I went to Napa a few calendar month ago and dropped $ 500 . In a day . Not on insanely rare vino or dinner attry - before - you - die restaurants , either . Nah , half a gm buy me a hamburger , a smattering of wine tastings , and a night at the Holiday Inn Express . That ’s not to pick at Napa Valley ( or the Holiday Inn Express ) . endearing place , that Napa , full of wonderful people and terrific wines . It just may not be your musical theme of a $ 500 - a - day good time .
problem with Napa is , for a Brobdingnagian identification number of Americans , it ’s just sohandy , comparatively speaking . Anyone who ’s spent a week in Argentina will talk your ear off about how you’re able to do Mendoza for , like , 87 cents a day , steak dinners and all . But reaching South America takes a full - blown getaway . So how does an American drink great wines amid breathtaking natural stunner without blowing out a couple of credit rating cards ? Easy : go to Canada .
And , no , you wo n’t have to wad up like the youngster fromSouth Parkjust for a flute of sparkler wine , though Canada stay open in March , so totally your call . alternatively , think a summertime or autumn jaunt to theOliver Osoyooswine realm in British Columbia ’s Okanagan Valley . Obscure ? Compared to Napa , sure . But it ’s also maybe the most scenic wine region in North America , and a shoes where normal people can afford to smack wine like royal family .
Courtesy of Road 13
Who is this Oliver Osoyoos person?
The baddie in a pulp undercover agent novel , probably . The region is named for two towns there : Oliver ( itself named for long - ago British Columbia Premier John Oliver ) and Osoyoos ( which shares a name with a localFirst Nations people ; they pronounce it " oo - Eugene Sue - yooze " ) . Together the towns boast 39 wine maker that crawl from the plush vale into the semi - arid mountains that circumvent the area .
Wine tasting here is as much about the surround as the wine itself . The Okanagan Valley , wedged between the Cascades and the Columbia Mountains , enjoys hot summers and mild winter unequalled to Canada – it appoint the country ’s only temperate desert region . The wineries model on the eastern and western foothills of the mountains , allowing you to delight the morning Sunday on the patio atRoad 13as you expect east . To end the day , there ’s a sundown tasting over the vale atBurrowing Owlas you take in the westward thought . All of it overlooking the 12 - mile - prospicient Osoyoos Lake , which stretches down across the Washington mete about halfway between Seattle and Idaho .
So what will you be tasting?
Definitely not ice wine . Asking a BC wine maker about ice wine is kind of like enquire for alfredo sauce in Italy . They ’ll just kink their eyebrows and say , " That ’s not what we do here . adjudicate something else . "
meth wine is in reality more dominant in spot like Ontario , where temperature flatten below freeze during baseball time of year . Western Canada makes vino like most of the US ' West Coast , with pinot noirs , cabriolet Francs , and petit verdot dominating the bolshie ; chardonnays , rieslings , and gewürztraminers the Andrew D. White .
As with any wine region , some wines you ’ll like , and others you wo n’t . But if you ’re not a connoisseur – as the immense majority of wine-colored tourist are not – the wine-colored here serve the determination of your misstep : trying small - production vino you ’ll in all probability never find again , then taking home some fantastic juice to affect your acquaintance .
Osoyoos, British Columbia|Rawmn/Shutterstock
Wineries with personality, that don’t charge much
The wineries have character that has n’t been compromise amid platoon of holidaymaker . AtChurch and State , coiffure low in the hills in the eastern vale , vintner have make a line of wine anticipate " Lost Inhibitions , " complete with labels that say thing like " Zero f*cks have " and " Friday is my second - favorite F - news . " Down the route on the other side of the valley you ’ll findRustico Farm & Cellars , a Western - theme place in a historic bunkhouse that feels more like the waiting region for Big Thunder Mountain than any wine maker in California .
But the best thing about the winery here ? They ’re inexpensive . A tasting can execute as little as $ 3 ( Canadian ) for four sample . Like anything in life , you get what you pay for , so those sample distribution are n’t proceed to go much past a sip . But even at spots like statelyHester Creekor homeyMaverick Estate– which pour expectant taste – you ’ll rarely see a tasting over $ 10 .
And of row , ahop - on - record hop - off shuttletakes you to all of these places . So you’re able to enjoy all the vino you need without worrying about transportation .
Church & State
Dinner with big views and small bills
The vale ’s teemingness of you - pick farms on Highway 97 give a visitor the first tilt of the food ahead . The larger wineries all have restaurants , where chefs have relationship with the lilliputian local farms , and menus take advantage of the local garden truck . The area also sit slap between the Pacific Ocean and Canada ’s oxen country , entail both the seafood and the beef are insanely fresh .
And the eating place all come with a thought . TheSonora Room at Burrowing Owl Estatefeels like eating in an old hunt lodge over a lush desert valley . And the corner table on the patio atTinhorn Creek ’s Mirodoromight be the best mesa in the region . The wine maker seat in the middle of the two towns , midway up one of the deal , so one diner looks south at Lake Osoyoos , and the other bet north into the wineries of Oliver .
Again , the kicker is the price . A three - path repast for two with wine and a domain - class view will die hard you about $ 130 Canadian , roughly $ 100 US . And that ’s for the fancy place . The valley is also home to a fairly great Amerind population , and if you ’re hankering for a curry to pair with your gewürztraminer , you could eat for cheap at Best of India or a few other great holes - in - the - wall .
Church and State Wines
Playing in the Canadian desert
That big lake does more than form a centerpiece for your Instagram picture . During summertime it ’s packed with boaters , kayakers , and paddleboarders . And even for the not - so - active , the beach on the lakefront is a nice place to relax and let your wine-colored bombination wear off . Or nurse your katzenjammer . Either / or .
It ’s a muckle region , so obviously there ’s mickle of biking , but the area is also home to three golf courses , include the 36 - hole Osoyoos Golf Club . Or if you want to take a day off from wine tasting and savor the agriculture , Covert Farmsin the northern end of the vale is a relaxing hick farm with an in - mansion restaurant and estate of produce you may break up . They ’ll even take you out in their antique red pick - up motortruck and let you sip some sparkling vino in the middle of a vineyard , if you just ca n’t go a twenty-four hour period without vino .
You can afford an overnight stay
The Okanagan is the lovesome part of Canada ( relative , I know ) . That intend it ’s a winter home for inter - Canadian snowbirds from thereallycold parts of the res publica , who want milder climes without experience to RV to Nevada . Those snowbirds lease their condo in the summertime . And that abundance of supply , as anyone who took freshman - year economics can secern you , pushes down the Leontyne Price for everything .
Take the modernWatermark Beach Resort , a centerpiece hotel for the region with a elephantine swimming puddle , syndicate bar , gourmet eatery , and everything else you ’ll want when you ’re not turning your tooth purple . Here the two - bedroom units can be had for about $ 200 ( US ) per night . If you ’ve got two pair that ’s 50 buck each , or about what two wine tastings ran me in Napa .
Even on the eminent goal , theluxury , secret , one - sleeping room villa atop the Hester Creek wineryaren’t priced for celebrities either . With breakfast on your private patio overtop the vale included , the price is about $ 300 ( US ) a nighttime . Or about $ 20 more than that Holiday Inn Express I stayed at .
Burrowing Owl Winery
Getting there
Oh . But there ’s always a gimmick .
As marvellous , low-cost , and delicious as the Okanagan Valley is , it ’s also not exactly right next to a major airport . Or any drome . The closest one is in Penticton , a jolly expensive regional airport about an hour off , approachable from Vancouver or Calgary .
Slightly larger ( but 90 minute of arc away ) is Kelowna International Airport , cheaper and accessible from big airports in the Western United States .
Okanagan Valley|Max Lindenthaler/Shutterstock
Tell you what , though , if you ’re up for an escapade , fly into Vancouver and driveway . You ’re looking at a four - or five - hr journeying over emerald plenty , into rough desert hills , along stream , down Laputan roads , and through immature valleys . The route sometimes lose weight to just two lanes , and number one wood might slow to do crazy stuff like bask in the scenery . But if you ’ve pay back some clock time in the summer months , when the plenty roadstead are clear of C , this is absolutely the elbow room to do it .
So yes , Canada might not be the first station you think of when considering a wine - taste vacation . But if you ’re more into the quality of your experience than name realization , it ’s a sturdy finish to beat . The wine are good , the food for thought is fresh , the scenery is unbeatable , and it wo n’t cost you a luck . It might not be a connoisseur ’s first choice , as the wines here are safe but not internationally known . But for most of us , we ’re just there to have playfulness . After the second winery , they all taste the same anyway .
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Courtesy of Watermark Beach Resort
Courtesy of Covert Farms
