In the Photos: Above: view from Burrowing Owl Winery, Twisted Tree Six Vines, La Sophia barrel sample, Forbidden Fruit's Plumiscous, a bedroom in the Burrowing Owl guest suite, view from a guest suite at Hester Creek. Below: underground wine cellars at Burrowing Owl, Twisted Tree owner Chris Tolley, Winemaker Michael Bartier in Golden Mile Cellars vineyard, wine tasting room at Le Vieux Pin.
BEST KEPT SECRETS OF THE OKANAGAN
(The following is a condensed preview of an upcoming article in the print version of CityFood Magazine
)
Mick and
Pam Luckhurst of
Golden Miles Cellars have been doing some ground breaking (excuse the pun) work identifying and categorizing the rare and indigenous Okanagan soil (non glacier deposit) to be found in their vineyards and experimenting with how these ancient soils affect the flavours and acidity of the grapes growing in various locations around the property. It all makes for an interesting, complex Chardonnay blend.
www.goldenmilecellars.com.
A place that locals would prefer to keep to themselves if they could is
Forbidden Fruit, a tiny winery tucked away within a Shangri-la like corner of the Similkameen Valley near Cawston. Experts in the know have long been fans of Forbidden’s luscious yet elegant fruit wines with their erotically, poetic names such as "Crushed Innocence" and "Plumiscuous", yet the Forbidden Fruit Winery/
Ven’Amour Organic Farm has stayed under the radar since the late 1970s. There's the perfect romantic hideway on the property too. (See info below.)
www.forbiddenfruitwines.com.
Also being highly saught after by knowledgeable locals who recognize them as an incredibly good value for the price, are the well made yet modestly priced wines of Osoyoos’ new
Twisted Tree Winery. Winemakers
Beata and
Chris Tolley make wines to their consistent, and highly personal taste and are even experimenting with two grapes never before planted in the Okanagan: the sociable Carmenere and the bullyish Tennat. The Tennat is still growling in its barrel, but look for the Carmenere in Twisted Tree’s "Six Vines" red blend ($22).
www.twistedtree.ca.
Tiny new
LaStella Winery (the sister winery of
Le Vieux Pin, whose name means “Star” in Italian) barely has a door hinged on to its entrance yet, but even so, there are some amazing pieces of hardware currently being installed inside, including hand-blown Venetian glass light fixtures and a rare blue granite bar top that fairly glows with its satiny natural hue of navy blue. The wines are looking to be as selectively hand crafted. A complex berry-packed Cabernet Sauvignon named “La Sophia” with its intriguing but not unpleasant top note of fabric softener and fine, tight tannins on the back end, should be one of the more interesting first bottlings out of La Stella’s cellar. There are other surprises in store as well, but if we tell you, the owners will have to kill us.
http://www.lastella.ca/.
The hottest new restaurant in the Okanagan right now is Penticton’s
Amante Bistro. The restaurant was opened in 2007 by Mexican-born chef
Abul Adame (formerly a sous chef at
CinCin,
Circolo,
Bis Moreno and
Burrowing Owl Winery) and his wife
Rose. Expecting to emit similar heat from the other end of the lake is Chef
Ned Bell’s
Cabana Bar and Grille, due to open on Kelowna’s Lakeshore Road in May. Like the prodigal son, Bell is a former Okanagan boy come home from a restaurant career in Ontario’s wine country, as well as in Calgary.
www.cabanagrille.com.
Looking for deluxe accommodation with jaw-dropping, wraparound views on your next trip to the South Okanagan? Three places rating high on our list right now would be the guest houses at
Burrowing Owl Estate Winery (Oliver),
Hester Creek Estate Winery (Oliver) and the
Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort and Spa beside the
Nk'Mip Winery (Osoyoos). All have fireplaces and patios overlooking killer views, plus at Spirt Ridge you can also enjoy the use of a full kitchen. (Hester Creek, by the way is in the middle of a major winery building construction. You can view the action well below you from the guest houses’ aerie-like hill top position. And here’s a good tip: if you want a full house to yourself, with all of the above features, plus an outdoor hot tub, you'll find it at the
Harvest Moon Retreat Guest House, situated right next door to the orchards of the Forbidden Fruit Winery.
http://www.bovwine.ca/www.hestercreek.comwww.spiritridge.cawww.harvestmoonguesthouse.com.
If you were considering signing up for the
Naramata Unfiltered Retreat on May 5th and 6th, better march to it. There are only four tickets left. To join the 22 wineries of the Naramata Bench and gain an unparalleled glimpse into winery operations, as well as some one-on-one time with the people growing and making some of the Okanagan’s best wines, call 250-490-8339 or visit their website at
www.naramatabench.com.
