Western Living AB, June2017

WESTERN LIVING // JUNE 2017

PM 40068973

Life on the Edge

Stunning New Architecture from the Okanagan

Colour is King in a Gorgeous New Calgary Home

Al Fresco Dinner Recipes from Covert Farms

Stay in Wine Country: Our Favourite New Lodgings

OPENING SOON LUXURIES OF EUROPE INC. located at 221-10 ave SW, Calgary, AB

WLSTYLE // title

J U N E 2 017 A L B E R TA // V O LU M E 4 3 // N U M B E R 5

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design 13 // One to Watch

Edmonton’s Delina Wright turns scraps of wood into works of art.

14 // Shopping

Sleek sofas, sculptural light fixtures and more hot buys from across the West.

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16 // Openings

A chic chocolate shop and more new rooms.

22 // From the Ground Up

Covert Farms is where four generations bring all the Valley’s bounty together.

28 // Over the Edge

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This 480-square-foot cantilevered glassand-concrete guest studio on the property of winery owner Ian MacDonald is a rather literal leap of faith over a stunning cliff in the Okanagan—and the ideal place for artists to do some serious dreaming.

the best of the okanagan 38 // Family Affair

48 // The 5 Best Bike

Rides in the Okanagan

Top-notch road ride recommendations from a passionate OK cyclist.

plus 50 // Trade Secrets

A blue-and-white kitchen features a bulkhead that steals the show.

Cover: Jon Adrian. This page: room: Phil Crozier; Covert Farms: Evaan Kheraj.

SURPRISING INSPIRATION A fateful purchase of a brilliantly designed area rug was the start of a bold and beautiful colour palette in this stunning Calgary home designed by Reena Sotropa.

38

18 // Great Spaces

The white-on-white Aviary office provides inspiration for aspiring minimalists.

WESTERN LIVING GENERAL MANAGER | PUBLISHER Dee Dhaliwal EDITORIAL

The Western Living e-newsletter brings you inspired home and entertaining ideas three times a week, including: • Exclusive home tours • Design advice from the pros • Wine picks • Fabulous events • Must-try dishes from our Recipe Finder PLUS entertaining tips, fantastic contests, getaway guides, cooking tips, and everything else you need to know to live life well in the West.

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Anicka Quin ART DIRECTOR Paul Roelofs EXECUTIVE EDITOR Stacey McLachlan FOOD & TRAVEL EDITOR Neal McLennan ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Jenny Reed ASSOCIATE EDITOR Julia Dilworth ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Natalie Gagnon STAFF WRITER Kaitlyn Gendemann CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Amanda Ross, Nicole Sjöstedt, Barb Sligl, Jim Sutherland, Julie Van Rosendaal CITY EDITORS Karen Ashbee (Calgary), Jyllian Park (Edmonton), Rosemary Poole (Victoria) EDITORIAL INTERNS Christine Beyleveldt, Maansi Pandya, Aryn Strickland ART INTERN Lydhia-Marie Bolduc-Gosselin

EMAIL mail@westernliving.ca

WESTERNLIVING.CA ONLINE COORDINATOR Leah Webb PRODUCTION MANAGER Lee Tidsbury DESIGNER Swin Nung Chai MARKETING & EVENTS MANAGER Dale McCarthy EVENTS COORDINATOR Kaitlyn Lush MARKETING INTERN Rachel Cheng TEL 604-877-7732 FAX 604-877-4848 CUSTOMER SERVICE WEB westernliving.ca TEL 604-877-7732

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CALGARY & EDMONTON OFFICE

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CALGARY TEL 403-461-5518 EDMONTON TEL 780-424-7171 FA X 403-685-0582 EMAIL anita.vanbreevoort@westernliving.ca

NATIONAL MEDIA SALES REPRESENTATION, MEDIATIVE SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER, NATIONAL SALES Ian Lederer

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WESTERN LIVING MAGAZINE is published 10 times a year by Western Media Group, a division of Yellow Pages Ltd. Copyright 2017. Printed in Canada by TC • Transcontinental, LGM-Coronet, 737 Moray St., Winnipeg, Man. R3J 3S9. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Circulation Dept., Ste. 560, 2608 Granville St., Vancouver, B.C. V6H 3V3. Distributed free in areas of Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited. All reproduction requests must be made to COPIBEC (paper reproductions), 800-717-2022, or CEDROM-SNi (electronic reproductions), 800-563-5665. The publisher cannot be responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. This publication is indexed in the Canadian Magazine Index and the Canadian Periodical Index, and is available online in the Canadian Business & Current Affairs Database. ISSN 1920-0668 (British Columbia edition), ISSN 1920-065X (Alberta). Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement #40068973.

6 J U N E 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

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WL // EDITOR’S NOTE

ANICK A QUIN, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR ANICK A.QUIN@WESTERNLIVING.CA 8 J U N E 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

Q& A This month we asked our contributors, how do you like to explore a new city?

Cur s Co â€œĐže t â€?

13 I enjoy exploring a downtown core on a weekday morning as the people start the day. You get a sense of how the city comes to life. To me, it’s people and an energy that really makes a city unique—not so much the man-made structures.

rd H ss “5 B tR dRi�s�

48 I love walking tours—and I recently did just that in San Francisco. I find it’s a very intimate way to get a feel for a city at ground level. Either that or a bike tour (of course).

Behind the Scenes We won! Associate Editor Julia Dilworth and I attended this year’s Canadian Magazine Awards in Toronto, and I’m thrilled to report that we came home with the prize for Best Home Design and Decor magazine. And we’re all still celebrating, truth be told.

VISIT

FOLLOW US ON

Anicka Quin portrait: Evaan Kheraj; styling by Luisa Rino, makeup by Melanie Neufeld; dress courtesy Nordstrom; watch courtesy Tiffany & Co. Photographed at the Aviary, theaviary.ca.

HOW TO DISCOVER A CITY

I’m heading to the south of France for a couple of weeks this summer with friends, and in my planning stages, the first thing I did after booking our villa was Google “markets in Languedoc.� As I thrillingly discovered, there’s one for every day of the week in the area—so I’ve started mapping them out.

I’m not sure there’s a better way to discover the culture of a region than through its food, and it’s even better if you can talk with the growers and makers themselves (thank you, Duolingo, for helping me brush up on my highschool French). I draw my inspiration from David Lebovitz—the Paris-based writer whose food philosophy is so close to my heart that this is the second time in three months I reference him on this page—who lets the market dictate what he eats for dinner each night. We’ll be doing the same in France, and, with luck, we’ll get a few stories from the sellers and suggestions on how to explore their hometowns.

This month, we head to the Okanagan— home to one of this country’s greatest farmers’ markets, in Penticton—and get to know one particular farm and its farmers. Covert Farms, a fourth-generation operation in Oliver, exemplifies OK culture: they are incredible produce and wine producers, yes, but they also create community, with on-site events that range from an 800-strong obstacle course to the field dinners they host at the end of the season. As Jennifer Cockrall-King describes in her piece, “Family Affair� (page 38), the family offers a welcoming, memorable version of the Okanagan, one they’re happy to share with visitors.

