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
Stay, Dine, Do
