Travels au vin, part II (aka Sideways but I absolutely refuse to grow an ugly beard)
Hi! Well, thanks to those out there who were reading and were interested in my trip to Kelowna and Vernon. Now, onto Part II!
Actually, part 2 of 3... given that my recent trip to Osoyoos spanned a weekend, I think it's best to divide it as such. I can also save my fingers some trouble as well.
Kelowna, being partly the gateway city to Alberta and a tourist destination in its own right, is a relatively easy, relaxing drive on all-divided highways with a stop-off in the city of Merritt, which, everytime I've passed by it, is always sunny and everything around it is raining or dull and dreary. I've made the drive from Vancouver to Kelowna in 3 and a half hours, which is just a *tiny* bit fast... the Coquihalla highway is a wonder.
Osoyoos and the Similkameen valley, on the other hand, are 200 km south of the Coquihalla and connector highways (97, etc), and the path that one takes to them is a two-lane highway with scattered widenings called the Crowsnest. A scenic drive, it's definitely pleasant since it offers a far closer drive through the foliage.
Pleasant, though, only really being true if the ground is dry. And the sky not so cloudy. The day I drove out on the Crowsnest, they had warned of small showers but I didn't anticipate the actual downpour that was occurring on this stretch of road between Hope (basically the gateway town to Vancouver) and Princeton (a city halfway to Osoyoos and kind of on the way the Kelowna... sort of). Given that the highway continually is on rises and falls and loops around forests as well as hills, there are some declines coupled with hairpin turns which demand major work on the brakes. So much so, that sometimes when I drove even at 60km/h, the car did a fishtail when I tried to get it to drive. Ah well, the tires were worn, so the oil changers said. Hopefully we'll get a good set of new ones down south this coming weekend.
So, after I beat my way out of the bush and didn't crash and burn anywhere, I ended up on the road to Keremeos, which, as I mentioned previously, is on the tip of the Sonora desert. The brushland is very dry and very yellow, even though this September was a decently wet month for the whole province. It almost reminded me of savannah along the hills, and when coupled with the dirt being kicked up in stray clumps just by vibrations in the air, it almost cut a rustic, cowboy kind of image to mind. It's that same image I get when thinking of Sonoma, because of the like-minded dryness.
So how does the dryness stack up when crafting wines? Well, as mentioned before, the climate is hotter so many more varietals can be grown. As well, given the relative lack of humidity (even Kelowna can have an excess of it in the summer), the grapes dry out much more, concentrating juice and ensuring a potent combination of flavor and aroma. Whites crafted in the region tend to be much drier than their cousins up north, and it takes some special efforts to even bring the wine to a semi-dry standard. However, because of the preponderance of fruit orchards before many were pulled out for the vines, many of these dry whites maintain a very light aroma of fall fruit - the gewurzes, for instance, were more reminiscent of something I'd encounter from Sonoma, like Fetzer, where the lychee and honeydew smells aren't even hints but rather bludgeons across the head. Chardonnays from this area are often unoaked, meaning there is less of a tannin structure, but their relative astringency helps maintain a strong balance in the white when bottling. Pinot Blanc and Gris have light, pleasant aromas that remind me of crisp Korean pears. What is neat to note is that in the non-gewurz whites, the minerality does come through in quite a few wines - slight aromas reminding one of freshly sharpened graphite, or a powerful, almost hazy sensation when trying to get to the body, do harken a little bit to the fact that the area is one giant coalbed. I could be talking out of my imagination with the placebo effect, but that is what I think occurs with whites here - concentration of flavors, particularly of slightly more tannic or sour sensations as compared to Kelowna, overall generating wines that are still good summer sippers but could be eaten with heartier items.
Any red that you can guess is grown in this area, is. Merlot, cab sauv, cab franc, syrah, malbec - I've already alluded to their presences. Petit Verdot (a grape I've never had on its own but is used as the balancing grape in Bordeaux blends) is cultivated in this region. So are some forays into temperanillo (though I've never dipper into these attempts... yet). Because of this, aside from bottlings of single varietals, meritages (combinations of various red grapes in percents, usually favoring Merlot but sometime favoring Cab Sauv) are a dime a dozen in the region, some going up to five total in their blend (Osoyoos Larose, for instance, uses Merlot, cab sauv, cab franc, syrah, and petit verdot to balance). One thing to note is that again, given the drier climate, grapes concentrate, and the reds have a deeper tannic feel than their Kelowna counterparts, simply because of the actual surface area:volume ratio of a shrunken grape in Osoyoos as compared to the rounder grapes of Kelowna. The tannic structure in the wines is quite ordered, meaning that a clean drink is still possible with the wines at an early age, without feeling like a wood rasp has been applied to the tongue in order to exfoliate taste buds. That being said, the depth of the tannins indicates that many of the blends are in for the long haul, probably in the 3-10 year range. The greater concentration there are of tannic grapes (cab sauv, cab franc), the better aging potential.
Aromawise and tastewise, reds have many mirrors to whites from the area. The minerality is present, and comes through more in taste than in aroma, because sometimes there is a crystalline, or perhaps chalky taste with the wines that isn't as drastic as with high tannin concentration. I am not going to go further and say a given wine tastes like rubies and diamonds, though, since I don't really think anyone wants to know how I would even begin to know what effects gemstones have on the palate. One thing that is very common with Similkameen wines is that given the use of hotter climate favoring grapes like cab franc and perhaps malbec, the aroma in the wines tends to have a "hotter" feel to it - that is, the headiness (given by alcohol), combined with a burned smell on the aroma (think of charcoal or perhaps well-roasted chestnuts), and the presence of certain volatile compounds which have a spicy feel (both in the olfactory and degustatory manners) to the sense organs, ends up giving a sensation of "spicy", or of "peppery" to the wines. Having some of these elements means the wine will not settle down on the palate as quickly as a well-polished merlot, for instance, and actually may refresh your taste buds as an in-between courses drink.
Dessert wines are a whole different class and one that I will go into when talking about the various vineyards. Speaking of which, on we go to the real heart of the matter!
St. Laszlo - the sign is rusted and worn, and the sales facility looks like the side of a barn (and is kind of damp and musty) but it is one of the first wineries in the area (having grown grapes "legitimately" since 1984) and the owner, Joe, is a friendly enough guy. The samplings come fast and furious here - I think I had like 12 tastings alone at this winery, which is all but ridiculous. A lot of interesting varietals are prepared here, such as Perle de Csaba and Tokay, two sweet Hungarian wines, as well as an attempt at a Marechal Foch that tastes far more like a port than anything else. I did end up getting the Csaba and Tokay out of stray interest, but most of the wines there were not utterly great. In fact, one even had an aroma of cooked potatoes somehow paired along with a strong aroma of alcohol. In speaking around, it was hinted to me that they might fortify their wines without letting anyone know, and if they used grain alcohol (or I dunno, screech?), that could result in that. That being said, the wine is cheap and the varietals unique enough that some may merit serving at a party. It also produces a really nice strawberry wine. Facebook site at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=35123402422
Robin Ridge - situated a little north of St. Laszlo, a very charming winery. It's a neat place when you walk in and you immediately see a bunch of staff decked out in green hats in honor of Robin Hood. A wine festival was taking place in the Okanagan at this time, so the winery decided to have an archery contest (which, in all honesty, is kind of worrying when you think about the implications alongside tastings) and a bunch of kids were running around having fun. Another down-to-earth winery, but the facilities are brighter, with a more cheerful staff. Proprietor was very nice, and the set of tastings included a wine and cheese (for the festival, I think) and even their own commissioned dark chocolates to sample alongside their pinot noir. Merlot a bit rough for my liking, their whites are crisp, particularly the gewurztraminer. What I really think is very tasty and a unique purchase is their gamay - very balanced approach with an aroma of nuts alongside some minor hints of jammy fruits, it doesn't sip like a lot of Osoyoos reds in that it's not a spicy and overly punchy red, but rather moves smoothly on the palate and the tannins were something that already are appealing but could use another year to break down further. Lovely family winery, but their pinot noir and merlot didn't really do anything for me, even with the dark chocolate. Website at http://www.robinridgewinery.com/
Rustic Roots - not a grape winery, Rustic Roots is actually a fruit winery that's attached next to a farmer's organic market. They were having some kind of harvest festival when I walked through the door, which was cute but... how does a duo of guys playing easy listening acoustic, with nothing else around (okay, some cute decorations) count as a festival? That being said, I actually got decently priced fruit so I went with that (and they're organic! Yay! Whatever!). They produce a bunch of wines that try their utmost to emulate certain kinds of wines. For instance, there is an apple pear with a sweetness of 0-1, which reminds me of a German riesling only it has many more notes of, course, apples and pears. An apricot with a sweetness or 4-5 reminded me of a late harvest/muscat combo, only with a weird overtaste of sometihng I could only describe as prunes. What is definitely their best wine, in my opinion, is thei apple sparkling wine, which is delightfully light, has a superb floral aroma and could make great aperitif, mimosa, or even bellini, because of a pleasant aftertaste with just a slight hit of bitterness hidden amongst the pleasant sensation of the not-so-sweet snow apples that are used in the concoction. Santa Rosa, their plum wine variation on an ice wine, drinks lighter than ice wine (sweetness 9 opposed to 10 for the latter), and has a wonderful richness that would work well when balanced against rich molten chocolates, stewed fruits, coffee, or anything of a general darker nature. Fun people, lovely tastings - more info can be found at http://www.rusticrootswinery.com/ . In fact, the apple sparkling was so good I got 2 bottles, which brings me to the conclusion of part 2...