As I write this, the farmers’ markets here in Vancouver are just starting to open again for the season, bringing our local Fraser Valley producers into the city to chat with us face to face as we buy what they grow. I’m lucky enough to live two blocks from one in my West End neighbourhood, and as I pick up a kohlrabi, a few bunches of Lacinato kale and, of course, a flourless brownie from Purebread this weekend, I know I’m also going to pick up a little more insight into my own hometown’s backyard—direct from the source.

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DESIGNERS OF THE YEAR 2017

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Celebrating the best new design in Western Canada, as judged by the world’s foremost designers and architects including: Todd Saunders, Saunders Architecture Jonathan Adler, Ceramicist and Designer Stephanie Forsythe, Molo Paolo Cravedi, Alessi Douglas Cridland, Cridland Associates Dan & Dean Caten, Dsquared2 Robert Bailey, Robert Bailey Interiors Scott Cooper, Crate & Barrel Michael Green, Michael Green Architecture Barbara Atkin, Fashion Visionary Michael Budman & Don Green, Roots Canada Shauna Levy, Design Exchange Geoff Lilge, On Our Table Kelty McKinnon, PFS Studio Brent Comber, Brent Comber Originals Michael Shugarman, Shugarman Architecture Thom Fougere, EQ3 Nancy Pollock-Ellwand, University of Calgary

September 2017

Details at designersoftheyear.ca

DESIGN

S H O P P I N G // T R E N D S // P E O P L E // S PA C E S // O P E N I N G S // I N T E L

ONE TO WATCH

The Panelist Delina Wright, Woodworking artist, Edmonton

Scrap wood becomes abstract art in Delina Wright’s capable hands. And the Edmonton-based designer’s skill in the art of woodworking is even more deft than it first appears. “It’s like the world’s hardest jigsaw puzzle,” she laughs.

To create her pieces, Wright often spends hours plotting out a design (“If someone wants something specific, trying to transfer that into a geometric pattern can be challenging”) before mitering together found woods like spruce and pine into striking designs; for those who don’t want their artwork to fit in a frame, Wright also connects uncut scraps into one-of-a-kind formations. “I love working with my hands and finding the right shape,” she says. The pieces are DIY down to the last detail: Wright stains the wood herself using custom-mixed shades.

—Maansi Pandya

Curtis Comeau

Wood Works Wright pictured with one of her beautiful geometric wall hangings in her Edmonton wood shop.

westernliving.ca / J U N E

2017 13

WLDESIGN // SHOPPING

Pattern Play

Marimekko’s Kumiseva print ($129) was created by artist Katsuji Wakisaka in the 1970s to depict an abstract of city blocks and farmers’ fields. Now updated in a palette of fresh greens and pinks, it moves into the present. Kit, Calgary, kitinterior objects.com

A a’s Pi Stir side table by Kroft $394, avdshoppe.com

Regular readers of WL will be familiar with Aly Velji—the Calgary designer’s playful work regularly graces our pages, and I’m personally a big fan of his creative designs. So I’m thrilled to see he’s sharing his skill for curating a great space with the general public through his new online shop. Velji’s first collection features pieces from across Canada, including his hometown (Moonshadow Macrame’s plant hangers from Calgary) and mine (Socco Design’s Moroccan decorations via Vancouver). I particularly love this Stir side table from Toronto’s Kroft—a great handmade showpiece for extra seating or display.

For more of Anicka’s picks, visit westernliving.ca

NOTEWORTHY New in stores across the West

Deco Dream

The delicately rounded Bower pendant ($329) in Gatsby-style brass is proof that domed and streamlined art deco shapes are here to stay.

West Elm, Calgary, westelm.ca

Front-Row Seat

The Menu Tailor sofa (pricing on request) by designer Rui Alves was made to be viewed from all angles—all the better to see its sartorially inspired, gravity-defying construction. Pomp and Circumstance, Calgary, pomp andcircumstance.ca

True North

Tropical Fever

For their latest collection, Cole and Son collaborated with Ardmore Ceramics to produce wallpapers inspired

by Africa’s exotic wildlife and lush motifs.

The Narina pattern ($190.40 for an 11-yard roll) comes in six colourways, from graphic neutrals (shown) to fearless burnt orange. Through Lee Jofa, across the West, leejofa.com

1 4 J U N E 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

The long comeback of mid-century modern has morphed into a love of Nordic design, with its spare, mindful sensibility. The Red Thread: Nordic Design (Phaidon, $95) offers a beautifully rendered reference book, focusing on 200 emblematic objects.

Indigo, across the West, chapters.indigo.ca.

Teak Performer

The new Tibbo collection from Dedon (pricing on request) is the Danish outdoor furniture company’s first teak collection and features their trademark woven fibre on the seat. Dwell Modern, Edmonton, dwellmodern.ca

The West Lives Here

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The NEW WesternLiving.ca Daily stories that connect you to the best of Western Canadian designs. Fresh, local topics that keep you in the know. Plus the Western Living Recipe Finder, with hundreds of our best recipes that you’ve come to expect from Western Canada’s lifestyle source— as gorgeous on your phone as it is on desktop.

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OPENINGS Hot new rooms we love

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CALGARY Chocolate Lab Husband-and-wife team Dallas and Eva Southcott bring their shop of exquisite handmade chocolates to Calgary’s newest market, dining and entertainment experience, Granary Road. From a dark chocolate infused with 12-year-old Scotch to the “Matinee at the Bijou” bonbon inspired by the American cocktail, the sweet treats here will suit any taste. 226034 112th St. W, thechocolatelab.ca

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DALHOUSIE!

EDMONTON Forge 53 From their start as an industrial metalwork company, Mike Muirhead and Jesse Rudiger expand their growing business into an online base for custom furniture and cool housewares: think tri-legged stools with octagonal seats and clear pine coffee tables with grey trapezoid legs. 4132b 97th St. NW, forge53.ca

EDMONTON Fringe and Flora What began as a home business specializing in succulents—tucked into gorgeous modern designs—has now graduated to a bricks-andmortar studio in the core of downtown Edmonton. Fringe and Flora’s specialty succulent designs are presented in a carefully curated selection of chic pots. #213-10706 124th St., fringeandflora.com

VANCOUVER Nettle’s Tale Praised for swimwear designed for “the everyday woman,” Tale’s newest venture is a proper storefront that brings the suits and small-batch West Coast goods to the heart of Gastown. Stocked with apparel, accessories and camping gear—think kimono towels, chunky toques and waterproof hoodies—it’s a fashionable adventurer’s dream. 330 W Cordova St., nettlestale.com —Jorda Grundy

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WLDESIGN // great spaces

WHITE NOW

A monochromatic office inspires ample creativity.

MORE INSPIRING SPACES Find more great rooms to inspire at westernliving.ca 1 8 j u n e 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

Shelf Help

Simple Ikea Fjälkinge shelving units (from $130) help to visually separate the workstations without cluttering the design. ikea.ca

Sweet Seats

Herman Miller Sayl chairs (from $542) manage to make ergonomic seating look good. grshop.com

Top: Ema Peter; middle: Andrea McLean; bottom: Ema Peter

When first setting out to design their Vancouver co-working space for creative entrepreneurs, the Aviary co-founders, Andrea McLean and Stella Cheung Boyland, were adamant their storefront be at street level.

