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Happy vineland and wine land under the Okanagan sun

Last month we spoke B.C. wine. This month I want to do valley talk.

I’ve always been a bit put off by the Napa North moniker that many over-active headline writers have applied to our wine country jewel, the Okanagan Valley. For the longest time the Okanagan wasn’t even close to resembling Napa Valley, not the topography, not the wines and certainly not the food. As for the accommodations, well, suffice to say there wasn’t much that would appeal to seasoned food and wine travellers.

That’s all changed in the summer of 2006 and it’s only going to improve over the years to come.

Best of all, the modern Okanagan Valley is managing to carve out its own identity that really isn’t anything like Napa or Sonoma, nor for that matter most other wine regions in the world. The simply prepared local foods – nothing too fancy, but food made with quality ingredients – is symbolic of the whole new identity.

Over the last month, I have had the chance to be in the Okanagan and Similkameen Valley on four separate visits and after experiencing so much, it’s difficult to suggest where you might start to explore Okanagan wine country.

But despite all the change, my wine country travel advice remains the same: follow the wine. Most of the Okanagan’s best are on a short leash (especially white wine from the 2005 harvest) and if you want to get your share, you must visit the source. Once you have secured your wine, you can turn your attention to eating, playing and sleeping.

Let’s begin by eschewing the spectacular but stark Coquihalla (Highway 5) drive in favour of the slower, more picturesque Hope-Princeton-Keremeos (Highway 3) route, and stop at Herder Vineyard and Winery in Cawston. Count yourself lucky if you can pick up a bottle or two of the Herder Twin Benches Chardonnay 2005 ($25) , and then enjoy the gorgeous ride out the east end of the valley, over the mountains into Osoyoos and the south Okanagan.

One glimpse of the spectacular east bench will draw you through the town of Osoyoos onto the Nk’Mip lands that border the east side of Osoyoos Lake. Here Spirit Lodge will welcome you to some very upscale accommodations, and a stop at Nk’Mip Vineyards will allow you to pick up some of winemaker Randy Picton’s Nk’Mip Qwam Qwmt Chardonnay 2004 ($25). Lunch is served daily on a patio with some of the most breathtaking views on the continent. Be sure to look across the lake to the west bench of Osoyoos and the soaring vineyards of Osoyoos Larose.

One of B.C. best wineries is Jackson-Triggs Okanagan, but the industrial looking premises just off Highway 97 located north of Oliver was not open to the public until this month. A new tasting room fully stocked with JT wines, including the hard to find SunRock labels, is just what the doctor ordered. Don’t miss the Jackson Triggs SunRock Shiraz 2004 ($24).

Moving north, your choices include a quick stop at Wild Goose Vineyards where you can taste the best riesling and gewürztraminer in the valley, or visit Hawthorne Mountain where you can lunch on the patio with the best view around and sip Hawthorne Mountain Gewurztraminer 2005 ($12).

As you head back north toward Penticton be sure to cruise the Naramata Bench and include a stop at The Patio at Lake Breeze. They serve flavourful Mediterranean-style bites overlooking the lake everyday from noon to 3:30 p.m. The outstanding pick here is the Lake Breeze Pinot Gris 2005 ($15), and, if you can find it, buy the Lake Breeze Pinotage 2004 ($25) .

Travelling up the lake, no northern Okanagan visit is complete without a stop at Westbank’s Mission Hill Family Estate Winery. Here you can enjoy a wonderful lunch or dinner at the Terrace, open 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily. Don’t leave the property without winemaker John Simes’ Mission Hill Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2004 ($25) or the amazing Mission Hill Riesling Ice Wine Reserve 2004 ($60).

While you’re in Westbank, do yourself a favour and stop by the reincarnated and fully renovated Old Vines Patio & Restaurant at Quails’ Gate Estate Winery (open for lunch and dinner daily at 11:30 a.m.). It’s one of my favourite spots, and the only place you can be sure of finding winemaker Grant Stanley's Quails’ Gate Merlot Family Reserve 2002 ($35) and the Quails’ Gate Pinot Noir Family Reserve 2004 ($35).

Over at Kelowna’s Calona Wines, winemaker Howard Soon can be found most days, but his heart is further south in Oliver where he grows some of the Okanagan’s finest grapes. Soon is flying high these days with his Small Lots Program led by his 2003 Phantom Creek Vineyard Syrah ($30) and the 2003 Burrowing Owl Vineyard Two ($30), a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc.

You can pick up the latest Sandhill offering at Calona Winery in downtown Kelowna, and while you’re in the neighbourhood be sure to visit the finest restaurant in the valley, Fresco (1560 Water Street, Kelowna 250-868-8805). Chef Rod Butter may suggest his signature dish of grilled aged beef tenderloin, peppercorn mayonnaise, braised short rib and pommes frites with either Sandhill label.

About ten minutes south, along the eastern shores of Okanagan Lake, CedarCreek Estate Winery sits high above the water offering yet another spectacular setting for its Vineyard Terrace Restaurant. Chef Geoffery Couper of the Corked Cook Food & Wine Co. does a really superb lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

After lunch be sure to hit the wine shop on your way out and pick up a supply of winemaker Tom Di Bello’s CedarCreek Chardonnay Platinum Reserve 2003 ($29) and its matching red CedarCreek Pinot Noir Platinum Reserve 2003 ($35).

As you can see, we’ve barely scratched the surface – and I didn’t even mention the Vanilla Pod in Summerland, or the Hooded Merganser on the lake in Penticton. Speaking of the lake, the new Summerland Waterfront Resort located on Okanagan Lake in Summerland will change your mind about accommodation in the valley forever.

And it’s all happening in a valley covered in vines amid a 100-mile long system of lakes that Napa Valley can only dream about.

Anthony Gismondi is a globetrotting wine writer who makes his home in West Vancouver, British Columbia. For more of his thoughts on wine log onto www.gismondionwine.com