Eau Vivre Winery - the nicest winery. The moment I walk in, I see the couple I've been following at the past few wineries, who accuse me of stalking them (jokingly, I assume), after I spot the man playing an acoustic guitar that the proprietress, Geraldine, laid out. Dale and Geraldine being really nice proprietors gets into a conversation with us about the winery and the lands around it, mention that they're lucky to be around so many other great wineries, but one wine they've never have is... *gasp* a Rustic Ridge apple sparkling wine! So, out I trek to the car, pick up a bottle and thrust it at them, saying that it's for them, for us, to all share. They're in awe and are about to crack it open when a tour bus pops up. Twenty-two women and their driver step out and are in clearly a fun mood to party. That being said, the couple manages to alienate them. Firstly, after finding out they should've been twenty-six women, the man asks in a flip tone, "What, did someone die?", to which they turn silent and actually confirm that yes, someone did die. A few awkward moments ensue, to which he apologizes, but then continues making apparently a bunch of tasteless death jokes and calls the group "losers" and "the Desperate Housewives brigade". One of the women was so incensed she left the winery and refused to come back in while he was there, though she had found 4 bottles to buy there. I was kind of talking with a bunch of them, just reflecting and trading notes on various wineries, and trying to help clean up glasses when I accidentally break one of their glasses with a clumsy gesture and proceed to also sweep that up. At the end of it all, Dale and Gerri look a bit fatigued and a little stressed as the tour bus women tell them about their unpleasant experiences with the man, and promptly left. I thank them so much for their hospitality and tell them there's still the bottle of wine for them, which they look about to refuse, when I pull one of my standard James maneuvers:
"It's out here. I'll leave you with two options - you can either enjoy a really nice evening with the wine on your own, or I'd be happy to play your piano at your house (they mentioned they had a piano) and split the bottle with you."
Gerri looks like she's about to keel over from happiness, and they promptly take up my offer (though they really don't know if I'm any good at piano). I then help them clean up the glasses and learn they're also from Saskatchewan - refugees, as I jokingly say. Then we go back, and I get to admire her brush paintings and talk with Dale about his work as a geologist (Jesse Day, calling Jesse Day!), after which I crank out some BCD (a trio of composers) for them. Following a great dinner of artichokes and king crab and some further piano, Gerri then invites me to stay in their guest house since "it's too late to find a motel" (though it's 10PM) and being deeply honored, I accept. And sleep in total luxury, thanking my lucky stars that I found such an awesome winery at the end of the day.
Their wines are also quite well done. They have a light chardonnay, with an acidity that's quite strong but is well-balanced against a backbone of oak and floral aromas. Their pinot noir is also well-balanced, smooth, and actually a little deeper than most reds. But what really grabs me is their cab franc - dark, warm, an aroma that really bespeaks burnt coffee, the wine is still fairly tannic but has a beautiful body to it. Given a few years, it will mature and yield certain tastes which I think I could get in the sample offered to me, which included cherries, smoke, and oddly enough, mineral notes. The mineral notes could've been pepper potentially, but they just ran off the tongue a little differently than standard spice notes, and the aroma was slightly different due to their presence.
All in all, gorgeous wines from the region so far. And as I laid myself down to sleep, I couldn't wait to get going in the morning and sample some more of the Similkameen bounty!
