Christopher and I really wanted to get away for our second anniversary. So we thought why not find the wine route in the Okanagan Valley? There are so many different wineries in the valley that we could take in some beautiful views and collect some amazing wines. It was Christopher's idea to get a full case of wine, one bottle from every winery that we visit, but with one stipulation that all the wines are from the year we were married. A challenge but we could do it.
Our first stop was at Mission Hill for something that we knew we would like. It was beautiful up at the top of the hill and as we were settling into what we were actually trying to taste, we met these three women who were on their way to the Dragon Boat festival in Kelowna. They were really helpful in telling us where to go for really good wine and that we needed to hit Quail's Gate and Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery. Both wineries were much smaller and more intimate in how they did their tastings. Mt. Boucherie's wines were much more fruity and it was the first wine that I could actually tell what I was supposed to be smelling. Were as Quail's Gate had bold and intense flavour in their wines.
I have to admit that I didn't realize you could have so many different flavours of wine in such a short distance. These wineries were only a few kilometers away from each other and yet there was a totally different taste.
So you know how I mentioned that we met the Dragon Boaters? Well we didn't quite realize just how many dragon boat racers would be in Kelowna that weekend. We pulled into town and the place was packed! People were everywhere! We tried 5 different hotels and we finally ended up at the Kelowna Moter Inn. yeah... Sleeping in your clothes is mandatory.
The next day we headed south towards Peachland, Summerland and finally ending up in Penticton. In Peachland we found the most unusual wine yet at Hainle Vineyards Estate Winery. Z2 smelled like stinky cheese and it was so smokey! I can't wait to drink that one!! From there we got hungry for fruit and cheese so it was up another hill to Dirty Laundry.
They packed us a picnic lunch and sat us out on the patio to take in the view. The best lunch we could have even thought of! As we were full but wanting more we decided that Penticton would be were we stopped for the night but our case wasn't even near full. We headed up the East Shelf to Township 7, Therapy, and Red Rooster.
So you know how I mentioned that we slept in our clothes in Kelowna... well in Penticton we couldn't get enough clothes onto our bodies. We stayed at the Slumber Inn and I think there was a horror movie shot in our room. Chris was convinced that he got a bug bite inside his mouth. But the dinner we had was really nice, not at the motel, and Henry found loads of goose poo to eat and roll in.
On Monday we kept going south to Blasted Church to pick up a bottle of Merlot, 2005 of course. In our travels to the many wineries we had heard a lot about a little one near the town of Oliver called Silver Sage. This is by far our favourite of the weekend. They had the most original and unique wines of the trip. They were the only ones that we actually picked up more than one bottle and it was also the only place we tried the dessert wines. All this drinking was sure making us hungry and we had been told that we should head up to Burrowing Owl for the spectacular views and a delightful lunch. What a wonderful way to end a most wonderful weekend!
