Okanagan Wine Tour 2011 Day 1

Day 1 and we were off to a great start with a tour of the Vanessa Vineyards in Cawston with Nathan, the vineyard manager. In the merlot planting we saw how they were trimming off the green grapes now so that they don't have any underripe grapes at harvest time. These grapes are destined for the Sandhill Small lots program. I look forward to drinking some of this wine.

Next stop was Seven Stones to taste their newly released Meritage. Impressive wine and it comes in a Magnum as well. I am now the proud owner of one of those big boys. We still had time to visit Orofino and get some of their Chardonnay; a truly delicious wine with a long buttery finish, we drink it annually with our Christmas lobster thermidor. Supply laid in. We also picked up some Passion Pit Cab Sauv, sadly both bottles are empty now. Get some if you can lay hands on it.

We ate a picnic lunch on the lovely patio at Herder Winery before our tasting. Their blended red wine, Josephine is smooth and drinkable, a little expensive at $40 for how easily it goes down, but it is readily available at Kensington Square wines.

We finished the day with a tour of N'km Mip Vineyards. They have an amazing purpose built winery and the tour was exceptionally good. Thanks to Moss for an great time. We finished with a tasting in their private tasting room and were treated to some wines that haven't been released yet and a couple of vertical vintage tastings. I'd recommend the wine tour to anyone interested that has the opportunity. I consider it a "not to be missed". It's my second time and I'd probably do it again.

Our first dinner at Spirit Ridge and I was curious to see how these restaurants were going to deal with group of 15. I knew SJ had some trials getting the dining put together and I wanted to see the outcome. The setting and room were beautiful and the service and selection very good. The halibut and salmon were both a little overcooked and the risotto even more so. Great feedback on the salads. I think they've had some troubles in the kitchen recently so hopefully it will be straightened out soon. I'd consider it a success and worth a visit, especially if you are staying at the resort.