Another wine weekend getaway to the Okanagan yields a couple of cases of excellent wines.

On a weekend getaway to BC wine country we drove through the Similkameen Valley and stopped at Seven Stones Winery.  George the winemaker is often at the counter and enjoys sharing his knowledge so we usually learn something new about wine.  Seven Stones makes some nice wines.  I especially like the Meritage, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.  At least that’s what went into the trunk of our car.

Next stop was Watermark Resort to check out their Wine Bar and Patio.   I was expecting big things from the food with new chef Jonas Stadtlander making his mark.  We wanted a quick snack so chose the Dukkah Calamari with lentils, cilantro, onion puree and balsamic glaze.    I’d never heard of Dukkah which is a Middle Eastern blend of spices with ground almonds.  It sounded intriguing and turned out to be absolutely delicious.  We’ll be planning a meal there on our next visit.

Our final destination was our amazing villa at Hester Creek and dinner at Terrafina.  More about that in another entry.  It was a fantastic day ending in one of the loveliest rooms I’ve enjoyed in BC.  Hester Creek is one of my favourite wineries in BC.  They just seem to be doing everything right.  Breakfast in the Breezeway the next morning capped off an excellent stay.  I’d highly recommend a stay at the Villas at Hester Creek.

Day 2 and we have a lot of wineries to cover between Oliver and Vernon.  Thank you to every winery that opens at 10am.  Our first stop was Quinta Ferreira .  This is a family run winery with serious knowledge of making great wines and a beautiful tasting room with a wonderful art gallery.  Everything here is about friendly, comfortable good taste.  Next stop was Fairview Cellars.  Bill Eggert is the winery owner and  winemaker and he makes some seriously great red wines . A visit to Fairview Cellars is always a unique experience. This time I was able to taste some of the vintages I have stored to see how they were coming along.   I’d hoped to focus on wineries I hadn’t visited before but it’s tough to pass up some favourites.  Finally we visited Meyer Family Vineyards, a new one for us.  They have a reputation for great Pinot Noir, a couple of single vineyard releases that are killer.  They have a nice room and friendly knowledgeable staff.  Another new one for us was Wild Goose.   They were almost ready to move into their new tasting room and it looks beautiful. I was happy to get to try some of their Mystic River Pinot Blanc, and a Blanc du Noirs made from Pinot Noir and Merlot.  Finally I’ve been trying to taste a wine called Serenata from Serendipity Winery in Naramata but we just couldn’t find the winery so the Serenata quest is still on. 

By now hunger set in and we were headed for Local Lounge and Grill at the Summerland Resort.  This is a consistently good restaurant.  We’ve stayed at the resort before and I will again. 

Our final destination was Sparkling Hills Resort.  We had a beautiful room overlooking the lake and I was delighted to find they had expanded the spa hours to mornings and evening.  I spend an hour in the 7 saunas and steam rooms trying to sweat out some of the wine I’d consumed and curled up in the super comfy bed to watch “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”.    Nice end to a food and wine day in the Okanagan.

What a great weekend.