Another Okanagan winery tour slated for next May

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/06/2019 (2271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I’d been excited about this particular stop for months.

Along with the other participants in Kemnay Travel’s Okanagan Winery Tour, I was finally going to visit Culmina Family Estate Winery.

I’d met Don and Elaine Triggs two years ago at the Winnipeg Wine Festival. Not only was Don (along with Allan Jackson) one of the founding partners of Jackson-Triggs, but this major player in the international wine scene was from Manitoba. Don was raised on a farm near Treherne, and Elaine hailed from Elgin, which is my mother’s home town. So we had plenty to talk about.

Don told me that after losing Jackson-Triggs in a hostile takeover, and after taking some time off, he and Elaine both agreed they missed the wine industry, and soon after, Culmina was born.

I’d been in touch with the Triggses before the trip, and was disappointed to learn they’d be away when we were there. So imagine my delight when we arrived and Elaine was there to greet us! Plans had changed, so she conducted our sit-down tasting session. I was thrilled! I’d been privileged to taste all these wines before, and our guests agreed that Culmina was something special.

The Decora Riesling was a delightfully dry and flavourful wine (citrus and stone fruit, with aromas of nectarine and peach enhanced by ginger overtones, and capped off by a beautiful minerality), so naturally I brought a bottle of it home with me. I also loved the Unicus Grüner Veltliner, the Dilemma Chardonnay, the Cabernet Sauvignon (which I also purchased), and the stunning Hypothesis, a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, which is available at Manitoba Liquor Marts for $49.05.

Our time at Culmina seemed far too short, but other wineries were waiting, so we bid Elaine and her team adieu and headed to Second Chapter.

Since the Second Chapter tasting room was still under construction, we enjoyed their small-lot, handcrafted wines — and they were all remarkable — on a mountaintop in what became gale-force winds. But the wild weather just added to the fun, and my fellow wine-trippers were truly impressed with the Second Chapter products. I brought home a bottle of Chardonnay and a knock-your-socks-off Malbec.

A brut bubbly called Grand Piano caught my fancy at Stoneboat, so naturally, it was in my stash when we departed that winery for Tinhorn Creek, where their Chardonnay really impressed me, as did a Viognier. So I got two bottles of each. We enjoyed a great meal al fresco at Tinhorn’s Miradoro Restaurant — there were some amazing charcuterie platters and I had some incredible halibut — then boarded the bus for the ride back to our hotel in Penticton. That jaunt was packed with laughs as usual, but with a bit of regret too, for the next morning, some of us would part company — a few of us, me included, were staying in the Okanagan for an extra few days.

But first, there was one last tasting at Quail’s Gate, where Jan, easily the most entertaining presenter in the 10 wineries we’d visited, treated us to tales, information and plenty of wonderful wines. Happily, all of the Quail’s Gate products we sampled, except for the Rosé, the Viognier and the Old Vines Foch Reserve, are available at Liquor Marts, so many of us loaded up on those three. But all the Quail’s Gate wines are definitely worth a try, so do seek them out at your local liquor store.

After the group exchanged fond farewells, I spent four days visiting with long-time friends, recalling old memories and creating new ones. But before I left, my pal Debbie took me to Mission Hill Family Estate Winery. The lure of one more tasting was too great to resist, and I’m glad, because I fell totally and completely in love with all the wines in the premium tasting. Like those of Quail’s Gate, more than a dozen Mission Hill products are available in Liquor Marts, and I can’t urge you more strongly to give them a try. But if you go to the winery, be sure to sample the 2016 Perpetua Chardonnay, the 2018 Brigadier’s Bluff Rosé and the 2014 Whispering Hill Organic Merlot. I oohed and aahed over every sip because they were absolutely spectacular wines.

Since my return home, I’ve been asked by tons of people how the trip went. I had a blast, and every single one of our guests said they had a terrific time. But here are a few actual comments from a handful of folks.

“We enjoyed meeting a really lovely, diverse group of people, tasting some new and soon-to-be-favourite wines and learning so much more about what it takes to make these very special Canadian wines,” wrote Marie Matheson.“I especially enjoyed the presentations made by the owners of the wineries.It was clearly evident they are very passionate about their work and the industry.”

“Thank you again for an amazing time,” emailed Lynda Nay-Kamann. “I thought you and Brent (Campbell, tour coordinator) did a fabulous job of organizing this trip. You did a fantastic job of selecting a wide variety of wineries. I enjoyed all the presentations and found them so varied that we learned something from each winery.”

“I enjoyed the trip so very much,” Deb Berkhan said. “The wineries were gorgeous and the amount I learned was incredible.However, I do believe it was the people that made the trip as fantastic as it was.It was a great group.”

Gail Richert concurred.

“We certainly enjoyed renewing acquaintances and making new ones it was such a friendly group,” she wrote. “Each winery was unique.Brent was accommodating to all our needs and you were an excellent ‘tour guide’ with your informative backgrounds about the wineries.We especially enjoyed Mike at Clos du Soleil because he gave such a clear description of his winemaking and had a real passion for his type of ‘farming.’The winery with the best presentation we felt was Culmina the setting up of the glasses for tasting for each different type of wine, the brochures we received, their story of the winery, and the beautiful setting from their glassed tasting room all made the experience wonderful. We would certainly recommend to anyone thinking of joining in next time, go for it!”

And I hope you do! We’re definitely planning another Okanagan tour next May — there are hundreds of wineries there — and we’d love to have you with us. Cheers!