Under the Radar Wine Regions of British Columbia, Canada

It’s more than Ice wine. Canada is emerging as world-class wine region and British Columbia is leading the way.

The first thing that may come to mind when you think wine and Canada may be Ice Wine. But all types of wines are made in Canada, and British Columbia is emerging as one of the most dynamic regions in terms of its natural beauty and quality wine. Here are some tips for exploring a few of the best under the radar wine regions in British Columbia.

Okanagan Valley—
Okanagan’s star is on the rise and it’s developing as a premier destination for wine lovers looking for something new and exceptional in a dynamic lake and mountain setting. Just a short flight from Vancouver, the Okanagan Valley is the largest growing region in British Columbia with more than 121 wineries in 11 sub-regions. The multiple micro-climates favor many grapes with Merlot, and Pinot Gris being the most widely planted. A host of outdoor activities including hiking, kayaking and biking around Lake Okanagan make the area a haven for the active oenophile.

Where to taste: 
Tinhorn Creek (Oliver) If you are a Cab Franc fanatic you’re in for a treat at Tinhorn Creek. Grab a glass and take in the valley views as you savor one of the many fine selections in the tasting room including the Oldfield Series Two Bench Red and Syrah.

Upper Bench (Naramata) From Merlot to Zweigelt, Upper Bench is creating wines with finesse that just happen to pair perfectly with cheeses from their on-site micro creamery.

Blue Mountain Winery (Okanagan Falls) Blue Mountain may have the distinction of being the most picturesque vineyard in the area, but the first rate Sparkling wine, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the main attractions.

Bottleneck Drive Wine Trail -- This trail showcases 13 wineries clustered on back roads above Lake Okanagan. You’ll be rewarded with stunning views of both the lake and vineyards alike as you make your way from Greata Ranch Vineyards in Peachland down Okanagan Highway to Summerland, where you’ll find wineries such as Saxton Winery, Sonoran Estate Winery, Dirty Laundry Vineyards and Okanagan Crush Pad. All of the vineyards welcome visitors, though some have limited hours during the off-season.

Where to dine:
Vanilla Pod at Poplar Grove Winery—Located on a ridge above Penticton, Vanilla Pod has a changing menu that highlights the bounty from neighboring farms and ranches. Try the lamb chops with potato gnocchi, or when in season, the Sockeye Salmon with arancini, roasted beets, swiss chard, Okanagan berry & chili pepper coulis; along with a glass of Poplar Grove Pinot Gris.

Miradoro at Tinhorn Creek (Oliver) Combine stellar panoramic views across the South Okanagan Valley with Mediterranean fare inspired by local ingredients and you have the secret to Miradoro’s success. Stop in for a casual lunch with a glass of wine and one of the Neapolitan style pizzas. Or indulge in a sumptuous dinner selections like the wild boar bacon carbonara with slow poached egg and parmesan, or choose from the chef’s grand tasting menu and selected wine pairings.


Similkameen Valley—
If it weren’t for the vineyards you might mistake Similkameen Valley for a National Park with the soaring Cathedral Mountains as a backdrop and lush valley dotted with farms and fruit orchards. The Similkameen, located a few hours drive from Vancouver, has an ideal climate for growing grape varieties such as Merlot, Gamay Noir and Chardonnay.

Where to taste:
Orofino (Cawston) Orofino specializes in single vineyard wines and their luscious Rieslings are worth the trip. The tasting room is solar powered and the only strawbale constructed winery in Canada.

Eau Vivre  (Cawston) Small lots that yield big flavor are the focus at Eau Vivre. Try the award winning Pinots and don’t miss the Cinq Blanc; a five grape blend of Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat, Chardonnay, and Riesling available only at the tasting room.

Clos du Soliel (Kremeos) Featuring Bordeaux style wines, Clos du Soleil Winemaker's Reserve a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc is a shining example of what the rocky soils, and long sunny days in the Similkameen Valley can yield.

Where to dine:
Rustic and down home dining options include local favorite Benja Thai (Keremeos), and
The Hitching Post Restaurant (Hedley) the original home of the Hedley Mining and Supply store dating back to 1905. Today the rugged exterior belies the comfortable interior where you can enjoy a bottle of Similkameen wine with simple but hearty fare of steaks, burgers, and salads.

