Wine Tasting Canadian Style
We have arrived in the Okanagan Valley with many reports on the great wineries in this region of Canada. Before we left we had heard that Canadian wine wasn’t the best. So therefore we have been surprised by their quality.
The most famous style of Canadian wine is ice wine. This occurs when grapes are left on the vine and they freeze. Hardy souls pick the grapes in the middle of the night. They must be hardy because for the grapes to freeze the temperature has to be -5 to -1 degrees Celsius. The wine is very sweet and syrupy, and perfect as a dessert wine. We got to try is in the Banff Grapes Wine Bar and Mission Hill Winery in Kelowna. It goes well with lemon deserts and blue cheeses.
The Wine Bar at Banff is called Grapes and was the old writing room. It is a small room with timber lined walls and cosy tables. The knowledgeable waiter was Australian. There seems to be many working at Banff Springs Hotel.
Banff is in Alberta, but British Columbia is the place for wine. The Okanagan Valley is lined with many small wineries, some with cellar doors and restaurants. Lake Okanagan is 135 kilometres long and 5 kilometres wide. It is 250 metres deep but apparently is home to the Ogopogo, a serpent like creature. Reward money has been offered for proof of existence but the shire hasn’t had to cough up the money as yet.
Today’s wineries were Mission Hill and Quails Gate. We were going to attempt more but our tasting time dragged out as we chatted to the staff. At Mission Hill, the guy with the long white hair and long beard name tag said Santa. Strangely enough he was actually a professional Santa. We even have his business card. He is a keen photographer, so he and Mike had lots to chat about. And he knew his wine. We struggled out of there with a box of two of Mission Hill wine.
Lunch was at Quails Gate, famous for their chardonnay. The food was fantastic especially the Carpaccio with truffle oil. With bottles loaded in the car we head back to the Lake Okanagan Resort.