“We wanted to create a really vibrant and friendly community with the people who work out of our space while educating the public on what we do and what a design office looks like,” says McLean.

So they set up a storefront in East Vancouver and began bringing the outside in. Large windows look onto a minimalist open-concept room, perfect for local artists and designers to showcase their creative process in two-week rotating installations.

A wheeled white pegboard, created by Lock and Mortice, functions as a wall dividing the space for regular workday but can be pushed aside for galleries, pop-up shops and photo shoots. Two communal tables can be broken apart for collaborative meetings. The individual workstations, made up of white Ikea tables and shelves, keep the environment simple and non-distracting for interior designers and florists alike. “We wanted it to be bright, clean and comfortable.”

Cascading pothos plants and potted tropicals that dot the studio add pops of green to the space and act as natural dividers throughout, whether in the cozy lounge near the Instagram-friendly front window or hanging in the large design-sample library.

“Most creative thinkers don’t want clutter and chaos surrounding them,” says McLean.

“This is a blank canvas.”—Carly Whetter

Up the Walls

Milton and King Contact Grid wallpaper ($98 U.S. per roll) provides a subtle layer of texture in the monochromatic meeting room. miltonandking.com

See SourceS

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Starting at $275 per sq. ft.

karoleena.com

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HOMES I N T E R I O R S // A R C H I T E C T U R E // D E S I G N // L I V I N G

In with the Bold

Jon Adrian

Our cover story this month is a daring studio design that belongs to Liquidity winery owner Ian MacDonald. It’s thrilling in that it cantilevers over a cliff face, but also for its thoughtful materials palette—the corrugated metal is an intentional reference to the agricultural community that surrounds it. For more on the home, turn to page 28.

westernliving.ca / J U N E

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WL HOMES // calgary

All in the Family Designer Reena Sotropa manages to find the balance between elegant and kid friendly in this Calgary home.

All the fabrics for the custom furnishings were thus chosen for not only their aesthetic qualities but for durability as well. (There was even some stain testing.)

2 2 j u n e 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

by jacquie moore photographs by phil crozier

FROM THE GROUND UP A fateful purchase of a brilliantly designed area rug was the start of a bold and beautiful colour palette in this stunning Calgary home.

I

t started with one hand-knotted rug. Designed by renowned German carpet maker Jan Kath, it was a riot of colour and pattern, and not for the faint of heart—no doubt a less courageous designer would have attempted to talk her client out of it. For Reena Sotropa, principal of Calgary’s Reena Sotropa In House Design Group, however, a client’s choice of rug is an invaluably edifying window to the soul. “We always begin with rug shopping—you learn a lot about people based on the rugs they’re attracted to,” she says. “This couple had fallen madly in love with a Jan Kath, but it was more than they’d planned to spend—we tried for a month to find something as beautiful, but nothing could come close.” As it turned out, the rug—more

2 4 j u n e 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

colourful than any piece Sotropa had worked with—was well worth rejigging the budget for: it provided a lively and elegant palette that informed the living room as well as the rest of the house.

Located in Calgary’s Parkdale neighbourhood, this two-storey home, built by Veranda Estate Homes, has an unusual placement on its corner lot. Where all the other houses on the street face due north, its front door—and house number—point west. While confusing to firsttime visitors expecting the address to follow the city’s predictable grid pattern, a combination of feng shui philosophy and idiosyncratic aesthetic choice trumps convention both outside and inside the home.

Sotropa first met the homeowners when she designed nurseries in

Kaleidoscopic Colour It all started with a rug. Jan Kath’s Scarlenka Wrapped provided the palette for the design of the home, including the bold navy and emerald-green sofas.

The couple was fearless with colour throughout (opposite), including in the teal-walled dining room, and with the Robert Allen fabric on the bench in the entryway.

their previous home as each of their three children came along. Back then, she says, the couple (one of whom is of Chinese heritage) was “certainly not afraid of colour or pattern.” This time, she found they were eager to make even bolder choices in every room of the house.

Certainly, the rug—Kath’s Scarlenka Wrapped—and its prominent place in the living room called for fearless takes on furniture and other accessories. “I knew my clients, who have both exquisite and very fun taste, wouldn’t want grey sofas,” says Sotropa. “We went with navy and emerald green instead—strong colours that read almost neutral in this space.”

On the other hand, Sotropa’s job wasn’t always to meet bold with

bold. In the mud room, for instance, where the couple had installed Beware the Moon’s ostrich-motif wallpaper before the designer came on board, Sotropa strove to ensure the “quirky quota” was perfectly balanced. She introduced a couple of pops of orange but otherwise let the millwork serve to add a feeling of gravitas and timelessness.

Likewise, in the dining room, the couple’s eccentric choice of dark teal for ceiling and walls is beautifully balanced by two pieces of custom art—framed panels of luminous wallpaper featuring crystal-beaded dragons on a silver-leaf background—which lend levity to the space. A swath of leopard-print carpet on the stairs is elevated from outlandish to elegant, framed as each step is by dark-stained white oak. Wallpaper westernliving.ca / j u n e

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Connection Zone In the master bedroom, silver-finished night tables pair up with a cozy velvet headboard and linen accents. In the hallway (below), Tibetan lamb-topped stools fit cozily under an antique Chinese altar table scored from Ebay.

featuring enormous koi adds a startling but pleasing hit of interest in a small powder room.

While Veranda seamlessly answered the clients’ feng shui-related requests for the alignment of doorways, flow of space and other considerations, Sotropa helped ensure the couple’s sophisticated aesthetic wishes were fulfilled in a way that also ensured their young family would feel relaxed in every room. “As beautiful and decorative as the house is, it also had to be kid friendly,” says Sotropa. All the fabrics for the custom furnishings were thus chosen for not only their aesthetic qualities but for durability as well. “We took all the swatches and dumped mustard, olive oil, maple syrup and all kinds of other potential stains on them so we could see what they would do.” If they didn’t stand up to the spill test, they didn’t make the cut.

The lower level of the home represents perhaps its most marvellous marriage of practicality and whimsy, where colours and layered patterns and textiles give the heavily used space an air of storybook charm. A built-in daybed topped with a mattress-sized cranberrycoloured cushion is an irresistible island for reading and napping, and also serves as a cover for the home’s utility hub. A large opaque glass table adds a hit of almost fragile lightness to the otherwise richly hued space, but it can easily withstand daily doses of Elmer’s glue, sparkles, paint and other science- and craft-related messes. Proof in spades that, approached with an open mind and a light touch, a home can be stunning and silly, traditional and unorthodox, all in a single breath.

