Okanagan wine touring

So I've decided to tour every winery I can in the Okanagan while I'm here in Kelowna. Not in one day. That would be ridiculous. So we started in Lake Country, which is a about twenty minutes north of Kelowna. We started at Gray Monk, which is more well known and the largest of the three main wineries here. They have a beautiful view for sure. They offered four complimentary wines to try. So we tried the Pinot Gris, which seems to be a well planted grape varietal here. It was of course delicious. Citrusy and peachy. Really great patio wine for sure. Next we tried a Pinot Auxerrois. Not a grape I'm very familiar with but is was definitely along the same lines as the Pinot Gris with a bit more aromatics. Next we tried the Pinot Blanc. It had more of a tropical nose with melons and mango A little more on the off dry side. I we also tried the Odyssey III series port which was chocolate and dark fruit and really delicious and for only 20 bucks I would buy a few of those anytime. Definitely one to check out.

So next was Ex Nihilo. We tried a Riesling and another Pinot Gris. Which is apparently a very good grape to grow around here. They said that both won gold metals in France? They were quite good in my opinion. Great patio wines. Next we tried three reds. The Pinot noir and their signature Bordeaux style blend. Both seemed a bit young but with some time they could develop into something even better. Smooth tannins and no shortage of oak. Not my favorite of the day so far. I don't remember the merlot so was nothing that stood out to me obviously.

On to Arrowleaf. I liked this one a lot. It's a smaller family owned vineyard. Had a really great Gewurztraminer with the classic lychee nut aroma, and of course Pinot Gris. They also had my first of two new varietals. Zweigelt, which is an Austrian red varietal. Medium bodied with cherry and spice. Pretty good, and Bacchus. Much like a sweeter Riesling with peach and citrus. I really liked that one.

Next was back closer to Kelowna at Ancient Hill Winery. Very small but they definitely had some interesting wines. One that stood out for me was the red Baco noir. It had a red liquorice aroma which I've never experienced before which is super exciting to me. After a few tastings everything starts to taste the same sometimes and this one didn't. Something interesting. Anyway that's all so far. All that wine tends to make one rather famished.....

After lunch we headed to one more winery right here in Kelowna and also the oldest one. Calona Vinyards, Which actually encompass three different wines. Sandhill, Peller Estates and Calona. There were too many to try them all so we went with the Sandhill ones. We tried a Sauvignon Blanc, a Chardonnay, a Merlot and a red blend (The name escapes me now). The best Chardonnay of the day for sure, half stainless steel and half barrel aged made it just the right amount of acidity and creaminess that is my favorite kind of Chard. The Merlot was also my favorite of the day. Just seemed smoother then the rest. She also let us try a Calona wine that I had never seen and was curious about called "Sovereign Opal" Which is apparenly a cross of two that I forget right now, I think a Gewurz and something else. Apparently it is only grown by Calona Vinyards, No one else in the world has it. It's a lot like a Gewurz though.

I think 5 is good for one day. I ended up coming home with a couple whites. The Ancient Hill Gewurztraminer and the Calona "Sovereign Opal" My little wine rack is growing! Lovely day!  

Update: Today we did a quick stop at Sperling Vineyards. Just a bit south of Kelowna attached to a cute little bistro place. Found out they are one of the oldest vineyards in the valley. Since 1928 I believe but that could be wrong. They never made their own wines but sold their grapes to other wineries. Until recently. I have to say they make some pretty interesting wines. Theirs Pinot Gris is really interesting as it has seen some barrel ageing. And their old vines Foch is really awesome. They also have these cute little 375 ml bottles of "sper...itz". A Moscato type varietal is in the blend and it ripens so quickly they can harvest in August. They stop fermentation early to keep it low in alcohol and quite sweet. Very refreshing and different.