Winery Background - Gray Monk is one of the largest and most successful wineries in the province. Founders George and Trudy Heiss first planted vineyards in 1972, but the winery didn’t open until 10 years later. