pudgy hits the wine trail - day 1
Monday, August 27, 2012
it was day 1 of my wine adventure and already, i deterred from my itinerary. :) sigh .. i know, my itinerary was somewhat of a guide but somehow i ended up in other wineries that weren't on my list. my original day 1 winery list included: mission hill, quail's gate, gray monk, summerhill pyramid, and cedar creek. what did i really do? here's a run down:
first stop was a vineyard called tantalus. with a name like that, how could i not go? it reminded me of the days at IBM when there was a server named tantalus. so i just had to go check this place out. i'm so glad i did. when i got there, the place was quiet - not a single visitor there. i went into the tasting shop and was greeted by Martyn and Patti. we started talking "shop" .. err i guess in my case .. wine and since the place wasn't busy, Patti offered to take me into the vineyard to look at the various varietals that they grow.
tantalus is one of the oldest vineyards in kelowna - dating back to 1927. much of what was grown then have been replaced over the years with new varietals (mostly vinifera). they were recently LEED certified - meaning the site operations and buildings are environmentally friendly (water efficiency, reuseable resources, etc).
there were several beehives around the vineyard and they serve an important purpose to the vineyard. the amount of honey produced is an indication of how well the crop is doing. the more honey produced, it means flowering is abundant. more flowering, more grapes, bigger yield. Patti also mentioned that some vineyards grow rose bushes nearby. roses act as an early warning system for diseases such as powdery mildew. powdery mildew is a fungus that can grow on the leaves and berries themselves - hindering berry growth and maturity. roses are susceptible to powdery mildew and usually show up on roses well before they show up on grapes. so if the roses are showing signs of powdery mildew, the winemaker can take protective action to control the development of the fungus and ensure that the grapes will not be destroyed by it.
anyway, seeing the grapes up close was very cool. i see photos of grapes and i know what table grapes look like but how big are wine grapes? they are actually smaller than what i thought. the smaller the berries, the more concentrated the flavours are. the bigger the grapes, the more water content there is. wine grapes are as small as blueberries. when they are ripe, there is just a little give to the touch. i asked to try one and Patti was afraid it would be too tarte. but she pulled one off for me to try and it was tasty. they still weren't ready yet but it's practical knowledge for me to know what the grapes taste like during various stages of growth. even though the one i tasted seemed okay, it was one out of a bunch and other grapes in the bunch were still green. this stage is called veraison - the onset of ripening. in another week, the entire bunch will be purple. wish i could be around to try a grape at that point.
by the time we walked back to the tasting shop, the place was packed with visitors! poor Martyn had to man the tasting bar all by himself. Patti made sure i tried some wine as well. i had their 2011 riesling - good minerality and tropical fruit, very crisp. i really enjoyed it on its own. i also tried the 2009 old vines riesling. this vintage was sold out at the shop so i couldn't buy it even if i wanted to. it had a petrol aroma to it, along with melon, citrus, and apple notes. but i guess i'm just not used to rieslings with petrol. the chardonnay had a nice balance of citrus and oak. i'm not a fan of oak but this wasn't overpowering. lastly, i tried their pinot noir. also very nice but i did not give it enough time to open up. i was also sampling my pinot noir out of a Riedel riesling glass. :P .. i know, i'm such a wine snob. ;-)
i ended up buying the 2011 riesling. it was too good to pass up and it's not something i can get in Ontario. it was worth buying, in my opinion.
next stop was summerhill pyramid winery. after experiencing some incredible hospitality at tantalus, summerhill had much to live up to. and it did not. when i arrived at the winery, it was packed with tourists. i went in to the tasting room and it was a zoo. people were crammed along the tasting bar, people taking photos. i took a few pictures and then left without trying anything. it was almost impossible to get up to the tasting bar anyway. bad timing for me because a tour bus had just pulled up as i arrived.
at st. hubertus, it was also very touristy but there weren't many tourists when i stopped in. i can tell when it's geared towards large tour groups because the tasting room looks like a retail store with lots of knick knacks other than wine. i stopped in, looked around, and then proceeded to walk into the vineyard to see the grapes progress.
my last stop was all the way out in Lake Country to visit gray monk vineyards. it was the furthest one yet and it too was very touristy. however, the property had some of the most stunning views. it was too bad i went in the afternoon because the sunsets are quite amazing from the building's balcony. gray monk had a complimentary wine tasting of 4 wines. i sampled two of their whites - a riesling and a gewurztraminer. both were good but nothing spectacular. i was interested in their Odyssey III but for a 500 ml bottle it was really heavy. so i passed on the wine and thanked the young lady for the samples. i think i will go back for a wine tour and try the other strange varietals that they had to offer.
wow .. that was the end of day 1. tomorrow is a big day because i'll be covering west kelowna. oh and my little green car? as cute as it is, the automatic transmission on the car is like driving a manual tranny. it jerks as it switches gears but it's quite good on gas. i've been driving for most of the day and the gas needle barely moved. :)
note: not sure why i am unable to add photos to my post. will have to add them later.
