Mission Hill Family Estate

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Mission Hill Family Estate

Hit the Road

Sometimes you need to get away from it all. These nearby destinations are the perfect escape from the city

By Kristina Urquhart

It's anchors aweigh on the Sunshine Coast, where a boat tours Sechelt Inlet. Photo by Tom Ryan courtesy Tourism British Columbia

Whistler

Car 2 hours
Train 3.5 hours via Rocky Mountaineer

The scenic Sea to Sky Highway winds from Vancouver to Whistler, a top-rated ski resort with plenty to do in the summer. Settle onto a sun-soaked patio to people-watch in the pedestrian-only village, relax with a massage at a world-class spa, tee up for golf on emerald fairways or navigate the vertiginous cliffs on a mountain bike. Don’t miss a ride on the 4.4-km- (2.7-mi-) long Peak 2 Peak Gondola; you’ll need to pick your jaw up off the glass-bottomed floor as the seemingly endless valley between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains stretches beyond. Halfway between Vancouver and Whistler lies Squamish—the recreation capital of Canada—so suit up for whitewater rafting, wind surfing, diving and rock climbing. A hike up the Stawamus Chief, the world’s second-largest granite monolith, yields panoramic views of Howe Sound. (more…)

Hot Dining: Pioneering Wineries

Photo copyright Igor Klimov/Fotolia.com

BC’s principal wine region, the Okanagan Valley recently celebrated 20 years since the introduction of the province’s DOC-styled VQA wine laws helped revolutionise the industry. Most of those founding wineries are still around. And these widely available labels and varieties still exemplify the best of BC in the glass. (Many smaller, long-running producers choose not to enter the VQA program, but their 100 percent BC-grown wines—harder to find—are still worth hunting down.)

Gray Monk Gewürztraminer
Calona Vineyards Artist Series Sovereign Opal
Cedar Creek Merlot
Summerhill Pyramid Winery Cipes Brut
Gehringer Brothers Dry Riesling
Hainle Vineyards Icewine
Mission Hill SLC Syrah
Quails Gate Pinot Noir
Sumac Ridge Black Sage Merlot
Wild Goose Gewürztraminer
—Tim Pawsey

Hot Dining: BC Uncorked

View of Okanagan Lake and vineyards near Naramata. Photo by Don Weixl courtesy Tourism BC

Fruit-forward, food-friendly BC wines continue to surprise and delight, winning medals in prestigious competitions from San Francisco to London and beyond. Most grapes are grown in the picturesque Okanagan Valley (a five-hour drive east of Vancouver), with varieties ranging from cool-climate Germanics, Burgundians such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and Rhone and Bordeaux styles from the semi-arid, desert south. Names to watch for include majors such as Jackson-Triggs, Inniskillin Okanagan, Mission Hill Family Estate, Sumac Ridge Estate Winery and Sandhill, as well as producers such as Blue Mountain Vineyard Cellars, Black Hills Estate Winery and Laughing Stock Vineyards, along with any number of smaller, family wineries. Winners of the 2009 Lieutenant Governor’s Awards for Excellence in British Columbia Wines, a keenly contested competition, were Bounty Cellars 2007 Pinot Blanc; Cedar Creek Estate 2006 Platinum Reserve Merlot; Church & State 2006 Syrah; Howling Bluff 2006 Pinot Noir; Joie 2007 Reserve Chardonnay and Joie 2008 Riesling; Peller Estates 2007 Private Reserve Pinot Noir; Road 13 2006 Fifth Element Meritage; Sandhill 2007 Small Lots Syrah; See Ya Later Ranch 2008 Gewurztraminer; Stoneboat 2007 Pinotage; Wild Goose 2008 Pinot Gris. At local liquor stores.—Tim Pawsey