2 6 j u n e 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

See SourceS

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WL HOMES // naramata

OVER THE EDGE A cantilevered studio is a rather literal leap of faith in the Okanagan.

by BarB Sligl photographs by jon adrian 2 8 j u n e 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

Wild Ambition “If it’s insane, I’ll usually get it done,” says homeowner Ian MacDonald of the ambitious 480-squarefoot cantilevered studio in the Naramata Bench.

it was near the bottom of a trail traversing a hundred-foot slope to Okanagan Lake that the Ply Architecture team and owner Ian MacDonald first voiced the idea: Why don’t we cantilever the studio over the edge?

“You’re looking up at this almost unattainable horizon because it’s so sheer and steep,” says architect Arnold Chan. “It occurred to us, wouldn’t it be amazing if you were standing just over this precipice . . . if you’re talking about something that really takes your breath away.”

As it happens, they were.

MacDonald and the Ply Architecture partners, Chan and Casey Burgess, were discussing the next stage of Flying Leap, MacDonald’s name for the dramatic site where he built his home. “Flying Leap is a pretty provocative, activating name for a site,” says Chan, adding, “Ian has a knack for these things in terms of a vision.”

That vision began when MacDonald came from Calgary to B.C.’s Okanagan wine country—specifically the Naramata Bench—to build the Liquidity Wines complex and his similarly “wow” home at Flying Leap (featured in Western Living in 2015). Continuing his master plan, he enlisted Ply Architecture to collaborate on an additional suite of buildings, including garage, workshop and what’s now been dubbed the Flying Leap studio.

MacDonald wanted a self-contained studio space with a kitchen, washroom and bedroom. “Almost like a little cottage house,” says Chan about the compact 480-square-foot creative outpost for MacDonald’s artist friends. “It’s somewhere to be indulgent in the site, in the place, in the moment, and to get inspired,” he adds. “That’s the soul of the space.”

From the initial aha moment beneath the precipice, MacDonald was all in. “I knew it was a yes when, the very next morning, he was already outside on-site with these large PVC pipes, laying out the possibilities,” says Chan. MacDonald became the champion of the project—working with geotechnical engineers, battling authorities, searching all of Western Canada for a specialized drilling system (delivered from the coast via a 90,000-pound vehicle with a 60-foot boom—“In a matter of no time, this thing cored out four holes in the ground like it was butter,” says MacDonald.)

“For any other client I’d think it’d be crazy, but for Ian it seems par for the course,” says builder Nicholas Hill of Ritchie Custom Homes. The silt banks, composed of glacial till, required four 13-metre-deep, 28-inch-diameter concrete piers. “You get these beautiful clay banks and hoodoos,” says Hill of the soft formations westernliving.ca / j u n e

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Above It All The bedroom (above), tucked into a window-lined corner of the modernist building, offers a bird’s-eye view of Okanagan Lake, but the master ensuite (left) provides a peek at the vast blue water too, via a floor-to-ceiling window in the marblelined shower. (Luckily, you won’t find too many nosy neighbours on a cliff.)

3 0 j u n e 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

along the lakeshore, “but it’s not the most competent material to build a structure hanging out overtop of.” Still, as MacDonald says himself, he was committed to the cantilevering. “If it’s insane, I’ll usually get it done,” MacDonald admits.

“Ian has an element—capital-e element—of Renaissance about him,” says Chan. “He likes to think in big ways.” And MacDonald pushed like-minded Ply. Having worked in the risk-taking design scene of Hong Kong and with innovative entrepreneurs in hospitality, the two architects embrace the experimental. In this case, the three-yearold firm willingly took a leap, so to speak, following MacDonald’s lead and the vocabulary cues of the main house.

Those cues consist of a basic material palette: cedar, concrete, glass, granite, corrugated metal. “The corrugated is a bit of a reference to that agricultural environment of the Okanagan,” says Burgess, “a modern material used in that farm or industrial context.” Exterior materials extend inside—cedar soffits and concrete flooring—to keep the connection seamless. The rest of the interior palette is also simple: stark-white walls, stainless steel countertops, lacquered millwork, Carrara marble tiles. “The materials are true to their form in being concrete, wood, metal; we’re not masking or mimicking anything,” says Hill.

The minimalist, modern aesthetic (no trims, few details) and stripped-down furniture and fixtures let art, like a large Vaughn

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Acreage located beside a unique lighthouse and fine homes on acreage in a premier gated ocean side development.

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Art Works MacDonald’s goal was to create “a place where people have a quiet, stimulating space and get creative.” A number of artists from around the world have already stayed in the studio (bottom).

In the kitchen, an abstract painting by Vaughn Neville adds a pop of colour (top).

3 2 j u n e 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

Neville abstract, be the focus. “That’s the story of my life,” says MacDonald. “Everything I do has a white background so it can be a neutral background for displaying art.”

This culminates in the bird’s-eye perspective from the bedroom, where “all of a sudden, you’re hovering,” says Burgess. She and Chan were the first to actually stay in the finished studio. “If you’re there to create something or make art, I can’t think of a better place to do it,” she says. Or, as Chan puts it, “If the building were a person, it would be an enabler. It’s not there for you to praise it, it’s there to enable you.”

For MacDonald, it’s genius loci. He’s even stamped the Latin term on his address sign: “A spot that’s imbued with a natural beauty that’s almost surreal . . . a very, very special spirit,” says MacDonald. “And that’s what I feel about this place. All I’ve been trying to do, with all the different design elements of the property, is to invoke the genius loci that’s already inherent in this piece of land.”

Everyone involved—Hill, Chan, Burgess—gives full props to MacDonald. “Kudos to Ian to have the guts to do it,” says Chan. “It’s one thing to design something; it’s another thing to make it happen.” And when it happens, everything else falls away, quite literally. There’s no “noise,” he says. “All that is distilled when you walk in—wow, I’m here, I’m somewhere.” Somewhere that was once air off a precipice. A leap, now manifest.

See SourceS

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SPONSORED REPORT

THE COTTAGES

ON OSOYOOS LAKE

T

here’s more to the Cottages on Osoyoos Lake offer than exquisite homes, boat slips, and breathtaking beachfront. It also has something that can be hard to find: an unmistakable sense of community. Whether it’s yoga sessions, barbecues, or book clubs, the neighourhood has the kind of genuinely friendly vibe that makes it feel like home.

With nine customizable floor plans ranging from 1,300 to 2,800 square feet, no two homes are alike.

Then there’s the 7,000-squre-foot community centre, endless outdoor activities, and world-class wineries in your own backyard to enjoy.

THE LOCAL HOTLIST...

1 PENTICTON REGIONAL AIRPORT Less than a 40-minute drive from home, the airport provides daily nonstop flights to Calgary and Vancouver.

2 FAIRVIEW MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSE Ranked one of top 100 golf courses in Canada

by Score Magazine, Fairview Mountain is consistently rated a four-star “Must Play” facility by Golf Digest.

3 BLACK HILLS ESTATE WINERY Situated on famed Black Sage Road, the vineyards have been recognized as having some of the best terroir in Canada.

Created by the Western Living advertising department in partnership with The Cottages on Osoyoos Lake

These People Make The Cottages a Community

Visit our website to see video testimonials from these homeowners and hear why they choose to live at The Cottages. Then come visit us and learn how you can become part of this great community.