Fraser Valley—
The proximity of Fraser Valley to downtown Richmond and Vancouver allows for an easy urban wine escape. Many wineries in the area specialize in fruit wines and visitors will be impressed with the range of flavors and styles produced from locally grown fruit. Also of note here are the Germanic whites such as crisp Riesling’s and Gewürztraminers.

Where to taste:
Lulu Island Winery (Richmond) --Lulu Island’s large tasting room offers wine lovers a chance to sample many traditional grape varietals including Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc—but the real draw here are the award winning ice wines and line of fruit wines including Passion Fruit, Cranberry, and Blueberry.

Where to dine:
The Blue Canoe in Stevenson Village (Richmond) – Blue Canoe hits the mark with a great wine list and inventive dishes composed of fresh from the sea ingredients served up in a uber relaxed dockside setting. Order the Sablefish with ginger-orange-miso glaze or when available, the seasonal spot prawns with mixed melon slaw relish.

Resources:
hellobc.com
winebc.com

tinhorn.com/

upperbench.ca/

bluemountainwinery.com/

www.thornhaven.com/

bottleneckdrive.com/

thevanillapod.ca

luluislandwinery.com/

www.bluecanoerestaurant.com/

orofinovineyards.com

eauvivrewinery.ca/

benjathairestaurant.com/

hitchingpostrestaurant.ca/

The story above first appeared here on Forbes Travel Guide 
Photos courtesy of BC Wine Institute

Aboard the Good Ship Yeatman

View of Oporto across the Douro

If you have been following along with my Portugal posts you may recall that on the second day of the Wine Pleasures pre-tour we stayed overnight at the newly opened Yeatman Hotel. The Yeatman is built into the hillside above the Douro on the Vila de Gia side of the river. The grand open spaces, nautical details and juxtaposition to the river give it the feeling of a luxury ocean liner with all the rooms oriented towards the river, each with a private terrace.

Grand staircase leading to Lobby

After the Wine Pleasures tour I returned to the Yeatman to visit the private wine cellar and view the rest of the property. I stayed on for few days and got to unwind after a jam packed schedule.

The Yeatman is designed not only to take full advantage of the glorious views of Porto across the river. But also to highlight the wine producers of the region. Rooms are named after different wineries and showcase their wine. For die-hard oenophiles one of the Barrel rooms may be to your liking. That's right, you get to sleep inside a barrel.

Sweet dreams of fermentation

A tour of the impressive cellars turned up a few surprises, like a bottle of Ridge Monte Bello from my home state of California. The plan is to allow guests to visit the cellar between 4-6pm and select a bottle for dinner, then based on their selection, the Yeatman chefs create a meal to pair with the wine. I love this idea. It would be worth a trip back just to experience this concept alone. But with all those wines to choose from I'd need to stay a month or more! Below is a brief slide show of what the cellars hold.

One special highlight of my was the lunch I had in the dining room. I dined alone with only the view as my companion and the attentive staff. Dining solo in this type of setting allows you to focus entirely on the food and not feel compelled to make idle chit-chat. Not that I don't like to share, it's just a gift to have things to yourself sometimes. Although I did not partake of any of the Yeatman Spa offerings while I was there, my meal in the hands of chef Ricardo Costa was like a full spa treatment for the taste buds.

To start I had a glass of the 2009 Crasto and the first Amuse bouche set in Three Spoons--

Black Spoon: Scallops with apricot, green asparagus and beurre blanc.

Sliver Spoon: Smoked duck with foie gras, portuguese blood sausage and caviar

White Spoon: Sea urchin cream with caviar

Macaron of Serra del Estrela cheese

Foie gras truffle

Amuse bouche 2: Tuna terrine with foie gras and oyster yogurt and mushroom dust.

First Course: National Octopus with Crab cannelloni, sun dried tomato bread, molecular olives and green tomato consomme with olive oil.

Second: Megrim (a type of white fish) with vitelote potato flakes, vegetable gratin and fennel sauce.

Third: Algrave Almond cheesecake, spearmint sorbet, with hailed orange juice sorbet and vanilla with Taylors 2004 LBV Port.

