Greetings from Penticton
Greetings from
It’s summertime so I’m just back from my yearly trip to the Okanagan wine country and my stay at the Valley Star in Penticton. I love this place because it is a great getaway from the city. The weather is just right and I was sipping on local wines and hitting some balls on just a few of the many golf courses in the area. As a food and wine lover, I was in BC heaven! Here are a few of the places that I have visited this trip:
Burrowing Owl is one of the better known wineries in the area. I picked up several bottles of 2009 Pinot Gris, 2007 Merlot, 2008 Pinot Noir and 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon. Their restaurant, The Sonora Room, served up some really tasty Steelhead Escabeche (Lois Lake Steelhead, B.C. Spot Prawns, Stone fruit-Tarragon Vinegar, Organic Cucumber.) and Heirloom Tomato-Basil Pasta (Shaved Grana Padano, Preserved Lemon, Heirloom Tomatoes, Roasted Garlic, Harker’s Farms Organic Basil, Baguette). The meal was outstanding and the scenery is amazing.
Black
Hills Winery is famous for selling out right after releasing their wines
and usually sell only by the case. No one is quite sure how, but they have
‘found’ some extra cases and now have broken cases which means you can now buy
bottles instead of buying the whole case. They don’t let you taste the wine but
anybody who knows wine knows
The best Greek food in Penticton is Theo’s. We had the seafood platter which can easily feed 4 and a couple of bottles of Laughing Stock Portfolio. YUM!
If you are staying in Penticton, don’t bother driving to Tickleberry’s in Okanagan Falls. The ice cream at Gilligan’s at the North end of Skaha is just as good and it doesn’t take a 20 minute drive to get it. Gilligan’s always have a crowd of happy customers chilling in front of the store and a wide selection of flavours. My favourite was the orange creamsicle.
Despite the beautiful tasting room at Hillside, the wine themselves were a disappointment. I would still recommend doing a lunch there though because the winery is built on a hill (hill side… get it…) and the patio overlooks the valley.
I absolutely love Black Widow Winery. It’s been in operations for ten years but has had its commercial license for only four years. Dick Lancaster, owner and winemaker, won a ton of awards as an amateur winemaker. I was fortunate to discover him and have bottles of his first vintage. Since going commercial, Black Widow has continued to produce award winning wine – not bad for the new kid on the Bench. This year, I bought several bottles of their fantastic white blend, Oasis, and the Cabernet Sauvignon blend, Hourglass.
Therapy Vineyards has some aptly named wines. I purchased bottles of Super Ego (their flagship big red), Freudian Sip (a delightful white blend) and also decided to give their Merlot a try. I had such a blast there I picked up one of their golf shirts – their tasting room was a great experience and the marketing team has a great theme going. I know I’ll be laying down the reds from Therapy for the next few years at least since they are so complex and need their space.
Notable Mentions
Laughing Stock: Outstanding wine and when the owner walks in from a day in the field and pours himself a glass from the tasting bottle right in front of you, you know he loves his wine and his job.
Young & Wyse: This brand new winery has an interesting story: the self pro-claimed “blacksheep” & 10 year winemaker of the Burrowing Owl Family Winery has opened his own winery in Osoyoos. The winery is an old orchard about a block from the border and both Steve (Wyse) and Michelle (Young) were there doing the tastings. The best bang for your buck at $18 for their “huge” Merlot. Michelle was a hoot and we will definitely be adding this as a regular annual stop to keep tabs on this new upstart.
Aside from the wine, we did find a beautiful B&B place. It had a very cool walk through a desert garden and a little artist gallery with stone sculptures, painting, pottery and 3D photography. The owners/artists, Johannes and Petronella, were lovely and their garden was stunning. Check out Bed & Breakfast if you’re ever up on the Bench.
I need to do a whole post about my Mission Hill Experience. It was intensely memorable.
Cheers,
Glen