VISIT OUR DISPLAY HOMES 2450 Radio Tower Road, Oliver, BC See website for open hours.

1.855.742.5555 osoyooscottages.com

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SPONSORED REPORT

OPPORTUNITY & LIFESTYLE ABOUND AT MCKINLEY BEACH

1

Live Your True Life Story. Every Day.

L

ife at McKinley Beach is like living a dream, with lakefront homes offering breathtaking views, a sunny beach to stroll, and spectacular surroundings to explore. Only this extraordinary place is a real neighbourhood.

A private 110-slip marina is the ultimate set-up for boaters. Reservations are now being taken for the Boathouse dryland marina, a place to store boats onshore that comes with valet service. Place a call when you want your vessel in the water and it will be ready when you are. When you’re done, your pleasure craft will be placed back in its spot so you can simply step off and hand over the keys to go relax in your contemporary, warm West Coast home.

Bring a picnic to the beach and cook on custom barbecues.

Or head to the forested trails for hiking and mountain biking.

When you live and play at McKinley Beach, you’ll never want to leave.

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THE LOCAL HOTLIST...

1 EX NIHILO VINEYARDS Get a taste of the Mediterranean in your own backyard with a visit to this award-winning 8,000-square-foot winery and tasting room that’s part of the Lake Country Wine Route.

2 KELOWNA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Just 15 minutes by car from McKinley Beach, the Kelowna International Airport offers daily non-stop commercial flights around the globe.

3 UBC’S OKANAGAN CAMPUS One of only two Canadian institutions consistently ranked among the world’s 40 best universities, UBCO is known for its research and its interactive learning community.

4 KELOWNA GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB This traditional golf course boasts meticulous grooming, enormous Ponderosa pines, and “Amen Corner”: five holes in a row where water comes into play.

5 ACCELERATE OKANAGAN This new accelerator and resource hub for the tech industry gives new and growing businesses the support they need to thrive.

6 CULTURAL DISTRICT Encompassing six blocks of a historic neighbourhood in downtown Kelowna, here’s where you’ll find tremendous public art, galleries, museums, and theatres.

Created by the Western Living advertising department in partnership with McKinley Beach

7 HOT SANDS BEACH With long stretches of sandy beach, this expansive spot offers live music in the summertime on its Parks Alive! stage.

ALL THE AMENITIES AND PROMISES OF THE OKANAGAN IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD.

LAKEVIEW LOTS STARTING AT $299,000

McKinleyBeach.ca 250-980-5555

Visit Our Show Home 3322 Shayler Rd This is not an offering for sale. Such an offering can only be made with a disclosure statement. E. & O.E.

OKANAGAN

C O V E R T FA R M S // R O A D B I K I N G // W I N E L O D G I N G // C U L T W I N E S

Take It Outside

Evaan Kheraj

This issue we dive deep into the bounty of the Okanagan, and perhaps no place captures the area’s diversity and history more than Covert Farms. Not only does the 58-year old homestead have the now-requisite-grapevines, but they have every type of organic fruit and produce that grows in the Valley. But it’s more than just a farm; it’s a place that captures what the Okanagan is about: family, stewardship and community, a point underscored by this guy, Mark James Lucas, who is Covert’s artist-in-residence. The story of this magical place begins on page 38.

Go Van Gogh!

Mark James Lucas is a plein air painter, meaning that he eschews a studio in favour of painting in the great outdoors.

westernliving.ca / J U N E

2017 37

WL OKANAGAN // covert farms

Old School

Gene Covert shuttles visitors in his vintage red pickup truck.

FAMILY AFFAIR

If you want to know what the Okanagan is all about, drive past the fancy beach houses and trophy wineries all the way to the 650 acres of Covert Farms, where four generations bring all the Valley’s bounty together.

by Jennifer CoCkrall-king // recipes by Campbell kearns photographs by evaan kheraJ // styling by luisa rino

G

ene Covert—tanned, relaxed and with his ever-present smile—leans against a bright-red 1952 Mercury pickup. Guests are trickling in, past the alpacas and Highland cattle paddock. He’s ferrying them up a long tree-lined driveway in the back of the classic truck that he uses for farm tours. The custom bench seating holds eight at a time.

They’ve come from Vancouver, Kelowna and Penticton for Covert Farms’ Harvest Dinner, a field-to-table and vineyard-to-glass feast to celebrate what is grown, made and fermented right on this historic 650-acre westernliving.ca / j u n e

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WL OKANAGAN // covert farms

Team Effort

Four generations of the Covert family now call this idyllic 650-acre working farm home.

farm in Oliver, B.C. Run by Gene and his wife, Shelly, this property has been in the family for three generations—and Gene and Shelly’s three teens, who all have jobs here in the summer, will be the fourth.

A farm is always many things, but Covert is truly an ecosystem.

More than 40 different varieties of certified organic fruits and vegetables are grown here. It has its own certified organic vineyards, winery, tasting shop and wine lounge. Grapes are also grown on contract for a large winery neighbour. There’s a small herd of Highland cattle, some Barbados Blackbelly sheep, chickens and even alpacas. There’s a produce store and several farm buildings, not to mention the various homes of the Covert family members and those who work here. Walk the U-pick fields and you might even see Mark James Lucas with his paints, canvas and easel—the property’s own plein air artist-in-residence (see page 37).

Tours, public and private events, school programs and dinners are now an important part of the mix. Covert’s Freak’n Farmer competition, now in its sixth year, attracts 800 extreme obstacle course racers to hoist tractor tires and shimmy through mud under logs. More than 500 guests attend the annual family-friendly Pig Out vineyard pig roast, and then there is the 1½-hour culinary tour, led by either Gene or by the farm’s chef-in-residence, Campbell Kearns.

On the day I arrive, there’s not just one, but two events. A 160-person wedding is happening in the vines and will soon shift to a large tent near the wine shop and lounge. This means that Gene and Shelly have moved tonight’s Harvest Dinner—the reason I’m here—to the porch at 4 0 j u n e 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

Diana Covert’s home. Diana, Gene’s mother, though now retired from farm duties, is the farm’s mater familias. And, as such, her otherwise modest rancher with weathered blue shiplap siding has a sweet promontory view of what seems like the entire region.

Gene brings up another round of guests and Shelly—possibly the bubbliest person on earth—greets them with a glass in hand of Covert Farms’ pale-pink sparkling zinfandel méthode ancestrale. As they stare slack-jawed out from the lawn, someone whispers, “This is what you get when you’ve been on the farm the longest—the best spot with the best view.”

From here, it’s easy to see why George Covert, Gene’s grandfather, bought this land in November 1959, the very moment he set foot on it.

George and his wife, Winifred, co-owned a busy tomato-packing house in California, and they decided it was time to slow the pace somewhat. George drove to the Okanagan on rumours of good farmland for fruit and field crops and he immediately fell in love with the region.

He bought both the initial 600 acres (another 50 were added some years later) that would become Covert Farms, plus a cattle ranch near Osoyoos. He then had to return home to inform Winifred that they were moving to Canada.