wish you were here.
pudgy.
first stop was a vineyard called tantalus. with a name like that, how could i not go? it reminded me of the days at IBM when there was a server named tantalus. so i just had to go check this place out. i'm so glad i did. when i got there, the place was quiet - not a single visitor there. i went into the tasting shop and was greeted by Martyn and Patti. we started talking "shop" .. err i guess in my case .. wine and since the place wasn't busy, Patti offered to take me into the vineyard to look at the various varietals that they grow.
tantalus is one of the oldest vineyards in kelowna - dating back to 1927. much of what was grown then have been replaced over the years with new varietals (mostly vinifera). they were recently LEED certified - meaning the site operations and buildings are environmentally friendly (water efficiency, reuseable resources, etc).
there were several beehives around the vineyard and they serve an important purpose to the vineyard. the amount of honey produced is an indication of how well the crop is doing. the more honey produced, it means flowering is abundant. more flowering, more grapes, bigger yield. Patti also mentioned that some vineyards grow rose bushes nearby. roses act as an early warning system for diseases such as powdery mildew. powdery mildew is a fungus that can grow on the leaves and berries themselves - hindering berry growth and maturity. roses are susceptible to powdery mildew and usually show up on roses well before they show up on grapes. so if the roses are showing signs of powdery mildew, the winemaker can take protective action to control the development of the fungus and ensure that the grapes will not be destroyed by it.
anyway, seeing the grapes up close was very cool. i see photos of grapes and i know what table grapes look like but how big are wine grapes? they are actually smaller than what i thought. the smaller the berries, the more concentrated the flavours are. the bigger the grapes, the more water content there is. wine grapes are as small as blueberries. when they are ripe, there is just a little give to the touch. i asked to try one and Patti was afraid it would be too tarte. but she pulled one off for me to try and it was tasty. they still weren't ready yet but it's practical knowledge for me to know what the grapes taste like during various stages of growth. even though the one i tasted seemed okay, it was one out of a bunch and other grapes in the bunch were still green. this stage is called veraison - the onset of ripening. in another week, the entire bunch will be purple. wish i could be around to try a grape at that point.
by the time we walked back to the tasting shop, the place was packed with visitors! poor Martyn had to man the tasting bar all by himself. Patti made sure i tried some wine as well. i had their 2011 riesling - good minerality and tropical fruit, very crisp. i really enjoyed it on its own. i also tried the 2009 old vines riesling. this vintage was sold out at the shop so i couldn't buy it even if i wanted to. it had a petrol aroma to it, along with melon, citrus, and apple notes. but i guess i'm just not used to rieslings with petrol. the chardonnay had a nice balance of citrus and oak. i'm not a fan of oak but this wasn't overpowering. lastly, i tried their pinot noir. also very nice but i did not give it enough time to open up. i was also sampling my pinot noir out of a Riedel riesling glass. :P .. i know, i'm such a wine snob. ;-)
i ended up buying the 2011 riesling. it was too good to pass up and it's not something i can get in Ontario. it was worth buying, in my opinion.
next stop was summerhill pyramid winery. after experiencing some incredible hospitality at tantalus, summerhill had much to live up to. and it did not. when i arrived at the winery, it was packed with tourists. i went in to the tasting room and it was a zoo. people were crammed along the tasting bar, people taking photos. i took a few pictures and then left without trying anything. it was almost impossible to get up to the tasting bar anyway. bad timing for me because a tour bus had just pulled up as i arrived.
at st. hubertus, it was also very touristy but there weren't many tourists when i stopped in. i can tell when it's geared towards large tour groups because the tasting room looks like a retail store with lots of knick knacks other than wine. i stopped in, looked around, and then proceeded to walk into the vineyard to see the grapes progress.
my last stop was all the way out in Lake Country to visit gray monk vineyards. it was the furthest one yet and it too was very touristy. however, the property had some of the most stunning views. it was too bad i went in the afternoon because the sunsets are quite amazing from the building's balcony. gray monk had a complimentary wine tasting of 4 wines. i sampled two of their whites - a riesling and a gewurztraminer. both were good but nothing spectacular. i was interested in their Odyssey III but for a 500 ml bottle it was really heavy. so i passed on the wine and thanked the young lady for the samples. i think i will go back for a wine tour and try the other strange varietals that they had to offer.
wow .. that was the end of day 1. tomorrow is a big day because i'll be covering west kelowna. oh and my little green car? as cute as it is, the automatic transmission on the car is like driving a manual tranny. it jerks as it switches gears but it's quite good on gas. i've been driving for most of the day and the gas needle barely moved. :)
note: not sure why i am unable to add photos to my post. will have to add them later.
wish you were here.
pudgy.
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