WINE, DINE & DASH IN KELOWNA
Plenty of winter fun on tap in the Okanagan, both indoors and out
Tucked between bottles of wine, candles and jelly jars in The View Winery gift shop is a wooden sign that captures the optimism many Kelowna winemakers are embracing this winter: “If you pour it, they will come.”
This snowy season, more than half of Kelowna’s 40-plus wineries are open for wine tasting, offering a more intimate, in-depth, and — dare I say it — chill experience compared to the hectic summer months. And it’s not just elbow room at the wine bar I discovered on a recent visit, but loads of culinary and outdoorsy offerings that have me wining, dining and dashing from one tempting activity to the next.
WINE
“If you come and visit at this time of the year, I’ll bring out the good stuff,” says 50th Parallel Estate Winery host Travis Montgomery as he pours a healthy splash of Unparalleled Pinot Noir.
With only five guests in the winery’s architecturally stunning tasting room (think soaring glass walls, wood accents and killer lake views) Montgomery has time to chat about the winery’s flagship Pinot Noir, its aromatic whites, and its owners, whom he refers to as glamour farmers.
I understand the reference to glamour given the chic space we’re standing in, but farmers?
“At the end of the day, all wineries are farms,” Montgomery says.
That may be true, but only one has a pyramid in its fields. Summerhill Pyramid Winery, Canada’s largest certified organic winery, offers tours of its geometric pyramid wine cellar as well as wine tastings year-round.
I opt for lunch in Summerhill’s bistro, where organic ingredients reign. When I ask server Brittany to suggest a wine to complement my andouille sausage and mushroom pizza, she doesn’t hesitate.
“Our single vineyard Pinot Noir will be perfect.”
Thanks to another perfect tip — this one about the walkability of the downtown — I enjoy a windowshopping stroll from my swish, lakeside room at Delta Hotels by Marriott Grand Okanagan Resort to Ricco Bambino Urban Winery and Cocktail Bar. Opened in 2018, the winery’s tulip-shaped cement wine tanks, crushed velvet banquettes and abundant greenery impress, as does a glass of Very Troubled Child Rosé Brut.
DINE
If Ricco Bambino is downtown’s trendy new kid, RauDZ Regional Table is the classic cool pioneer. Long a proponent of local, seasonal, sustainable fare, RauDZ dishes range from a casual cheeseburger to celebrated Dungeness crab cappuccino.
Given even the “liquid chefs” embrace a field-to-cocktail glass philosophy, I feel almost noble indulging in a fine night of eating and drinking local.
My consuming ways continue the next day at The Chase Wines’ Garden Bistro. Between bites of seared tuna with spicy housemade Bumba Sambal, I ask winemaker Adrian Baker what inspired The Chase name.
“Everyone is chasing something,” Baker explains. “Money, happiness, success, love.”
So what is Baker chasing ? “Excellence in wine.”
Such close encounters with winery heavyweights are more likely now, says Lindsay Kelm of Quail’s Gate Winery.
“In winter, we have the sommeliers and managers working the tasting room. There’s more time for a guided experience.”
There’s also more time for the winery’s Old Vines Restaurant to showcase its exceptional cuisine at long table dinners, cooking classes and an excellent happy hour — hello $5 glasses of wine — on weekdays.
DASH
Come weekends, The View Winery invites guests to slip on snowshoes and follow a route marked with red stiletto shoes (the winery’s iconic image) through its snow-blanketed vineyards before coming inside for wine tasting.
I ask winery president Jennifer Molgat why she loves the Slip and Sip program.
“The vineyards are beautiful in winter,” she says, “and this gets people out enjoying them.”
If getting outside is not your thing, The View also offers Fondue Fridays, an early-evening wine tasting that includes a cheese and chocolate fondue.
Luckily, getting outside is my thing, so I undertake a winter activity trifecta: skating on Kelowna’s lakeside outdoor rink, snowshoeing over wooden trestles and through tunnels in the steepwalled and stunning Myra Canyon, and dashing through the snow at Big White Ski Resort.
Although Big White is known for downhill skiing and boarding, I partake in a snowshoe tour, tubing and ice climbing.
Thanks to crampons, ice tools and muscles I forgot I had, I reach the top of the 18-metre ice tower. To reward myself, I head to the resort’s Gunbarrel Grill for a famous gunbarrel coffee.
Manager Kate Banks prepares my coffee tableside over an open flame. The final step involves pouring a ladle of flaming Grand Marnier down an antique doublebarrelled shotgun into a goblet of brandy, crème de cacao, whipped cream and coffee.
I’m still marvelling at the spectacle when a toqued couple sits at the next table and orders. Obviously the “if you pour it” optimism applies to more than just wine.
For more information, visit tourismkelowna.com.
The writer was a guest of Tourism Kelowna and Big White, which neither reviewed nor approved this article before publication.