That first year, they planted 100 acres of tomatoes and 100 acres of onions. Winifred sold produce on-site at the farm, out of the window of the office where she also kept the books. Their kids, Calvin and Michael, took on farm chores.

Perseverance and hard work were paying off. But farming is about

Elotes (Grilled Mexican Corn) This is my absolute favourite way to eat corn: when it’s fresh off the stalks in late summer.

8 cobs fresh corn Olive oil Salt, to taste 1 tbsp smoked paprika ½ cup mayonnaise 1 tbsp lime juice ½ cup crumbled Cotija cheese or feta In a large bowl, lightly coat husked corn with oil, salt and smoked paprika.

Whisk together mayo, lime juice and ¼ cup of cheese (save some for garnish). Season to taste with more lime, salt, pepper and smoked paprika.

Over a medium-low fire grill (charcoal is best), grill corn lightly for 2 minutes on all sides until cooked and charred. Remove corn from grill, immediately brush with mayonnaise mixture, then garnish with more cheese, fresh lime and smoked paprika.

Elotes are best served on large platters where sauce and garnish can be applied liberally.

Use your hands and have more than a few napkins on hand!

adapting and even trying to be ahead of the curve whenever possible.

George was interested in wine grapes in the 1960s, and by the ’70s Covert had had up to 180 acres of hardy, funky hybrids, like Maréchal Foch, and labrusca varieties with names like White Diamond. Sadly, they were grapes of the time, destined for the novice tastes of the Canadian market. “Most of it went into jugs,” Gene recalls.

George and his son Michael then shifted the farm toward the highdensity apple plantings of the mid-1980s into the 2000s. (Calvin took care of the cattle ranch.) Covert Farms became a leader in Gala and Ambrosia apple production.

After Gene’s father, Michael, died in 2004, the family felt it was time again for another major shift. “We had a long family meeting and decided to downsize our operations. The apples were out and grapes were in,” says Gene. They planted pinot blanc, sauvignon blanc, viognier and other vinifera grapes, notably a two-acre block of zinfandel, which is still a rarity in Canada. And they would farm organically.

Both Gene and Shelly are ardent believers in good land stewardship and making healthy products available to their community. “When I was a teenager, I got sick spraying, and I studied chemistry in university,” Gene explains. “I didn’t want to spray, and I didn’t want other people to spray.”

They also drilled water wells on the property, changing the farm’s irrigation system so that it no longer drew from the Okanagan river channel. “Our property goes right down to the valley bottom where the river flows. Just by happenstance, we’re right on the last six kilometres

B e t t er -t h a n - O K acc O m m O dat i O n

Orofino Vineyard Suites The Similkameen has always been a get-in-and-get-out proposition for wine tourists, but the Orofino has filled the accommodation vacuum with a pair of modern new suites, with full kitchens and plenty of room. Prices from $199. orofinovineyards.com

Quails’ Gate One of the added benefits of being among the first wineries is that you get the best location—which, for Quails’ Gate, means a lakefront perch just off Boucherie Road.

Which further means that if you rent one of their two “cabins,” you get the best of lake and vineyard.

The Lake House sleeps 10; the Nest, seven. Prices from $500. quailsgate.com/stay

Laughing Stock In addition to making the acclaimed wine Portfolio, David and Cynthia Enns have always had a strong design sense. And—spoiler alert— we’re hoping to feature their new home in next year’s Okanagan issue.

The bonus is that their old, also stunning, 2,700-square-foot home is now available for rent, and while priority is given to their wine club members, ordinary fans can book as well. From $650. laughingstock.ca westernliving.ca / j u n e

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WL OKANAGAN // covert farms The RIngleader

Farm chef Campbell Kearns mingles with the lucky guests.

Road 17 Arctic Char and Red Curry Coconut Sauce I like to treat good fish very simply for a dish like this: no fancy ingredients, just good technique. All it needs is good seasoning, a hard sear and a quick transfer into a hot oven.

Sauce 1 tsp coconut oil 3 tbsp red Thai curry paste 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbsp fish sauce 2 tbsp brown sugar 2 tbsp lime juice 2 to 3 makrut lime leaves 1 can coconut milk ½ cup fish or chicken stock

A 160-person wedding is happening in the vines and will soon shift to a large tent near the wine shop.

of wild, natural Okanagan River. It’s a major spawning ground that supports over 65,000 fish,” says Gene. Now they’re certified Salmon-Safe, as the sockeye run continues to rebound after decades of absence.

Back in the kitchen, chef Kearns glides around the space. He’s one of the newest members of the Covert team and is still giddy over the selection of perfect produce he has to work with. “I’m just so in love with this region,” he smiles.

Kearns grew up in Calgary and did his chef training at North Island College on Vancouver Island. He had been working on Haida Gwaii when the job for farm chef and culinary 4 2 j u n e 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

tour guide came up. He jumped at the chance “to be involved with food at the exact moment when that food should be eaten.” He’s getting his sommelier training in and even “sneaks into” the winery to learn more about the complex process.

Finally, the heat of the day relents and people rip themselves away from the view at the prospect of great food and more wine.

They find their places at the tables, and the first course arrives. Gene slides into his role of farm owner, host, winemaker and storyteller.

“All this goes back to 1959, and I’ve been on this farm since I was three,” he begins. And with that, we eat.

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add coconut oil and sauté garlic and curry paste for 1 to 2 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients, bring to a medium boil, simmer and reduce for 20 minutes. The longer you reduce and cook this sauce, the more flavourful it will become.

Arctic Char 1 Arctic char, cleaned and portioned into 4 5-oz fillets, skin on (or a high-quality white fish of your choice) Olive oil Salt and pepper, to taste 1 lime ½ cup fish or chicken stock Preheat oven to 375°F. Pat fish dry, drizzle with oil and season both sides liberally with salt and pepper.

Preheat a lightly oiled non-stick heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add char skin side down and sear for 2 minutes, until skin begins to crisp. Transfer to a baking sheet, skin side up, drizzle again with olive oil, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Dress fish liberally with sauce and fresh lime juice. Serve immediately over rice or lentils with Asian greens. Garnish with crushed peanuts and chopped Thai basil.

For more recipes like this visit westernliving.ca/recipes

THE OKANAGAN

SPONSORED REPORT

YOUR WINE VACATION DESTINATION

There’s always lots to do—and plenty of wine to drink—in the Okanagan Valley Wine Region, but the wineries and the winery association featured here rise above the crop with the quality of the wines they produce, their winemaking practices, and the events they host.

OKANAGAN CRUSH PAD WINERY

Visit Okanagan Crush Pad and discover the reason the winery team is so passionate about organic farming. The team is committed to offering simply made, pure wines that uniquely express the Okanagan Valley terroir. Stroll through the vineyard alongside the chickens and ducks and you will see a testament to the natural farming philosophy that helps define the winery.

The maker of Haywire and Narrative wines, Okanagan Crush Pad, known to locals as OCP, farms their land the old fashion way—using nature as its guide. The vineyard relies entirely on healthy, balanced, ripe fruit as the base of production for its wines. Technological interference is kept to a minimum, allowing each bottle to tell the story of the vineyard. OCP wines mature naturally in large concrete tanks, which allow healthy, natural and living organisms to be preserved and native fermentation to take place.

