Al fresco on the Terrace
The menu and experience on Mission Hill Family Estate’s outdoor Terrace restaurant has been simplified, but enhanced, this season. “Every year, the menu gets more and more local,” said chef Patrick Gayler.
“That’s why your pairing of pan-seared scallops from B.C. and the flagship white Perpetua Chardonnay is ideal.” Indeed it was. The Ocean Wise scallops were browned on the outside, tender on the inside and served with rye berries Gayler toasted along with asparagus and roasted carrots from the West Kelowna winery’s own gardens.
The pear-lime-and-mineral-driven 2015 Perpetua is the result of less oak aging and more fermentation and aging in stainless steel tanks and concrete vessels. The Terrace has perfected al fresco dining. The long arched space has a roof to provide shade, but no walls, so the winery, vineyard, Okanagan Lake and mountain views are unobstructed.
Travel+Leisure magazine took notice and ranked the Terrace one of the top five winery restaurants in the world.
Gayler designed the menu with Mission Hill’s wines in mind, which is why the starter charcuterie was the ideal accompaniment to the 2017 Terroir Collection rose and the salad with feta and cherries called out for the 2017 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc.
The seasonal, wine country theme of the restaurant gives Gayler artistic licence, as long as the ingredients are fresh, local and artisan.
The farthest away an ingredient would come from is Saskatchewan for the durum wheat flour that’s hand-made into spaghetti, rigatoni and orecchiette.
The rest of the menu ranges from gourmet foie gras and chicken liver parfait and beef bavette to and approachable burger and fries, although they are called frites and they are triple cooked to perfection. Don’t forget dessert. There’s the high-end ice cream sandwich with chocolate macaron and house-made marshmallow and a chocolate tart with cherries preserved in Mission Hill’s flagship red wine Oculus.
The Terrace is open for lunch and dinner, seven days a week for the season.
Reservations recommended.
Vineyard sipping
Experience curator (yes, it’s a real job title) Natasha Sadowy approaches in the golf cart, a big smile on her face. “Hop in and let’s do something different,” she said. “I’ll take you right into the vineyard to taste.” So, we motor over to one of CheckMate Artisanal Winery’s home vineyards in Oliver called Dekleva.
This is where my wife, Kerry, and I are poured glasses of 2016 Bear’s Move Chardonnay ($60) from the bottle Sadowy brought.
It was from the very rows where we are standing and sipping that the grapes were harvested for Bear’s Move.
The fruit was crushed by foot (yes, a good old-fashioned stomp) and put into Clayver ceramic spheres that were placed in the vineyard so the wine could ferment among the vines from which it came.
During ferment, a curious bear tried unsuccessfully to get into the ceramic sphere.
The beast did leave his paw prints on the Clayver, thus giving the wine its Bear’s Move name.
Because the resulting wine wasn’t aged in oak barrels, like a traditional Chardonnay, it’s atypically tropical with aromas and flavours of lemon, banana and mango.
CheckMate is the premium winery that only makes Chardonnay and Merlot wines from the best grapes grown in the South Okanagan.
The six other Chardonnays all have chess-inspired names such as Capture, Queen Taken, Little Pawn, Knight’s Challenge, Fool’s Mate and Attack and range from $80 to $120.
And they are all traditionally aged in oak to impart aromas and flavours to the fruit ranging from butter and cream to brioche and caramel.
The four Merlots also all have chess-themed names: End Game, Silent Bishop, Opening Gambit and Black Rook, and are priced at $85 a bottle.
If you aren’t taken into the vineyard, you’ll sip in the elegant, glass-walled pop-up tasting room the winery is using until its permanent building is completed.
Thornhaven trio
It’s like the 15th anniversary party of 2016 continues on at Thornhaven Winery in Summerland.
It was two years ago Thornhaven released a new flagship red blend labelled simply 2014 XV, the Roman numerals for 15.
The latest vintage, the 2016 XV ($28), was recently released and keeps its status as Thornhaven’s best.
The combination of Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon produces a medium-bodied blackberry-cherry-vanilla-and-cloves wine that you’ll want to have at your next barbecue or dinner party.
The XV label is simple and Gothic, an update of the Medieval fonts Thornhaven has used on all its labels.
All other labels have had a refresh thanks to winemaker Jason Fraser’s graphic artist girlfriend Jessica Repetowski. The winery is very much a family affair. Fraser’s parents, Jack and Jan, own Thornhaven. Fraser’s sister Cortney is in charge of sales and marketing and her husband, Nick Riep, is the Okanagan sales representative and in charge of the wine club.
Their youngest daughter, is the namesake of the 2017 Brooklyn’s Blend ($16) an unoaked combo of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.
When the wine was labelled with its varietals, it didn’t sell that well because people were unsure of what the Chardonnay would do to the blend.
Now, with Brooklyn’s name, the wine has become popular and people are enjoying the unique balance of tropical fruit and fresh acidity.
The 2017 Pinot Gris ($16) is likely the winery’s most popular offering for its classic ripe apple, grapefruit and honeydew melon profile.
Summer wine fest
Tickets for the Mile High Wine & Music Festival at Silver Star Mountain Resort near Vernon go on sale Tuesday. The Aug. 11 party is the highest-elevation wine event in all of Canada.
Thirty Okanagan wineries will pour samples in the outdoor alpine setting with a backdrop of live music.
Tickets are $59 until June 12, $62 from June 13-20 and then $69 at TheWineFestivals.com.
Wine lovers are encouraged to stay the weekend and see what the ski hill offers in the summer from hotel accommodation, restaurants and wildflower tours to hiking, biking and gondola rides.
Ruby Blues 10th
Naramata Bench winery Ruby Blues has hit the double digits.
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the winery is throwing an outdoor party at its 917 Naramata Rd. property on Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m.
There will be barbecue, pizza and, of course, wine and live music by the Timbre Wolves.
One of wines served will undoubtedly be the special-edition 2017 Forever Young Chardonnay ($23) made specifically to mark the milestone birthday.
RSVP to RubyBluesWinery@shaw.ca.