Coffee and Mignardises ( Pasteis de Belem shown above)

The only thing that pulled me out of my reverie with the meal was the odd background soundtrack playing muzak versions of I Could Have Danced All Night from My Fair Lady, Frank Sinatra's The Lady is a Tramp, U2's I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, and most strange of all the Theme from MASH--Suicide Is Painless ...um what SiriusXM Channel is that?

The Yeatman is an experience with a capital E. It's luxurious, but not in an oppressive old-guard way--it's light and modern and accommodating in a most gracious way. It's worth a visit for the views alone. Stop in for a port cocktail in the laid-back bar overlooking the Douro and see if you don't feel like you are about to float away on the Good Ship Yeatman.

Obligatory Thanksgiving Wines Post

It appears to be all the rage to post about what wines to serve on Thanksgiving. So here's mine.

{NOTE: If you came to this post looking for Thanksgiving Wines to Pair with Annoying Relatives you’ll find it here.}

Everyone has been asking--What are you going to open for Thanksgiving? Well normally if all the family is gathering at my house the first thing I want to open is a vein, but barring that I like to cope with Prosecco from the Valdobbiadene region of Italy followed swiftly by a few pre-dinner Negronis. I select a variety of whites and reds to pair with dinner.

Whites: Viognier, preferably Bonny Doon, which I adore. I usually always have a Riesling on hand and lately I've been loving the Kim Crawford unoaked Chardonnay from New Zealand. I also like Costomolino Vermentino from Sardegna.

Reds: Mostly I go with all Italian wines since my family is Italian so I typically have Dolcetto and Nebbiolo but since most everyone is dead now, I think I will break with family tradition and I'm leaning towards the Mourvedre from Quivira and possibly the Shane Valenti Ranch Syrah.

Extra Wine in Food: It has become a tradition to make my Mother's famous "Tipsy Cranberry Mold" which is basically Jello with fruit and wine used in lieu of water. It sets up kinda weird and it's not all that good, but as kids we loved it for the way it made us feel all warm and numb, and that's important if you want to create a harmonious mood around the dinner table. Just for nostaliga sake, I've included the recipe written out in her own hand below.

Recipe calls for 6 Cups Red Wine!

Post Meal: It's Grappa shots all around. My favorite Grappa is Grappa Di Sarno from a boutique distillery in Umbria.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Related posts:  Thanksgiving Wines to Pair with Annoying Relatives

Pairing Nuts with Wine

Why I’m compelled to share this story all over again I don’t know, but it still makes me laugh every time I think about it and since it is concert and picnic season at many wineries, I thought it might be fitting.

Several years ago I went see Diana Krall at an outdoor concert series at a winery that shall remain nameless. Anyway, before the show, along with several wines, there was a huge dinner buffet with lots of fancy food set up under white canopies. A guy in line in front of me was going crazy piling stuff on his plate as if he'd just been released from prison or something.  At one food station there were all kinds of salads and a huge bowl of candied caramelized pecans, almonds, and walnuts that were piping hot. And the guy says "Oh man, I love hot nuts!" and mounds them on his plate. And I'm thinking—this guy really needs to pace himself—there was lots of food yet to come.

At the end of the buffet line there were chicken breasts and prime rib and ratatouille and garlic mashed potatoes. The woman behind the chafing dish of mashed potatoes says to the guy--"Could you push your nuts aside for me or you want me to put the mashed potatoes right on them?" So this of course this sets me into giggles. And the guy says "Oh just put the mashed potatoes right on my nuts, it'll keep 'em hot."  At that point I lost it completely and doubled over laughing, and in the process I dropped my ratatouille on his flip-flops, which made me laugh even harder and I fell to the ground gasping for breath with tears streaming down my face and that prompted the mashed potato lady to call security because she thought I was having a seizure.

When the EMT and security folks arrived all I could do was bleat out the words "nuts" "hot nuts" between gasps for breath, and that made the medic think I was having a nut related allergic reaction and he pulled out a needle to give me a shot of god knows what. The sight of the needle sobered me up quick and I finally pulled it together long enough to explain that I was just laughing because the guy said "keep my nuts hot" and they all looked at me with expressions of such utter disgust that I felt like a pathetic creature acting out some absurd Beavis and Butthead moment. Then after much deliberation they decided I was not a threat to myself, or others, and they let me go.

The moral of it all: Nuts and wine do NOT pair well together.