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Posts Tagged ‘Okanagan’

[Travel] Dinner at the Naramata Inn – Add To Your Must-Visit Okanagan List!

Posted in Canadian, Dinner, Eat Local, Favourites, Fine dining, Hotel Dining, Joyce, Meat, Okanagan, Restaurants, Seafood, Travel, West Coast, Winery Dining, tagged beef tartare, duck breast, halibut, Naramata, Naramata Inn, Ned Bell, Okanagan, Recommendation, scallops, Thompson Okanagan, Wine Pairing on July 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Whenever we go on our winecation with our friends B&K, we always include a “fancy night out” with a wine dinner at one of the restaurants in the area. For our trip in June, I had my eyes on the 112-year-old Naramata Inn.

Two years ago, famed Canadian chef and Okanagan-born Ned Bell, his wife Kate Colley, and two business partners have taken over Naramata Inn and breathed new life into this heritage building. Naturally, the kitchen is led by Ned, who is no stranger to the Vancouver restaurant scene and local foodies. The menu is all about fresh, local, seasonal ingredients, and quality is basically guaranteed. And with that, it’s been on my radar ever since and now was the perfect time to dine there.

Food

The menu is a prix fixe 2-course or 3-course menu, and we all opted for 2 courses.

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[Travel] Wine Tasting and a Tour at Covert Farms, Oliver

Posted in Drinks, Joyce, Meat, Okanagan, Travel, Wine, Wine Series, tagged BC wines, British Columbia, charcuterie, Covert Farms, ExploreBC, Farm to Table, Farm Tour, Okanagan, Oliver, Route 97, South Okanagan, Thompson Okanagan, Tour, U-Pick, Vintage Mercury Pickup, VQA, Wine Tasting, Wines of British Columbia on August 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »

What is it like to be driven around in a 1952 Vintage Mercury Pickup? An experience only found at Covert Farm! It’s an 1.5-hour tour on the 650-acre farm, and let me tell you all about it.

The Pickup

As soon as Mr. and I arrived at the farmhouse and signed in, we were ushered towards the vintage truck. It’s in a bright red colour and you couldn’t miss it. (more…)

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[Wine] TIME Winery & Kitchen, Penticton

Posted in Drinks, Joyce, Okanagan, Travel, Wine, Wine Series, tagged BC wines, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Christa-Lee McWatters Bond, ENCORE Vineyards, Harry McWatters, Meritage, Okanagan, PenMar Theatre, Penticton, Riesling, Rose, Thompson Okanagan, TIME Winery, Viognier, White Meritage, Wine, Wine Tasting, Winery on July 6, 2018| 1 Comment »

It was two years ago during our visit of Evolve Cellars, we learned from Christa-Lee that her family winery business ENCORE Vineyards had acquired the PenMar Theatre in Penticton and was converting the space into a winery. Now, we just got a sneak preview of the soon-to-open TIME Winery & Kitchen.

At the time this was written, the winery was just one inspection away from getting the permit needed to open its door to the public. So during our visit, the staff was still putting on some finishing touches.

The PenMar Theatre was a four-auditorium theatre, originally built in the 50s with just one auditorium. Harry McWatters, CEO of ENCORE, has some fond memories of the theatre. He pointed to a corner of the now winery, and told us that’s where he sat on a date decades ago, as a boy, when the movie and popcorn was just 25¢.

The reconfiguration from movie theatre to winery took longer than expected.

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[VanFoodies eat Okanagan] Wine & Dine at Evolve Cellars

Posted in Bistro, Dessert, Great Views, Joyce, Lunch, Meat, Neighbourhood Gem, Okanagan, Outdoor Dining, Patio, Restaurants, Seafood, Travel, West Coast, Wine Pairing, Wine Series, Winery Dining, tagged BC wines, Beef Carpaccio, Bottleneck Drive, Bruschetta, Cabernet Merlot, cheesecake, Cherry, Cioppino, Duck Confit, Evolve Cellars, Gewurztraminer, Okanagan, Pinot Grigio, Rose, Route 97, scallops, Summerland, Thompson Okanagan, Wine, Wine Pairing, Wine Tasting, Winery on August 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

While we were in the Okanagan, of course Hester Creek wasn’t the only winery we visited. On this trip, we ventured out to Summerland, specifically the Bottleneck Drive area, and we discovered Evolve Cellars.

Evolve Cellars was open in 2015 and above the tasting room is e, its dining room. Simple decor – white wall, white table cloth, with big window panes overlooking a gorgeous view of its vineyard and Lake Okanagan. Bryan, Kathryn, Mr. and I made a lunch reservation prior to getting there, and we’re patting our back for making a good choice.

Food

e’s lunch menu is quite interesting. I like that they incorporate their wine into many of the dishes. We shared a few appies, including the Seared Scallops. There was nice caramelization on one side of the scallops, the scallops were cooked to the right temperature, tender and sweet. The roasted corn salsa gave it some smokey flavours and crunch. For us, they were served on a spoon and it made a perfect bite (Mr. really liked it, because he always wants “a bit of everything in each bite”).

The Bruschetta was probably my least favourite appetizer. Don’t get me wrong, it was quite good.

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[VanFoodies eat Okanagan] Hester Creek: Terrafina, The Villa & the Winery

Posted in Breakfast, Dinner, Great Views, Italian, Joyce, Okanagan, Outdoor Dining, Pasta, Pizza, Restaurants, Tasting Room, Travel, Wine Series, Winery Dining, tagged B&B, BC wines, Bed & Breakfast, Beef Carpaccio, Beignet, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Merlot, Character Red, Golden Mile Bench, Hester Creek Estate Winery, Hotel, Okanagan, Oliver, Pizza, Route 97, Semifreddo, Terrafina Restaurant, The Villa at Hester Creek, Thompson Okanagan, Vesuvio, Wagyu Carpaccio, Wine, Wine Tasting, Winery on July 21, 2016| 9 Comments »

For the Canada Day long weekend, Mr. and I went to the Okanagan with Bryan and Kathryn. Last year, we received a certificate for a two-night stay at The Villa at Hester Creek Estate Winery, so we took the opportunity to spoil ourselves on this getaway.

Terrafina Restaurant

During our stay, Mr. and I also had dinner at the Terrafina Restaurant at Hester Creek.

To start, we shared the Wagyu Beef Carpaccio. There was so much on the plate you can barely see the thinly sliced wagyu beef. The flavour combination was quite typical — capers, parmesan, arugula, aioli — what came as a pleasant surprise was the little sprouts sprinkled on top. They gave a slight crunch, an earthy note, which brought a new dimension of flavour.