We’re off for some Labor Day adventures Canadian style. Do they even celebrate Labor Day in Canada?
So, it’s me, the queen of mum, the Fiddler in the Valley, and John Cleese on our way to the Canadian border in the Okanogan Valley. The whole time I had imagined the Canadian wine country made of ice wines to be covered in snow and ice, I was completely surprised to find that it was nearly exactly the same as the rest of the mountain deserts of eastern Washington. The only difference, perhaps only to a trained eye, might be the density of evergreen trees and lava formations increasing as we headed north.
Lava Stacks and Evergreens
Believing Kelowna, BC was our final destination for wine we cross the border in about an hour and 45 minutes. Our wait was relatively minimal, but I’ll tell you there’s something about the border that makes people crazy! Once the border signs on the road begin, they begin swerving and tailgating, flashing brights and erratically driving. It’s like guilty until proven innocent! I will admit though, it appeared as if border patrol was taking out 1 of 3, so every reason to be slightly wary. Alas, our Mötley Crew snuck through clean and clear to descend upon the territory of the Queen!
International Border
Canadia, here we come!
Border Patrol
Well, bearing right as John Cleese advised we instead decided to beaver left. And there was our first destination, Cassini Cellars of Oliver! Just off of Hwy 97, the beautiful new winery with these very neat little barrels out side were a welcome relief after about two hours of driving. Cassini Cellars, one of the newest winery additions to the Okanagan, is owned by the Romanian Adrian Capeneata who was also in the tasting room to deliver our first taste of BC wine. Entering the tasting room was grand as it was wide open with vaulted ceilings, classy dark wood, and marble finishes. I appreciated this although mum assumes he will be filling it with traditional tasting room kitsch.
Cassini Cellars
Cassini
We tasted through the lengthy list of whites and reds, all of which were solid wines and reasonably priced. I personally, am not a fan of sweeter whites, but those who are would love the Mamma Mia. And the Maximus was the only Bordeaux style blend I saw with a touch of Malbec combined with Cab Sav base and Merlot. Smooth and round, but over-priced by about $5.
Not necessarily a function of Cassini’s culture my first impressions of the BC wine industry were clouded by micropours of less than an ounce and a lack of cordial hospitality, or even a half-cocked smile. But my hopes were up for the next winery.
Another 25 minutes lead us to Noble Ridge and a very nice view of the Okanagan Valley.
View from Noble Ridge
The Queen of Mum
Fiddler in the Valley
Leann pleasantly greeted us in a very well-lit tasting room with large windows looking south over the ridge. I’m always interested in what wineries have around their tasting rooms and I have never seen a wine glass so large. One could keep a dozen gold fish in it, should they so please!
Leonard's New Home
Cassini was sold out of their Reserve Pinot Noir, so Noble Ridge was the first Pinot of the valley I sipped and it sure was amazing! No matchstick quality that is so inherent in Willamette Valley Pinots, plenty of garnet hue and a supple mouth feel! So nice, I bought two.
Nobel Ridge
I thought we were on a role at this point with ample views of rows and rows of vines. I almost thought I was in CA there were so many vineyards. Way more dense than any single area of WA or maybe even OR.
Vines and Vines
Okanangan Views
Then we arrived, after quite jaunt off the beaten path, at Blue Mountain Winery. We found a husky sleeping just outside the door at Blue Mountain, but alas there was a “Don’t bother the dog.” sign so mum wasn’t allowed pet him. 
Then in tiny print we find the next sign on the tasting room door. “Open by appointment only.” Blimey! At least put a sign somewhere along the 5 mile drive to a dead end that explains this! There was a nice view of the southern facing, granite rock-lined gully and some ominous clouds…
Let sleeping dogs lie.
Closed to tourists!
So, winding and weaving a John Cleese back-road route down off the ridge toward the Skaha Lake we are back on track to Kelowna and decided the Blasted Church Winery would the next winery. On the way we saw this awesome eagle’s nest with two birds in it!
