Okanagan Wine Tour

Helen and I took off one day while Bob played disc golf and Bill fished and relaxed. We visited three wineries and an artisinal goat cheese manufacturer. The top two photos are Mission Hill Family Estate. We took a tour here. The owner made his money from inventing Mike's Hard Cider and invested $35M in building this winery. Interestingly, in Kelowna the wineries are in the midst of subdivisions (or vice versa). The cellar is dug into the volcanic rock and kept at a constant 80% humidity by misters spraying the walls. There is also a bell tower open to the sky with the above circular drain for the water that comes in. After that tour we headed to Quail's Gate because they had a Marachel Foche made from 40 year old vines. We tasted that and had lunch in their restaurant over-looking the lake. It was called Old Vines and was delicious. Later I noticed that the cover of the Kelowna tourist guide had that restaurant and our waitress on it. I had a panini with chicken and goat cheese and pesto made with pine nuts. We then continued across the lake to the east side in search of more wine and goat cheese.

Camilla's Artisinal Goat cheese south of Kelowna is amazing. It sits in the midst of an area that was burned about 5 years ago. When we got there the goats were clambering on the rocks and the logs. They make about 20 different kinds of goat cheese. We tasted them all - from soft chevre types with various flavorings to soft brie-like flavored cheeses to hard cheeses soaked in pinot noir, goatganzola and a goat gruyere. They were all delicious. The proprietors are from Israel and came five years ago, though the place has existed for many more years. They spent ten years travelling around Europe learning to make cheese. They also make goat milk gelato, but we were too full to try it.

This is the view from the goat cheese place towards Kelowna. We finally visited Summerfield Pyramid winery, the largest organic winery in North America. It has delicious wines (compared with other organic wines I've tasted). They are cellared in a white pyramid and there is some new-age sort of beliefs related to the energy of the pyramid. They are known for their sparking wines and their ice wines.

Fortified with various selections of wines, we ended our day back at the campsite.