Open daily during the touring season, the Tasting Lounge is built into the heart of the winemaking facility, giving visitors a unique, first-hand glimpse into the making of premium, organic wine. OCP’s Tasting Lounge offers cheese and charcuterie platters, which can be enjoyed on the patio or paired with a VIP tasting, upon request. During Thursdays in July and August, visitors can also take in the Live @ Crush Pad Music Series while soaking up views of sunsets over Switchback Organic Vineyard and Lake Okanagan. Co-owners Christine Coletta and Steve Lornie, and winemaker Matt Dumayne, along with the rest of the knowledgeable team at OCP, are always happy to answer any questions that visitors have about their winemaking process.

Visit and fall in love with our wines.

SUMMERLAND Open daily 10:30 – 5:30 okanagancrushpad.com

SPONSORED REPORT TINHORN CREEK VINEYARDS

A trailblazer in environmentally sustainable winemaking practice, Tinhorn Creek has built its reputation on its fine selection of estate-grown wines.

The winery is also home to Miradoro Restaurant, which serves award-winning cuisine in a dining room with panoramic South Okanagan views. The vineyard is currently rebranding its Oldfield Series as Oldfield Reserve, a nod to the brand’s growth and to the sophistication of its top-tier wines.

Over the summer, Tinhorn’s event schedule kicks into high gear. May through September, the vineyard hosts its Canadian Concert Series, showcasing some of the best new Canadian talent under the stars at its hillside amphitheatre. July 27th, the Starlit Supper returns, featuring a multi-course menu by Miradoro, complete with wine pairing and telescopes to view the stars.

August 18th, visitors can stroll through the vineyard with viticulturist Andrew Moon during the Golden Mile Bench Vineyard Tour and Tasting. Event-goers will sample Tinhorn Creek wines as they learn about vineyard practices, sustainability, and the new Golden Mile Bench sub appellation. This experience is capped with an outdoor reception, with canapés accompanied

by Tinhorn Creek wine.

This premiere Okanagan wine destination also offers various tours and tastings in its tasting bar and private tasting room and, regardless of the event, Tinhorn Creek promises its visitors an experience to remember.

SPONSORED REPORT POPLAR GROVE WINERY

Poplar Grove is passionate about nurturing its estate vineyards to produce award-winning, premium wines. The winery’s stunning lakeside location on the Naramata Bench makes it a popular choice for private functions, including weddings and corporate parties.

The tasting room at Poplar Grove has high ceilings, as well as expansive windows that let in the view.

Tastings are held at tasting pods, whose horseshoeshaped design encourages interaction among guests as a Poplar Grove host guides them through the wines. Post-tasting, visitors are encouraged to meander and explore the grounds, where they will find a grassy area perfect for a picnic.

The Vanilla Pod, the onsite restaurant, is open 11 months a year and serves Mediterranean and international-style tapas dishes prepared with the freshest Okanagan ingredients. In celebration of Canada’s 150th on July 1st, Executive Chef Bruno Terroso is preparing a signature menu, comprised of traditional dishes from every province.

Subscribers to Poplar Grove’s Wine Club enjoy a host of member-only privileges, including three sixbottle shipments a year. Members are also invited to Poplar Grove’s annual barbecue, an evening of fine wine, excellent food, and dancing. Of special note to both Wine Club members and visitors is the winery’s recent release of the Blanc de Noirs, its rosé, the perfect accompaniment to any summer day.

SPONSORED REPORT CULMINA FAMILY ESTATE WINERY

Each of Culmina Family Estate Winery’s wines is a testament the Triggs family’s philosophy that great wines are made when art and science unite. Culmina hosts a selection of seated tasting experiences, where visitors can discover the care and attention to detail with which the Triggs operate their winery.

Upon arrival for Culmina’s introductory Reserve Tasting experience, guests are greeted at the door and invited to the patio to enjoy a splash of wine. They are then seated around the Triggs’ Doukhobor table and led through a selection of four wines including the winery’s flagship, Hypothesis, in the relaxed Tasting Room setting.

Culmina’s Portfolio Tasting involves a flight of six wines, during which visitors discover Culmina’s process of crafting quality wines from its Golden Mile Bench estate. Only available with advance notice and at certain times of the year, Culmina’s Portfolio Tasting allows guest a broader look at Culmina’s portfolio, including “winery-only’ offerings like its Cabernet Franc.

Culmina’s Vineyard and Winery Tour offers a more comprehensive look at the Triggs’ estate. It begins with a description of the winery’s viticultural philosophy in a Cabernet Franc block. Guests then stroll through the winery and complete their tour with a seated tasting in Culmina’s VIP room overlooking the Fermentation Hall.

Since each of Culmina’s tasting experiences is limited to six to 10 people—more with advance notice—visitors gain a uniquely intimate opportunity of learning about the winery, the Triggs family, and each other, while it is ensured that each of their small groups remains undisturbed.

INTRODUCING THE FELLOWSHIP Join the Fellowship for priority access on wines, preferential treatment, and customizable offerings including flexible choice mixed-6, mixed-12, or red-only shipment options

4790 Wild Rose Street, Oliver BC

250.498.0789

info@culmina.ca

culmina.ca

SPONSORED REPORT BURROWING OWL ESTATE WINERY

Whether at the tasting room or The Sonora Room—accompanied by cuisine especially designed to showcase the character of Burrowing Owl’s wine offerings—a visit to this winery is a rare opportunity to taste a selection of premium library wines and experience the finest in Okanagan hospitality.

A pioneer in conservation and green energy, Burrowing Owl is keenly focused on renewable energy and has been consistently adding to its stock of solar panels since 2006.

It’s expected that funds generated by the winery’s $3 tastings for the Burrowing Owl Foundation will reach $1 million in July, and a celebration is planned to commemorate the occasion.

NARAMATA BENCH WINERIES ASSOCIATION

Among Canada’s premiere—and most picturesque—wine regions, The Naramata Bench is a top destination for wine enthusiasts. The Naramata Bench Wineries Association is a group of 28 wineries working together to present the Bench’s renowned wines and culture.

Subscribers to NBWA’s Best of the Bench Wine Club receive two mixed cases a year of Naramata Bench wines at winery pricing. Visitors can pick up the NBWA’s Passport Wine Touring Treasure Map at any member winery, and once they’ve collected six passport stamps, they can win tickets to the NBWA’s 2018 events.

This year’s always-popular Tailgate Party will be held at D’Angelo Estate Winery on September 9th, with a “Back to Our Roots” theme in honour of Canada’s 150th. This annual harvest event features live music, dancing, and the chance to sample wine from each of the NBWA’s wineries. For information on this event and those held throughout the season at individual wineries, visit naramatabench.com.