Let me know if you'd like Part 3... which has another 7 wineries in the area covered!
Actually, part 2 of 3... given that my recent trip to Osoyoos spanned a weekend, I think it's best to divide it as such. I can also save my fingers some trouble as well.
Kelowna, being partly the gateway city to Alberta and a tourist destination in its own right, is a relatively easy, relaxing drive on all-divided highways with a stop-off in the city of Merritt, which, everytime I've passed by it, is always sunny and everything around it is raining or dull and dreary. I've made the drive from Vancouver to Kelowna in 3 and a half hours, which is just a *tiny* bit fast... the Coquihalla highway is a wonder.
Osoyoos and the Similkameen valley, on the other hand, are 200 km south of the Coquihalla and connector highways (97, etc), and the path that one takes to them is a two-lane highway with scattered widenings called the Crowsnest. A scenic drive, it's definitely pleasant since it offers a far closer drive through the foliage.
Pleasant, though, only really being true if the ground is dry. And the sky not so cloudy. The day I drove out on the Crowsnest, they had warned of small showers but I didn't anticipate the actual downpour that was occurring on this stretch of road between Hope (basically the gateway town to Vancouver) and Princeton (a city halfway to Osoyoos and kind of on the way the Kelowna... sort of). Given that the highway continually is on rises and falls and loops around forests as well as hills, there are some declines coupled with hairpin turns which demand major work on the brakes. So much so, that sometimes when I drove even at 60km/h, the car did a fishtail when I tried to get it to drive. Ah well, the tires were worn, so the oil changers said. Hopefully we'll get a good set of new ones down south this coming weekend.
So, after I beat my way out of the bush and didn't crash and burn anywhere, I ended up on the road to Keremeos, which, as I mentioned previously, is on the tip of the Sonora desert. The brushland is very dry and very yellow, even though this September was a decently wet month for the whole province. It almost reminded me of savannah along the hills, and when coupled with the dirt being kicked up in stray clumps just by vibrations in the air, it almost cut a rustic, cowboy kind of image to mind. It's that same image I get when thinking of Sonoma, because of the like-minded dryness.
So how does the dryness stack up when crafting wines? Well, as mentioned before, the climate is hotter so many more varietals can be grown. As well, given the relative lack of humidity (even Kelowna can have an excess of it in the summer), the grapes dry out much more, concentrating juice and ensuring a potent combination of flavor and aroma. Whites crafted in the region tend to be much drier than their cousins up north, and it takes some special efforts to even bring the wine to a semi-dry standard. However, because of the preponderance of fruit orchards before many were pulled out for the vines, many of these dry whites maintain a very light aroma of fall fruit - the gewurzes, for instance, were more reminiscent of something I'd encounter from Sonoma, like Fetzer, where the lychee and honeydew smells aren't even hints but rather bludgeons across the head. Chardonnays from this area are often unoaked, meaning there is less of a tannin structure, but their relative astringency helps maintain a strong balance in the white when bottling. Pinot Blanc and Gris have light, pleasant aromas that remind me of crisp Korean pears. What is neat to note is that in the non-gewurz whites, the minerality does come through in quite a few wines - slight aromas reminding one of freshly sharpened graphite, or a powerful, almost hazy sensation when trying to get to the body, do harken a little bit to the fact that the area is one giant coalbed. I could be talking out of my imagination with the placebo effect, but that is what I think occurs with whites here - concentration of flavors, particularly of slightly more tannic or sour sensations as compared to Kelowna, overall generating wines that are still good summer sippers but could be eaten with heartier items.
Any red that you can guess is grown in this area, is. Merlot, cab sauv, cab franc, syrah, malbec - I've already alluded to their presences. Petit Verdot (a grape I've never had on its own but is used as the balancing grape in Bordeaux blends) is cultivated in this region. So are some forays into temperanillo (though I've never dipper into these attempts... yet). Because of this, aside from bottlings of single varietals, meritages (combinations of various red grapes in percents, usually favoring Merlot but sometime favoring Cab Sauv) are a dime a dozen in the region, some going up to five total in their blend (Osoyoos Larose, for instance, uses Merlot, cab sauv, cab franc, syrah, and petit verdot to balance). One thing to note is that again, given the drier climate, grapes concentrate, and the reds have a deeper tannic feel than their Kelowna counterparts, simply because of the actual surface area:volume ratio of a shrunken grape in Osoyoos as compared to the rounder grapes of Kelowna. The tannic structure in the wines is quite ordered, meaning that a clean drink is still possible with the wines at an early age, without feeling like a wood rasp has been applied to the tongue in order to exfoliate taste buds. That being said, the depth of the tannins indicates that many of the blends are in for the long haul, probably in the 3-10 year range. The greater concentration there are of tannic grapes (cab sauv, cab franc), the better aging potential.
