5 minute read
Wine Country International 2023 Issue V3
Old and New in the Okanagan Valley
Story by Lance Berelowitz
Photos courtesy of Lance Berelowitz & Wines of British Columbia
Crossing from the United States into British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley at the border town of Osoyoos feels more like entering Mexico than Canada. This is the northern tip of the continental Sonoran Desert, complete with sagebrush grasslands, cacti, and rattlesnakes. The Okanagan, a narrow valley with several glacial lakes framed by mountains, stretches some 250 km (155 miles) north from the US border. And while this southernmost sector is hot and dry, its northernmost portion, at over 50º North latitude, is a much cooler-climate wine region.
The Okanagan Valley is Canada’s premier wine region, producing award-winning wines of all types and price points. High natural acidity and vibrant freshness are key differentiators of wines from the Okanagan Valley, with its long sunshine hours, high diurnal range, and cool, dry autumns. More than 200 wineries occupy the bench lands on either side of the valley floor.
Okanagan Valley Appellations
New vineyards are being developed on optimum sites where vines have never before been planted, reflecting the ongoing intensive exploration of the valley’s different terroirs. Eleven wine-growing appellations (called SubGeographical Indications or sub-GIs, comparable to American Viticultural Areas) have been approved in the valley, with six new appellations added in the last year alone. The new sub-GIs are Summerland Valleys, Summerland Lakefront, Summerland Bench, East Kelowna Slopes, South Kelowna Slopes, and Lake Country. They join five previously designated sub-GIs: Golden Mile Bench, Golden Mile Slopes, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Falls, and Skaha Bench. More are on their way. The Okanagan wine region is a work in progress.
La Stella Winery
The first wine region you encounter is around Osoyoos Lake, with vineyards on both sides of the lake. While this area has yet to achieve official appellation status, it can’t be far off. Our first stop is La Stella Winery overlooking the lake, just 8 km (5 miles) north of the border. The team here practices fully organic, low-intervention winemaking, with a wine range that celebrates the Italian concept of La Dolce Vita. The delicious wines include whites, reds, and a rosato. My top pick would be Classico d’Osoyoos, a single vineyard Sangiovese-based red blend.
Burrowing Owl
Head north up Highway 97, turn right on Road 22 and cross over to the east side of the valley, which brings you to another appellation in the making, the Black Sage Bench. Here on these sunny southwest-facing bench-lands are several top-rated estates including Burrowing Owl, Black Hills, and high profile newcomer Phantom Creek. This terroir is a top contender to be the next designated sub-GI.
Burrowing Owl is one of BC’s leading wineries and has a deep commitment to environmental and ecological sustainability, including the conservation of the endangered small owl for which it is named. In addition to the tasting room and wine shop, there is the excellent Sonora Room Restaurant and a Guest House with ten spacious rooms with fireplaces and private decks overlooking the outdoor pool that I highly recommend as a base in the southern Okanagan. Their red wines are all top-class Cabernets Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Syrah. My pick would be the Merlot as it is one of the best in North America.
Black Hills Estate
Black Hills Estate, just up the road, is another top-rated winery with an exceptional indoor-outdoor tasting facility offering wine flights and light food. The estate’s vineyards occupy one of Canada’s hottest, driest, and sunniest sites, with more sunlight hours than Napa Valley in the key summer growing months. The vineyards’ west-facing aspect experience exceptional diurnal temperature ranges, with daytime heat followed by cool nights that retain acidity and result in intensely flavorful grapes. This is primarily red wine territory, and the flagship red blend Nota Bene is the standout wine.
Culmina
Crossing back to the west side of the valley, you’ll find a string of wineries perched on the Golden Mile Bench, the Okanagan’s first sub-GI (created in 2015), with vineyards facing southeast. Top winery choices to visit include Culmina and Hester Creek.
Culmina was the lifelong dream of the locally renowned Triggs wine family to purchase raw land and develop a boutique winery from scratch, which they began in 2007. Since acquired by Arterra Wines Canada, Culmina sits at the top of the Golden Mile Bench overlooking the southern Okanagan, with some of the highest altitude vineyards in the valley. Don’t miss their elegant, textured Decora Riesling and outstanding Unicus Grüner Veltliner, the latter being the Okanagan’s first.
Hester Creek
Hester Creek is a well-established Golden Mile Bench winery with some of the Okanagan’s oldest vitis vinifera vines spread across 115 acres of welldraining, alluvial fan soil on a west-toeast sloping bench. Its fabulous guest facilities include the acclaimed Terrafina Restaurant and accommodation in six deluxe Villa Suites overlooking the vineyards, making it the perfect base from which to explore the southern Okanagan.
This wine route through the southern Okanagan barely scrapes the surface of this diverse, extensive wine region. Subsequent trips could take in the more central and northern areas around Penticton, Summerland, Kelowna, and Lake Country.
