MISSION HILL LEADS THE WAY TO POST-PANDEMIC TASTINGS
Reimagining the vineyard experience began even before COVID-19 arrived
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered much about the world already, and will change even more going forward.
Wine is in the sights of the novel coronavirus, especially its highly social aspects. The global lockdown has given everyone in the wine and food business precious time to contemplate what the future of hospitality could be. The question is, where do we go from here?
Looking to the future is nothing new to Anthony von Mandl, owner of several B.C. wineries loosely aligned under the Iconic Wineries of British Columbia. The current group includes Mission Hill Family Estate, Cedarcreek Estate, Martin’s Lane, Checkmate Artisanal, Road 13 Vineyards, and Liquidity Wines, and each is undergoing an extensive refit when it comes to how they interact with visitors.
It’s not a COVID-19 reaction. Von Mandl says the group was moving toward a new paradigm in winery visits before the pandemic.
He admits the pandemic and its travel restrictions have given his team time to breathe, reset or “reimagine” the visitor experience across all its properties, but it was an idea for which the time had already come.
The group had tested several new scenarios last fall, and the results were positive. In 2020, you can begin to experience it all just in time for Canada Day — nearly 40 years since von Mandl bet big on the Okanagan Valley.
The first thing to notice when you next visit is there will be fewer people.
While that fits with the current guidelines as per Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’S provincial health officer, it is more of a coincidence.
The experiences you can book at Mission Hill are going to get richer and far more personal. Groups can be as small as two and grow from there to include your bubble — for the time being.
For those who often say to me “I wish I had your job” — you are going to get it, and you won’t have to take notes or write stories when you get home.
Part of the new experience — and you can expect a form of it all across wine country — begins with a reservation and a timed visit.
At Mission Hill, The Tasting at the Tower ($25, 30 minutes) begins at the winery entrance and moves to the bell tower. You will be welcomed with a glass of wine before a planned, seated and guided tasting of select reserve wines that showcase the richness and diversity of the Okanagan Valley.
The intriguing A Taste of Single Vineyard Wines ($35, 60 minutes) explores the complexity of the Okanagan and the diversity of its microclimates and soil types. The tasting begins in the vineyard, where all wines are born, with a sommelier who will speak about the latest organic farming practices and why specific vines are planted at specific locations across the valley. A short film will follow, looking at the past, present, and future of Mission Hill, and it all ends with an intimate, guided tasting of single-vineyard wines from the Terroir Collection, sold only at the winery.
Behind Closed Doors ($60, 60 minutes) is one of several experiences that feature wine and food. This one begins in the cellar and ends in the Chagall Room, where you will experience individual food samples paired with new releases, and a discussion of food and wine.
Private Lunch at the Estate ($85, 90 minutes) is pitched as an immersive gastronomic adventure. It’s a full-on lunch with wines that start in the vineyard with a sommelier discussing the origins of the Okanagan Valley and its ancient glacial and volcanic soils, followed by a visit to the underground barrel cellar. Lunch is served outside at a private table on the loggia, where you will be guided through four seasonal dishes paired with wines.
A Lasting Legacy ($125, 180 mins) is meant to be a refuge from the hurried pace of daily life. It begins with a walk through the estate vineyard to talk organics, followed by a barrel cellar tasting to look at some of the latest wines as they age, before a sumptuous dining experience at the Terrace Restaurant. From your lakeside table, you will experience a guided food and winery tour created by chef Patrick Gayler featuring wines from the Legacy Collection.
Von Mandl’s goal of making fine wines has always been with a view to “providing a special place where people can enjoy them.” The reimagined visits at Mission Hill make that a reality.