Kelowna, the top circle on my map, is a city of nearly 150,000 people. Its western border has been hit hard by wildfires, and while we can’t see evidence of them, the air is a bit hazy and there are news reports that the nearest fire is not quite extinguished.

Sagebrush Tours sent an amended itinerary, presumably to avoid the areas closest to the fires/smoke for which we are grateful. We are now sampling at four wineries I have never heard of, and going to new places has been the best part of this trip!

As Joan and I had a day off from wining yesterday, we wandered around the Kelowna waterfront which is quite lovely, and especially lovely in the warm sunny weather we have had. You can click on any photo to get a larger view if you like.

Now, back to the business at hand – day drinking! And did we ever day drink today. Our first stop was at 10:00 am!

Winery #1: Frind Estate Winery

Frind Estate Winery is located on property that used to belong to the Bennett family – famous for having both father and son elected as premiers of the province. The photo at the top of this post is a view of the back of the tasting room which is pretty gorgeous but the service was not.

We were set up and given such a rushed service – at 10 am for goodness sake, not exactly rush hour at the tasting room – that it was hard to like their wines. We tasted a 2022 Voignier, a 2021 Rosé, a 2022 Pinot Noir Cuvée (means not all the grapes were fermented in oak), a 2020 Big Red, and a 2021 Premium Merlot which we rather liked (4/5). We passed on the others.

Second stop: Off the Grid Winery

We liked Off the Grid – it’s organic both in the growing and the making of the wine and is largely powered by solar panels. It is totally unpretentious, a nice change from Frind. In getting started, they replaced some fruit trees with vines, but retained enough orchard to stock a popular and busy fruit stand nearby. They also have sheep and bunnies and goats that “mow” the live roof.

We sampled a 2022 orange Gerwurztraminer (orange because the skins are left on longer in the fermenting process), a 2022 Pink Pinot Gris – I gave it a 5/5 – a 2022 Unplugged White which Joan and I both awarded 5/5, a 2022 Pinot Noir and a 2020 Blauer Montag made from red zweigelt grapes, our first encounter with zweigelts. I should have purchased the 2022 Unplugged White but a previously unknown inner frugality made itself felt.

Third stop: Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery

Another fabulous tasting facility! We sat outside and tasted a 2022 Rosé and a 2021 Chardonnay that I that I loved – I awarded 5/5 for both, Joan 3.5/5. There were a couple of reds neither of us liked very much. The service here was better than at Frind, but only marginally so. We think there is an urban vibe to tastings that doesn’t exist in small towns like Oliver and Summerland. It’s quite off-putting after three tours where we were treated as special customers.

Last up: Rollingdale Winery

Rollingdale Winery is as wonderfully unpretentious as you can get! The winery, the tasting room, the storage area are all contained in the metal structure pictured above. This winery is also organic from the grapes to the table, and their wines were quite lovely. We tasted a 2021 Estate Pinot Blanc – nothing had been added to it, no suger, no sulfites, nothing – which we found a bit tart.

We also sampled their 2021 Organic unoaked Chardonnay which they call their “chardon-not” that I liked enough to purchase. We finished up with a 2021 Cabernet Franc and a 2021 Merlot which were excellent. What a shame these wines are made in such small batches that they aren’t available in the Lower Mainland.

That’s it for this blog. I realize it’s not relevant for anyone not living in BC and not planning to visit the Okanagan for wine tasting. So thank you for reading!

But if you are thinking of a visit:

• choose Sagebrush Tours – they have been fantastic. The guides are really well informed about wine production in general and wine production in the Okanagan Valley

• visit Mayhem, Haywire – what two wonderful names! – SummerGate, Rollingdale and Off the Grid, our favourite wineries

• buy lots of their wines. These small wineries work hard to stay alive!

I’ll see you soon, off to shoot the Grand Tetons in a week or so. Take care. Keep smiling and keep wining!

“Here’s to you and here’s to me, and if by chance we disagree, to hell wth you!
And here’s to me!”
from Atlas Obscura, Raise a Glass to our Readers’ Favourite Drinking Toasts