Okanagan wine tour out-of-this-world experience

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/05/2019 (2299 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It started out being all about the wine.

But very quickly, it became all about the people.

An enthusiastic collection of wine aficionados boarded a Brandon Bus Lines carriage on May 5, looking for adventure, hoping to explore the delights B.C.’s Okanagan Valley had to offer, and ready for some fun.

And boy, did they find it all!

Kemnay Travel, owned and operated by organizer extraordinaire Brent Campbell, had arranged an incredible array of 10 wineries at which we could do tastings, and almost all of them were knockouts. I was asked to join the group as host/escort, and while, in retrospect, we all had our favourite places for different reasons, we all agreed that it just seemed to get better and better as we went along. We’d think, “Oh, this was amazing!” and then we’d get to the next winery and figure, “It can’t get any better than this!” and yet it just did.

On and on we went, with a daunting schedule that saw us visit one winery, Poplar Grove, pretty much the moment we arrived in Penticton (Monday, May 6), enjoy an impressive tasting in their lovely glassed-in tasting room overlooking the vineyards, and then indulge in a splendid gourmet meal with an incredible view. Plenty of laughs were shared, friendships were formed in mere moments, and the food and drink helped us bond as a group for a tour I don’t think any of us will ever forget.

Three couples joined us along the way, having flown part or all of the distance. We collected Gail and Ron Richert in Calgary, and Marie and Gord Matheson and Charlie and Laurel Clark in Penticton, all of whom I’ve known for many years. While some of us got to know each other on the bus, I was also delighted to have some other longtime friends aboard to keep me anchored — Lori McBeth, Lynda Nay-Kamann, and Ken and Eileen Frazer.

But the addition of friends I hadn’t met yet — Deb Berkan, Ida Hallett and Karen Thorpe from Brandon, Glenda Reynolds and Valerie Butterfield from Carberry, and a pair of ultra-fun troublemakers from Virden, Diana MacDonald and Helen McCormick — sealed the deal as far as having a wonderful crew. When Charlie and Gord got verbally jousting with the latter two folks, there was no holding back. Our time together was spent oohing and aahing over wine, exclaiming delightedly about our meals, and laughing.

And laughing, and laughing, and then laughing some more.

Stories abounded, with wild occurrences that were too ridiculous to detail here but which we delighted in. Diana’s much-proclaimed penchant for ice cream resulted in several pranks — the only thing I can say is “Tickleberries!” I mean, I had the greatest, most rewarding, most eye-opening time.

While I can’t do justice to the intricacies and the inside jokes that will only resonate with those of us fortunate to be on this wild and crazy ride, what I can do is tell you how incredibly impressive the wineries and the wines were. From the get-go at Poplar Grove (where I bought Chardonnay and a fabulous bottle of Syrah, which is available for $40.17 at Manitoba Liquor Marts), people were enjoying, sampling and sipping — and buying.

Several dozen cases of wine — I bought three cases myself — came home with us, as we took advantage of being able to purchase spectacular wines we can’t access here at home, or at least not easily. As well, we sampled some wines, notably those at Quail’s Gate, that Manitoba Liquor Marts do carry, and folks were very happy to know they could get at least some of the wines they tried on the trip right here in Brandon.

Before I get started on some of the wines, I should note that, as you’ll see in the accompanying photos by renowned photographer Ken Frazer —how lucky for me that he was along and was willing to share his fabulous pictures with Sun readers! —panoramic vistas surrounded us everywhere. I spent 16 days in Sonoma and Napa Valleys three years ago, and while I loved it there and adored the wines, California’s got nothin’ on Beautiful British Columbia for scenery. Majestic mountaintops, vineyard vistas, wonderful water views — I mean, B.C.’s got it going on! And so, too, do they have it in spades where wine is concerned.

Chatting with our guests along with way, I was most struck by one of Charlie’s comments, because it echoed my own thoughts.

He said, “You know, Diane, I’ve never been that impressed by Canadian wine.”

And I said, “Well honestly, neither have I, Charlie. But you have to understand that to some degree, most of what we get at home is not the best that Canada has to offer.”

What I meant by that was, as far as I know, it’s MBLL’s policy that, if a winery can’t supply all of its stores in the province, then that winery’s products simply aren’t listed. So we get stuff from the mega-producers, such as the aforementioned Quail’s Gate, and Mission Hill, for example, but not the niche, estate wineries that are arguably producing some of the most impressive wines in the country. Not that the large companies don’t have great products — they certainly do! — but for the most part, it was in the smaller, lesser-known wineries we found the creations that completely blew us away.

Consequently, my favourite moment of the trip was when Charlie came up to me at the one of the wineries on the first full day, his eyes shining and his enthusiasm more than evident, and said something to the effect of, “Diane, I’ve done a total turnaround! I can’t wait to share our wonderful Canadian wine discoveries with our American friends in Florida next winter!”

I was so excited and thrilled, I almost cried. Admittedly, I’m a sap, and I shed tears more than once during the trip. But the wine was amazing, the people were even more so, and judging from the responses, which I’ll share in upcoming columns, a great time was had by all!