Canadian Lovebirds
Feathering his nest.
The parking lot of the Blasted Church was packed, the tasting room was packed, so where was the church?
This aint no church?
Oh the Blasted Church! This winery had the largest choice of wines. Lots of fantastic labels and a great sense of humor with ample plays on religious meaning. The Pinot Grigio was like sucking on the greenest of green apples, but I truly enjoyed the Gewürtztraminer. all in all, tasting was nice, bottle prices were nice, wine was nice, but nothing other than the cartoon labels stuck out. Except that it was the only free tasting of the day.
Our wine tasting had shaped up a bit and we’re in good spirits:
Good Spirits
Next stop: Mistral. Such a nice name for a winery, but at this point me mum was parched so I figured I’d help her get some water. Upon entering the small, fruit-stand sized tasting room and asking the guy behind the counter, who BTW had yet to acknowledge us over the french-speaking couple, to help us fill her water bottle; a frigid welcoming of all the industry professionals, thus far, met our plea.
No bother, perhaps he’d had a long day. Let’s try the wine… Boring, blah, blah. Who hired THIS guy? The only thing worth trying was the dessert wine, since it was our first of the day and BC is supposed to be known for its dessert wines. Oy, yeah good enough, rhubarb Gamay, Garrison Keillor’s fave. Jerk werks for six other wineries… blah blah blah, what a jerk. The hummingbird label is so pretty, though. “Do you have an industry discount?”
“Uh, no my boss doesn’t like Americans so he won’t let me give any discounts.” Yeah right, you’re just miserable Mr. Sales for seven wineries. Death of Salesman isn’t even worth your analogy. And the most micropourest of the day. Shuv yer discounts Mistral, we’re moving on; and it doesn’t take an MBA to know how invaluable my experience was to your biz.
Mm, we’ve got the rest of the day!
Township 7. Township 7 was fun, upon entering we were in THE barrel cellar. And David in the Hawaiian shirt held our attention, guiding us through the tasting menu picking his own faves. A very exciting tasting on the gamut. Did you know the Queen of England gets her Viognier from the Naramata Bench? I didn’t, but thanks to David! Um, un-oaked Chardonnay like canned asparagus, rosy on the nosie, a blended rosé of Merlot
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Hmm, the rosé controversy. Fun, good time.
Township 7 of Naramata Canadia
La Frenz was the next stop. I don’t want the day to end! Nicely laid out tasting room, great little view. Umm, wines, Pinot Noir, a Montage. The prices were on the higher end of the day. Another dessert wine, a muscat, tastes like rose petals. And a Shiraz. The first Shiraz of the day, although not the first Syrah. Did you know Shiraz is the Australian word for Syrah? Oh, Township 7 is owned by Aussies. Interesting, Canadian Australians, an interesting species. What’s the difference between Canadians and Australians? Canadians chose to move to their countries. Ahhahaha.
And the day gets sillier… Alas, I found a way to extend the day to one more winery. The Red Rooster and its motif! The suitcase motif! I like. Do Canadian roosters sound the same as American roosters? Do they cock-a-doodle doo?
Doodle Dout.
This was my favorite winery of the whole day! Another David took good care of us, but as opposd to a Hawaiian David, he was a a waxen mustachioed David as if he had come off a Dutch, South African safari with leathery tan skin and a pale blue, button down shirt.
Motif
Suitcase to the west.
And Frank
Frank the mad in the middle of the Motif. Crazy Red Rooster Winery with the suitcase motif had the most amazing Reserve Merlot. Little indication of the sweaty socks brett like the Meritage, but a supple Merlot like I have not experienced in over a month!
A whole new reason to strut.
A fantastic way to end a fantastic wine tasting day. We never made it to Kelowna, although it was our destination. I’m not sure what might have happened if we did.
Hope you enjoyed your virtual wine tour of the Okanagan,
WineGirl
WineGirl Wines
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