Slye
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Joined: 8/3/2013
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I wanted to circle back to this thread, and first of all thank all of whom gave suggestions. They were greatly appreciated. As I had mentioned, this was a trip with my dad -- mostly focused on us visiting with each other but he was very tolerant of my wine interests. Having said that we did not get to that many places -- and as many of you noted the region is very long, with only a two lane road to go from one end to the other. We were staying at the very northern tip -- in Vernon. My superficial sense of the valley is that the southern end and northern ends are much less developed -- though on the Northern end we did see a number of newish looking subdivisions popping up. The middle, around Kelowna, is pretty developed and populated.
We woke up early the first full day and headed south. We had a great tasting at Le Vieux Pin. The person pouring was only a few months in the job, but had been a tour guide in the region for many years prior. He was a perfect person to introduce us to and to pour the wines. My dad started to realize that there is a difference between fine wines and the box wines he normally drinks. The Rose was great; there was a wonderfully nutty and minerally chardonnay (and I am realizing I am less a fan of chardonnay these days). We tried two syrahs -- the lesser expensive Violette and their premium Equinoxe. We had the latter two side by side, which is a nice touch -- as our server said, he remembers always wanting to compare similar wines while tasting and usually could not. As another aside, this is the only place I have ever tasted where we literally had a clean and different glass for each type of wine. I preferred the Violette -- lovely floral notes, with lots of bright fruit and pepper. There is 0.5% Viognier. The Equinoxe would perhaps age better, but I was too aware of the oak to really be able to appreciate what might be underneath. But all in all a great visit, and I would highly recommend it. We did not get to their sister winery, Stella, which I would like to try next time given the quality at LVP.
We then went to Checkmate. I had gone online that morning and made an online reservation. We were the only ones there when we arrived. Another party of three showed up about half hour after we did. But I highly recommend making a reservation, as at the moment their tasting room is a bit larger than a trailer (though a beautiful space). They are building a large tasting facility, but I don't remember if we were told when it would be done. We had four chardonnays and two merlots (the only two wines they make). They were lined up all together so we could go back and forth. I unfortunately did not take note of the different wines we tasted. My memory is that I liked the single vineyard chardonnays a bit better than the blends (the two blends we had were more expensive than the single vineyards). The wines were all good, but I can't say that I wanted any given the price (from C$85 to 110). I think we may have been influenced by LVP. My dad I think was also getting a bit of palate fatigue so we did not linger as much as I would have liked. The servers were fantastic and friendly and informative. They say these are the top chardonnays in the valley, and I certainly cannot disagree with that.
We then had lunch at Hester Street. Very good meal -- wines were good -- nothing memorable. We then headed back up to Vernon.
The next day we went down to Mission Hill. As many noted this is the first winery that has spun off Checkmate and Martins Lane. I won't repeat the history here only to say that Martin's Lane (according to our server at Checkmate) not only requires a reservation but, she said half jokingly, also may vet guests. We did not try to go there. Mission Hill was a good visit, but it is a bit like Disneyland. Large and beautiful. Lots of people -- literally two large limousines pulled up while we were there and each unloaded about 12-15 young women who were probably part of some wedding party. If you do not like crowds (and it was not that crowded this time of year but it was by far the largest crowds we encountered), you might think twice about visiting. On the other hand it is a great place for someone who likes wine and someone less into that -- beautiful grounds; nice artwork; etc. We did a wine and cheese paired tasting -- for which one makes a reservation. The tasting consisted of a tour of the grounds, including the cellar. Our sommelier (this is how the guides identify themselves) was very knowledgeable about the winery and the wines. We had three wines for the tasting -- a Chardonnay (the oakier one); the Quatrain (which is a Cab, Syrah, Cab Franc and I think Merlot blend), and a late harvest Vidal. My favorite of those was the Vidal, which surprised me as I have not enjoyed many of the Vidals I have had in the past. Prior to this tasting I had done a tasting at the bar. One of the advantages of Mission Hill is that they produce so many different wines -- so you can get a good variety here. My favorite was the Semillion-Sauv Blanc -- really complex with some lovely acidity. I bought two of those. I also liked the lesser oaked Chardonnay (called the Perpetua). The wines were solid. The wine tasting space is also a large gift shop, with displays of books and odds and ends for sale. A bit commercial, and it made the space seem a bit busy and crowded (particularly with all of the wedding parties), but if I were to be honest it was not terribly crowded. We had a lovely lunch at the restaurant there. They had a great summer kale salad that they recommended to pair with their Riesling. That was a great pairing. The wine really showed nicely with the salad.
We then went over to Tantalus -- another excellent tasting. The Rieslings were top notch. I also liked the Chardonnay a lot, as well as the Rose. Definitely worth a visit for the Rieslings.
Finally we ate at 50th Parallel up on the northern part of the valley. Another excellent meal -- though the crab cakes felt a bit old to me. The Halibut was excellent. I had a sip of their Gewurtztraminer which was excellent (though I don't know the grape well). The Chardonnay was quite good, as was the Pinot Blanc. The premium Pinot Noir was also one of the best we had tried. (The one at Mission Hill recently got a high rating from the Financial Times -- I thought it was fine, but not amazing; the 50th Parallel was much better, though a bit pricier I think)
As many noted, there are lots and lots of wineries, and we barely scratched the surface. As I think mye recommended, you would want at least a solid 3 or 4 days, and I would say even more if you wanted to try the wide variety of wines available.
My overall impression is that it is a fascinating area making some really good wines -- as many noted better on the whites than the reds, though the LVP syrah was excellent, as were the Checkmate Merlots. The wines are mostly delicate and nicely balanced -- if there is oak, it is usually judiciously applied in a way that melds nicely with the wine. Some of the chardonnays I thought used oak quite well.
Thanks again to all who provided advice.
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