Aromawise and tastewise, reds have many mirrors to whites from the area. The minerality is present, and comes through more in taste than in aroma, because sometimes there is a crystalline, or perhaps chalky taste with the wines that isn't as drastic as with high tannin concentration. I am not going to go further and say a given wine tastes like rubies and diamonds, though, since I don't really think anyone wants to know how I would even begin to know what effects gemstones have on the palate. One thing that is very common with Similkameen wines is that given the use of hotter climate favoring grapes like cab franc and perhaps malbec, the aroma in the wines tends to have a "hotter" feel to it - that is, the headiness (given by alcohol), combined with a burned smell on the aroma (think of charcoal or perhaps well-roasted chestnuts), and the presence of certain volatile compounds which have a spicy feel (both in the olfactory and degustatory manners) to the sense organs, ends up giving a sensation of "spicy", or of "peppery" to the wines. Having some of these elements means the wine will not settle down on the palate as quickly as a well-polished merlot, for instance, and actually may refresh your taste buds as an in-between courses drink.
Dessert wines are a whole different class and one that I will go into when talking about the various vineyards. Speaking of which, on we go to the real heart of the matter!
St. Laszlo - the sign is rusted and worn, and the sales facility looks like the side of a barn (and is kind of damp and musty) but it is one of the first wineries in the area (having grown grapes "legitimately" since 1984) and the owner, Joe, is a friendly enough guy. The samplings come fast and furious here - I think I had like 12 tastings alone at this winery, which is all but ridiculous. A lot of interesting varietals are prepared here, such as Perle de Csaba and Tokay, two sweet Hungarian wines, as well as an attempt at a Marechal Foch that tastes far more like a port than anything else. I did end up getting the Csaba and Tokay out of stray interest, but most of the wines there were not utterly great. In fact, one even had an aroma of cooked potatoes somehow paired along with a strong aroma of alcohol. In speaking around, it was hinted to me that they might fortify their wines without letting anyone know, and if they used grain alcohol (or I dunno, screech?), that could result in that. That being said, the wine is cheap and the varietals unique enough that some may merit serving at a party. It also produces a really nice strawberry wine. Facebook site at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=35123402422
Robin Ridge - situated a little north of St. Laszlo, a very charming winery. It's a neat place when you walk in and you immediately see a bunch of staff decked out in green hats in honor of Robin Hood. A wine festival was taking place in the Okanagan at this time, so the winery decided to have an archery contest (which, in all honesty, is kind of worrying when you think about the implications alongside tastings) and a bunch of kids were running around having fun. Another down-to-earth winery, but the facilities are brighter, with a more cheerful staff. Proprietor was very nice, and the set of tastings included a wine and cheese (for the festival, I think) and even their own commissioned dark chocolates to sample alongside their pinot noir. Merlot a bit rough for my liking, their whites are crisp, particularly the gewurztraminer. What I really think is very tasty and a unique purchase is their gamay - very balanced approach with an aroma of nuts alongside some minor hints of jammy fruits, it doesn't sip like a lot of Osoyoos reds in that it's not a spicy and overly punchy red, but rather moves smoothly on the palate and the tannins were something that already are appealing but could use another year to break down further. Lovely family winery, but their pinot noir and merlot didn't really do anything for me, even with the dark chocolate. Website at http://www.robinridgewinery.com/
Rustic Roots - not a grape winery, Rustic Roots is actually a fruit winery that's attached next to a farmer's organic market. They were having some kind of harvest festival when I walked through the door, which was cute but... how does a duo of guys playing easy listening acoustic, with nothing else around (okay, some cute decorations) count as a festival? That being said, I actually got decently priced fruit so I went with that (and they're organic! Yay! Whatever!). They produce a bunch of wines that try their utmost to emulate certain kinds of wines. For instance, there is an apple pear with a sweetness of 0-1, which reminds me of a German riesling only it has many more notes of, course, apples and pears. An apricot with a sweetness or 4-5 reminded me of a late harvest/muscat combo, only with a weird overtaste of sometihng I could only describe as prunes. What is definitely their best wine, in my opinion, is thei apple sparkling wine, which is delightfully light, has a superb floral aroma and could make great aperitif, mimosa, or even bellini, because of a pleasant aftertaste with just a slight hit of bitterness hidden amongst the pleasant sensation of the not-so-sweet snow apples that are used in the concoction. Santa Rosa, their plum wine variation on an ice wine, drinks lighter than ice wine (sweetness 9 opposed to 10 for the latter), and has a wonderful richness that would work well when balanced against rich molten chocolates, stewed fruits, coffee, or anything of a general darker nature. Fun people, lovely tastings - more info can be found at http://www.rusticrootswinery.com/ . In fact, the apple sparkling was so good I got 2 bottles, which brings me to the conclusion of part 2...
