A little construction won’t deter wine sippers
Sixth annual wine tasting event takes place Sunday, even with construction happening along the wine trail
Construction on Boucherie Road isn’t expected to be a deterrent for the Sixth annual Sip into Summer event Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. on the Westside Wine Trail.
Construction on the second phase of the Wine Trail is underway, with the installation of water mains, storm main and catch-basin manholes, resulting in the closure of a section of Boucherie Road.
The detour along Stuart Road, Thacker Road and Ogden Road will directly affect access to Beaumont, Little Straw, Volcanic Hills and Mount Boucherie wineries.
“We’re not super concerned,” said Salina Curtis of the Westside Wine Trail. “The detour route is pretty well marked. Our understanding is some additional signs will be coming up as well. “
Curtis noted mobile map applications have been updated to reroute people through the detour.
“People won’t even know,” she said. “They would just think they’re going down the more scenic route.”
Curtis suggested those who come out the signature event wear good shoes.
“If they decide to walk from winery to winery, particularly if there is some road construction happening, heels are not the best option,” she said.
Sip into Summer is an opportunity for people to discover a perfect summer sipper for the patio or backyard barbecue and have fun taking on the blind wine tasting challenge.
The event used to focus on white wines; however, rosé wines are so popular right now, organizers expanded the spotlight.
New this year, people can sample fruit wines as Grizzli Winery will be offering tastings of raspberry and blueberry wines.
Each of the 13 wineries on the Westside Wine Trail will offer a blind wine tasting challenge, pouring from a disguised bottle and challenging guests to correctly identify the grape varietal. The wineries tested the blind tasting challenge a few years ago.
“It turned out it was super popular,” said Curtis. “People have so much fun trying to Àgure out what the wine is.”
People can pick up a printed passport at any of the wineries and mark their guess for the mystery wine.
The passports will be endorsed by each winery and people can Ànd out if their guess was correct.
“Some people are a little bit more sophisticated with their palate and they're able to determine which varietal it is and others are just so off,” said Curtis. “It's so funny watching the reactions.”
Along with the blind tasting challenge, some wineries will offer live entertainment and some will have vendors.
For more information, go online to thewestsidewinetrail.com.
The City of West Kelowna says construction on phase two of the Wine Trail is progressing. Around 1,100 metres of water mains, and 700 metres of storm main, catch basin manholes and other storm-related works have been installed. Commissioning of the new water main is expected in July with construction of the roundabouts starting in the coming weeks.