Enjoy wine tour this holiday season
This may very well be one of the only Christmas wine events you can take in this holiday season.
With stricter guidelines in this second wave of COVID, gathering anywhere for anything is getting tricky.
However, you can have a guided tour of the 10 elaborately decorated Christmas trees outdoors on The Terrace at Mission Hill Family Estate in West Kelowna with up to six people who are in your bubble.
It’s the fourth annual Christmas Tree Experience at the winery benefitting the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Tours, which run daily through New Year’s Eve, have to be booked ahead of time at MissionHill Winery.com.
The cost is $65 per person with partial proceeds going to the foundation.
When my wife, Kerry, and I did the tour, it was dusk and the trees twinkled with a backdrop view of vineyards, Okanagan Lake and mountains.
Sommelier-in-training Megan Cary was our guide and she started us off with mulled wine made from Mission Hill’s red Meritage and roasted nuts prepared by winery chef Patrick Gaylor.
After admiring the trees we headed to the cellar dug out of volcanic rock to see row upon row of oak barrels aging red wines and stepped into the vault.
The vault is a seldom-accessed cavern displaying wine vessels from Chinese dynasties, ancient Greece and Rome and medieval England and the rare wine collection of winery owner Anthony von Mandl.
Among the precious bottles are two of note. The first is a velvetwrapped unknown wine that was a gift from Princess Kate from when she visited in 2016. The second is a magnum of Mission Hill Grand Reserve 1992 Chardonnay, winner of the Avery Trophy as best Chardonnay in the world at the 1994 International Wine & Spirits Competition in London.
Then, it’s upstairs to one of the private rooms for wine-and-cheese tastings.
The tastings are ever-changing,
but when we imbibed it was 2019 Reserve Chardonnay with Mount Ida Shuswap brie, Prospectus Pinot Noir paired to goat cheese from Carmelis Alpine of Kelowna, 2014 Split-Rail Merlot with Spanish manchego and 2018 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon matched with truffle-infused gouda.
Over the festive season, Mission Hill, and many other wineries, continue to be open for tastings and lunches by appointment for you and your bubble and shopping in the boutique with a face mask on.
Ready to drink
This trio of reds from Oliver’s Gold Hill Winery is ready to drink now, or age them for five more
years if you like.
Many wineries release red wines after only a year or two of aging to get them to market and generate revenue.
But Gold Hill held on for a few more years and is just now debuting its 2016 vintage Syrah ($35), Cabernet Franc ($35) and Grand Vin ($65) Bordeaux blend.
The wait ensures the wines have matured to silky smoothness and vibrant flavours.
As such, the Syrah is bursting with aromas and flavours of raspberry, cherry, vanilla and pepper; the Cab Franc, blackcurrant and dark chocolate; and the Grand Vin, blackberry, vanilla and cedar.
Gold Hill is owned by the longtime grape-growing Gill family and
From South Africa
Wines from South Africa have had a tough go of it during COVID.
The country banned domestic and export alcohol sales for 14 weeks early in the pandemic.
That means South African wineries are now playing catch up with increased promotion.
Bellingham is one of those wineries that sees promise in Canada and is touting its Bernard Series 2017 Old Vines Chenin Blanc ($24).
Available at B.C. government liquor stores, this isn’t your typical light and fruity Chenin.
The Bellingham version has been aged in oak barrels for extra texture and complexity with aromas and flavours of grilled pineapple, toasted hazelnut and white pepper.