Eau Vivre Winery - the nicest winery. The moment I walk in, I see the couple I've been following at the past few wineries, who accuse me of stalking them (jokingly, I assume), after I spot the man playing an acoustic guitar that the proprietress, Geraldine, laid out. Dale and Geraldine being really nice proprietors gets into a conversation with us about the winery and the lands around it, mention that they're lucky to be around so many other great wineries, but one wine they've never have is... *gasp* a Rustic Ridge apple sparkling wine! So, out I trek to the car, pick up a bottle and thrust it at them, saying that it's for them, for us, to all share. They're in awe and are about to crack it open when a tour bus pops up. Twenty-two women and their driver step out and are in clearly a fun mood to party. That being said, the couple manages to alienate them. Firstly, after finding out they should've been twenty-six women, the man asks in a flip tone, "What, did someone die?", to which they turn silent and actually confirm that yes, someone did die. A few awkward moments ensue, to which he apologizes, but then continues making apparently a bunch of tasteless death jokes and calls the group "losers" and "the Desperate Housewives brigade". One of the women was so incensed she left the winery and refused to come back in while he was there, though she had found 4 bottles to buy there. I was kind of talking with a bunch of them, just reflecting and trading notes on various wineries, and trying to help clean up glasses when I accidentally break one of their glasses with a clumsy gesture and proceed to also sweep that up. At the end of it all, Dale and Gerri look a bit fatigued and a little stressed as the tour bus women tell them about their unpleasant experiences with the man, and promptly left. I thank them so much for their hospitality and tell them there's still the bottle of wine for them, which they look about to refuse, when I pull one of my standard James maneuvers:
"It's out here. I'll leave you with two options - you can either enjoy a really nice evening with the wine on your own, or I'd be happy to play your piano at your house (they mentioned they had a piano) and split the bottle with you."
Gerri looks like she's about to keel over from happiness, and they promptly take up my offer (though they really don't know if I'm any good at piano). I then help them clean up the glasses and learn they're also from Saskatchewan - refugees, as I jokingly say. Then we go back, and I get to admire her brush paintings and talk with Dale about his work as a geologist (Jesse Day, calling Jesse Day!), after which I crank out some BCD (a trio of composers) for them. Following a great dinner of artichokes and king crab and some further piano, Gerri then invites me to stay in their guest house since "it's too late to find a motel" (though it's 10PM) and being deeply honored, I accept. And sleep in total luxury, thanking my lucky stars that I found such an awesome winery at the end of the day.
Their wines are also quite well done. They have a light chardonnay, with an acidity that's quite strong but is well-balanced against a backbone of oak and floral aromas. Their pinot noir is also well-balanced, smooth, and actually a little deeper than most reds. But what really grabs me is their cab franc - dark, warm, an aroma that really bespeaks burnt coffee, the wine is still fairly tannic but has a beautiful body to it. Given a few years, it will mature and yield certain tastes which I think I could get in the sample offered to me, which included cherries, smoke, and oddly enough, mineral notes. The mineral notes could've been pepper potentially, but they just ran off the tongue a little differently than standard spice notes, and the aroma was slightly different due to their presence.
All in all, gorgeous wines from the region so far. And as I laid myself down to sleep, I couldn't wait to get going in the morning and sample some more of the Similkameen bounty!
Let me know if you'd like Part 3... which has another 7 wineries in the area covered!