Photo by Tina Baird

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WLOKANAGAN // ROAD RIDES

The 5 Best Road Rides in the Okanagan

RIDE # 1

L A K E C OU N T RY – P R E DATO R R I D G E /S PA R K LI N G H I LL S – L A K E C OU N T RY

Let’s just call it: the Okanagan, with its mix of climbs, good roads and vineyard views, is the best place to ride in Canada. You can pretty much point your bike in any direction and have a good time, but for those who really • Tappen want to tackle the region, we’ve enlisted Giro Okanagan Mara Lake founder Gord Hotchkiss to let us in on the five classic ▲Hills trips that showcaseLarch the best of the region.

ill

• Salmon Arm

▲

RIDE #2

• Grinrod

Mount Ida

S CE N IC A N D S TE E P

THE GRIND 70 km • 1,120 m of ascent THE SKINNY Kilometre for kilometre, this could well be

the most scenic ride in the Central Okanagan. You’ll start in Winfield and head down to Okanagan Centre, where you’ll follow the lake up through Carr’s Landing. Then it’s the long, gruelling climb up to Predator Ridge (300 metres plus of climbing). The good news? This was recently paved, and it’s used by more than one NHLer for training in the off-season.

If you choose, you can ride right up to the Sparkling Hills Resort ( just a little more climbing for the masochistic). Then you head back south. An option is to stay on commonage as you come back to Carr’s Landing. Some of this is gravel, but the views make it worth it. You wrap up with a lovely circle route around Wood Lake and back to Winfield.

ROLL W ITH IT B A BY A R M S T R O N G – S A LM O N A R M – A R M S T R O N G

Main Island

THE GRIND 103 km • 800 m of ascent

Enderby Cliffs Provincial Park

THE SKINNY There’s a reason why the Okanagan Shuswap Century

Ride fully books up within minutes of the registration opening—it’s a great road ride. But you can do the same route any time. Start in Armstrong’s Memorial Park and ride through the lush farm scenery of the Salmon River Valley up to Salmon Arm. The official route takes a few twists and turns in Salmon Arm before you hit the most challenging climb of the ride, the 200-metre grind up Okanagan Avenue. Leaving Salmon Arm, you’ll ride for a short distance on Highway 97C (which features fairly wide shoulders) before turning right on Deep Creek Road and driving through more bucolic scenery back toward Armstrong. A great sampling of the rolling farmlands of the North Okanagan.

Enderby

• Armstrong

Quail Ridge

R I D E # 3 CIT Y TO S K Y E A S T K E LOW N A A N D M I S S I O N

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Shuswap Highland

Glenmore

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Dilworth Mountain

Kelowna

Rutland

East Kelowna

South Kelowna

West Kelowna

Lower Mission

Okanagan Lake Southridge Kettle Valley

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Kelowna Mountain

4 8 J U N E 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park

THE GRIND 91 km • 1,380 m of ascent (with all climbs included) THE SKINNY I’ve packed a lot of climbing into this route, but it’s easy

to edit to match the level of challenge you want. This is a circle route that goes through downtown, so it’s a good choice for those staying in Kelowna. I’ve included a climb up Knox Mountain and over the ridge at Wilden to add some extra elevation but, if you choose, you can stick to the Valley bottom and head to the benchlands above Rutland. From Rutland, you climb back up to Belgo and ride through the orchards of East Kelowna to June Springs Road. Here you can test your Strava KOM ambitions (bike nerd-speak for personal best—ed.) on the optional climb up to the end of the pavement (a little over 400 metres of ascent). Then it’s a nice rolling ride over to Lakeshore Drive for an out-and-back along Okanagan Lake, then back to downtown.

Note: My start and stop is from close to where I usually cycle in Wilden.

This is good for those who crave uphill sprints at the finish line, but the start and stop can be moved to pretty much anywhere along the route!

For full plotted-out Bikemap versions of all these rides, visit westernliving.ca.

For more info on Gord’s riding life, see girookanagan.com or his blog at outofmygord.com.

Penticton

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Ellison Ridge

RIDE #5

Kalamalka Lake

Skaha Lake

S OUTH E RN G OTH IC

P E N T I C TO N – O LI V E R – B L AC K S AG E – W H I T E L A K E – K A LE D E N – P E N T I C TO N

Cougar Canyon Ecological Reserve

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Ellison Ridge White Lake Grasslands Protected Area

Oyama

Whiskey Island

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Ellison Ridge

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Wood Lake

Vaseux Protected Area

Orofino Mountain

• Keremeos

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• Oliver

Ellison Ridge

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Mount Kobau

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Richter Mountain South Okanagan Grasslands Protected Area

RIDE #4

• Osoyoos

A CL A S S IC OK CLIM B

SU M M E R L A N D – G I A N T ’S H E A D – F I S H L A K E – T R OU T C R E E K – SU M M E R L A N D

THE GRIND 103 km • 910 m of ascent THE SKINNY This is one of the most popular rides in the South Okanagan. Start in Penticton and ride along Eastside Road, hugging the shore of Skaha Lake. I would recommend turning on MacLean Creek Road and taking that into Okanagan Falls.

It’s the safer alternative. From here, you’ll ride through wine country back to Highway 97 past Vaseux Lake. Continue toward Oliver until you reach Tuc-el-Nuit Road. After a quick jog in Oliver, this becomes Black Sage Road—a nice rolling ride that takes you through the vineyards of the Golden Mile toward Osoyoos. After you pass Burrowing Owl on your left, you’ll turn on Road 22 and start heading north on Highway 97. Turn left on Road 7, then right on Sumac Street and follow it until you come to Fairview Road.

After turning left, you’ll start a long climb up to the Okanagan highlands around White Lake and what we locals call “Area 51” (it’s the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory). From here, you’ll descend back to Highway 97 and take a much quieter detour through sleepy Kaleden. Then it’s a short sprint on Highway 97 back to Penticton and your starting point.

Note: This route does have cattle guards!

THE GRIND 60 km • 860 m of ascent GENERAL SAFETY NOTES

THE SKINNY This is a shorter route, but I’ve included

one of the classic climbs in the Okanagan: Giant’s Head.

You start in lower Summerland and climb up to downtown, where you can tackle Giant’s Head if you choose (a little over 400 metres of climbing from the start point). From here, you head out on Prairie Valley Road and turn onto the Princeton–Summerland Road. This section has some rough pavement (or, as we lovingly refer to it, pavé), so keep alert. Your perseverance will be rewarded when you turn on Fish Lake Road. Fresh asphalt, quiet roads and great scenery await! Ride out to the turnaround point— Camp Boyle (the Boy Scout camp) and then head back to Summerland and the wineries of Bottleneck Drive. You’ll be riding past several of them (including Dirty Laundry, if you continue on Lewes Road) and a few cideries. After a descent down Gartrell Road you’ll cross Highway 97 to Trout Creek, where you can connect to the new bike path that parallels Highway 97 back to Lower Summerland.

• Summerland

Naramata

Quieter Okanagan roads generally lack something in the way of regular maintenance. You can expect potholes and some rough pavement in many areas.

If you’re riding in a group, make sure the lead rider is vigilant and points out hazards on the road. Also, some routes have cattle guards. I don’t recommend bunny-hopping over them—constant speed and a firmly held front wheel is my personal strategy. If it’s raining, use extra caution. Other than that—happy cycling!

westernliving.ca / J U N E

2017 49

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