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.
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…)
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.
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.
Mr. ordered the Ricotta & Confit Duck Pizza. It’s, interesting.
Posted in Drinks, Joyce, Okanagan, Travel, Wine Pairing, Wine Series, tagged Auxerrois, Cabernet Franc, dessert wine, Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery, Gewurztraminer, Golden Mile Bench, Hester Creek Estate Winery, Late Harvest, Oliver, Osoyoos, Pinot Noir, Road 13 Winery, Rustico Farm & Cellars, Trebbiano, Wine Capital of Canada on September 8, 2014| 3 Comments »
Last year when we went camping in Oliver, we checked out a number of wineries along the Black Sage Bench. But Oliver is the Wine Capital of Canada, of course they have more wineries to offer! So when we were in Osoyoos this summer, we headed north and stopped by the wineries along the Golden Mile Bench, another area known for its great wines.
Keep in mind that while we drink a fair share of wine through the years, but we don’t consider ourselves wine experts. This post is more to share our experience at each winery. We picked out ones that we know of, or ones with an interesting name, or simply made an impulse turn based on how the winery looks. We will tell you what we like and what we don’t like, from a personal preference standpoint.
Laugh all you want, but the name of this winery just caught my attention. Rustico – there must be something rustic about this place. And boy, were we in for a pleasant surprise! The heritage house, the vineyards, the donkey brothers and the tasting room – this just has so much character.
We got inside the “Tasting Saloon” and felt the warm welcome from the staff, even though the space was packed! Their wines all some have cheeky names. Among the number of wines we tried, here is what we liked:
Winery website: rusticowinery.com
I have tried Road 13’s wines a number of times. The most memorable was at the Vancouver Home + Design Show Pop-up Dinner last year. Therefore, I wanted to visit the winery and try a few more of their wines. As soon as we got there, we saw a castle at the end of Road 13 (yes, the street is called Road 13), overlooking a gorgeous view of the vineyard and beyond. If you are looking for a castle wedding, this is the place! (more…)
Posted in Drinks, Joyce, Okanagan, Wine Pairing, Wine Series, tagged BC wines, Black Hill Estate Winery, Black Sage Bench, Black Sage Road, Church & State Wines, Coyote Bowl Vineyard, Cuvee Blanc, Meritage, Oliver, Osoyoos, Syrah, vineyard, VQA, Wine Tour, Wine Tour Handbook on September 19, 2013| 2 Comments »
This is Part 2 of our winery visit in Oliver. Click here to read about our experience at Le Vieux Pin and Stoneboat.
Driving by more rows of vines, we had arrived at our next stop.
Endless rows of vines along Black Sage Road
We pulled into the driveway of Church & State Wines, a bigger winery with two locations, one in Oliver and another in Victoria. It charges $8 for 4 wine samples, and waived when purchasing two bottles of wine.
Church & State Wines
While their wines were quite good, the best part of our visit at Church & State was its outdoor wine bar. Its view was gorgeous!!! Situated on a small hill, you are looking over vineyards and mountains and open fields. It took my breath away! (more…)
Posted in Drinks, Joyce, Okanagan, Wine Pairing, Wine Series, tagged BC wines, Black Sage Bench, Black Sage Road, camping, ice wine, Labour Day, Le Vieux Pin, Oliver, Osoyoos, Pinotage, Rose, Sauvignon Blanc, Stoneboat Vineyards, Syrah, vineyard, VQA, Wine Tour, Winery on September 17, 2013| 3 Comments »
Many people go camping on the Labour Day long weekend, taking advantage of the last few days of summer. We were no exceptions. This past Labour Day weekend, Mr. and I, along with CC and DF, went camping in Oliver. You know what Oliver is known as? The Wine Capital of Canada! Obviously we didn’t waste our 4.5 hour drive to Oliver – we spent quite some time at local wineries, and here are some highlights.
Welcome to the Wine Capital of Canada
The Oliver/Osoyoo area has two premium growing areas, known as the Golden Mile (along Highway 97) and Black Sage Bench. As suggested by its name, the Black Sage Bench covers the dozen or so wineries along Black Sage Road. Just about every square inch is filled with grape vines.
Rows and rows of vines
With the short stay it’s impossible to swing by every winery on the Black Sage Bench. We picked out ones that we know of, or simply made an impulse turn-off based on how the winery looks. (more…)
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