Privileged at Mission Hill
Areception with glasses of rose. Barrel samples of syrah. seated tasting in the cellar with winemaker Darryl Brooker.
Early and exclusive access to sought-after wines.
And a raft of other benefits await members of Mission Hill Winery’s Privilege Club.
At last weekend’s Spring Release Event at the West Kelowna winery, all these extras were on offer as members picked up the first of three 2018 allotments of six bottles of Reserve, Terroir Collection, Legacy Series and Oculus wines.
Of course, you can have your membership half case shipped to you for free. But, what fun would that be. You’d miss out on all the fanfare of the members-only pick-up event.
Membership is $200 per release of six wines at the Reserve tier, $350 at the Terroir tier and $500 at the Legacy Tier.
Five wines were released at the event.
The 2016 Reserve Chardonnay ($19.50) has just a kiss of oak, rather than a hammer, so the floral and tropical fruit aromas are prominent and the tastes of lemon meringue pie linger.
Wild strawberry aromas dominate as your nose nears a glass of 2017 Terroir Collection No. 19 rose ($27).
That strawberry, as well as raspberry, continues on the tongue.
The 2016 Terroir Collection No. 43 Pinot Noir ($45) benefits from being fermented in concrete tanks and aged in oak barrels for 14 months.
Cherry, blackcurrants cocoa and cedar are all there in the 2015 Terrior Collection No. 32 Cabernet Franc ($45).
And the 2014 Terroir Collection No. 23 Syrah ($45) introduces some sage, black pepper and black olive hints to its cherry profile.
The Chard is available to the public now.
The rose will be on sale at the winery for four days, only over Easter, before its May general release.
In April, the Cab Franc will go on sale a the winery in limited quantities.
The Terroir Collection Syrah and Pinot Noir are exclusive to Privilege members.
In addition to designated wines, Privilege members can also get special pricing on other and additional wines, complimentary winery tours and tastings for yourself and guests, access to pre-sale tickets for winery events, culinary classes and concerts, priority seating at the Terrace Restaurant and invites to events at sister winery CedarCreek in Kelowna.
Sandhill Fridays
Friday nights have taken on a life of their own at Sandhill Winery in Kelowna.
As the city’s only urban winery at 1125 Richter St., it’s handy to drop by the weekly 5 to 7 p.m. party after work to have a couple of drinks, eat, socialize and enjoy the live music.
“When I started here two years ago, we were getting about 30 people out on Fridays, now we regularly reach capacity of 210,” said Sandhill event co-ordinator Tricia Luff.
“It’s a great way to end the week and a perfect primer to continue onto dinner or a hockey game.”
At the bar, with a $6 ticket, you can grab a glass of 2015 Sandhill Cabernet Merlot, 2016 Wayne Gretzky Pinot Gris, 2016 Conviction The Industrialist Soverign Opal or 2016 Wayne Gretzky Cabernet Syrah.
With a $9 ticket, you’ll be handed a glass of 2016 Sandhill Small Lots Viognier or 2012 Sandhill Small Lots Merlot.
The variety of sips is possible because Sandhill is part of the Andrew Peller empire, which has various wineries, including Sandhill, Wayne Gretzky, Conviction (formerly Calona), Peller Estates, Red Rooster, Gray Monk, Tinhorn Creek and Black Hills.
Sandhill, Wayne Gretzky, Peller and Conviction are all made at the Richter Street facility.
On the Friday my wife and I dropped by, Relvas Catering was serving up chorizo tacos, meat balls and mini-pitas for $5, BNA Brewing was selling $5 beers, Kettle River Brewing’s suds were $9 and B.C. Tree Fruits Cider was $6.
Tucker at Fitz
Chef Jeremy Tucker, most recently from the kitchen at CedarCreek Winery in Kelowna, is the new culinary boss at Fitzpatrick Family Vineyards in Peachland.
Tucker will start preparations soon for the re-opening of Fitz Bistro on May 18.
The restaurant will serve lunch seven days a week and brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.
Starting June 29, the bistro will also feature a 10-week, threecourse dinner series called Fitz Fridays.
Tucker’s food will all be locally sourced and seasonally inspired.
The Fitzpatrick family used to own CedarCreek, so they’ve worked with Tucker before.
The Fitzpatricks sold CedarCreek to the parent company of Mission Hill Winery in Kelowna Kelowna in 2014, but kept the Greta Ranch property in Peachland to transform into Fitzpatrick Family Vineyards.
Fitz’s focus is traditional-method sparkling wine, but it also makes a fine selection of estate-grown still wines.
Casavant at Raudz
Chef Bernard Casavant is also on the move.
Casavant, who had been culinary manager of the wine, food and tourism program at Okanagan College for four years, has joined Raudz Creative Concepts as director of operations.
Raudz is the group that owns and operates Raudz Regional Table and Micro Bar+Bites, both in downtown Kelowna, and Terrafina restaurant at Hester Creek Winery in Oliver.
Raudz will also soon open Sunnys: A Modern Diner in downtown Kelowna.
Raudz is owned by chef Rod Butters, the author of cookbook The Okanagan Table, and Audrey Surrao.
“I have worked with Bernard over the past 30 years in hotels, restaurants and on philanthropic projects,” said Surrao.
“His depth of experience and culinary expertise is something I have come to trust and rely on for my entire career. It is a true pleasure to have him join our team to take our company to the the highest level.”
Prior to the college, Casavant was chef at the Wild Apple Grill (now Smack Dab) at Manteo Resort in Kelowna and the Sonora Room at Burrowing Owl Winery in Oliver.