On the Road with the Grape Guy
Report from - British Columbia Day 9 & 10 Going South ... July 30-31, 2008
13 Aug 2008- Details
- Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
For my mother's 70th birthday she wanted to travel the Okanagan tasting wine ... I being the curious wine writer that I am decided that sounded like a really good idea ...
We took to the South of the Okanagan as we took to the north, deviding up the region from the furthest to the closest.
We began the day by moving as far south as we could – which we had been told was Nk’Mip, but there is one that is just a hair further south these days, Twisted Tree. It’s interesting to note that we began and ended day 9 without a drop of wine.
We had been told by fellow wine writer Michael Vaughan, to visit the Nk’Mip Cultural Center; so we popped in to see what the big deal was about. The sign said that it was a good idea to have a hat, water and sunblock for the 1.5km walk – I had no hat so instead of doing it “tomorrow”, as mom and I debated, I bought a hat, that either made me look local or yokel, still not sure (you decide – see right). Between mom and myself we also bought about $100 worth of souvenirs (making sure they were all made in Canada). We ended the day back at Golden Mile Cellars, where Mick took us on a 45-minute vineyard tour. This man is passionate about his vines, his fruit, his workers, everything to make better wine. From thinning and pruning to paying his workers top dollar to get a better days work … you get what you pay for is one of Mick’s many philosophies. Mick is doing wine on his terms (this from a 5 year farmer) and it shows in the glass that is presented to you at the tasting bar. I was very impressed by what I saw. I’m sure that Mick would like me to mention his good looks, smarts and humility, but I have never lied to my readers and I won’t start now (see day 4).
As for the wines ... (Read more - with pictures, wineries visited and wines of note)
