium rare. Good tasting burger, but it was pricey for a burger.

Overall, the food was good, but pricey. It is expected since it is a restaurant on a vineyard. We wanted to dine here as a treat to ourselves. The view from the restaurant is beautiful.

We rate Old Vines Restaurant:

Address:
3303 Boucherie Rd,
Central Okanagan, BC

Website:
http://quailsgate.com/restaurant/

In Richmond

LuLu Island Winery: Tour and Tasting in Richmond

March 22, 2015

I never knew there was a Winery in Richmond until now. LuLu Island Winery is an award-winning producer of wine. They also are Canada’s largest exporter of Icewine to China.

During the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, LuLu Island Winery was selected as China’s hospitality centre – China House, a place where athletes, coaches, team officials and the Chinese media can take a break from the high-pressure competition, welcome guests and celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year.

During our Tourism Richmond Media Trip, we had a stop here to have a tour and taste of what LuLu Island Winery has to offer. The space is huge and they have various tasting rooms.

Throughout the year, it is a regular tourist destination for those traveling via tour buses.

During the Tasting Tour, you get to sample a variety of their red wines, white wines and icewine. Since our group had a limited time here, we just went straight to the tasting. Usually, a tour and tasting would be 90 minutes long.

A tasting isn’t necessarily only for wine lovers, it’s a way to figure out what types of wines work for you.

For myself, I don’t enjoy red wine as it is not as sweet as white wine. I love white wine like a Pinot Gris or Riesling.

The tasting was quite educational and I did learn a thing or 2 about icewine.

In Canada, icewine is trademarked as one word. If you see ice wine or iced wine, they are fakes.
Icewine from Canada has a VQA stamp to ensure consumers they are purchasing 100% BC wine.

There’s increasingly more and more fake icewines being sold in China, so you really need to do your homework before purchasing a bottle because icewine’s are not cheap.

Icewine for me is just way too sweet. I’ll buy it as gifts for family members in other countries but it’s not for me.

If you think all wines are made of grapes, that’s a lie. LuLu Island Winery makes some amazing fruit wines like Blueberry wine, Raspberry wine, and Passionfruit wine.

A local favourite is the Blueberry wine. BC produces tons and tons of blueberries and it makes the perfect wine. It has a delicate, clean, light blueberry flavour. Slightly sweet. It makes for a great gift or you can consume it all yourself.

I did enjoy the winery tasting and I would highly recommend it.

Address:
16880 Westminster Hwy
Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.luluislandwinery.com/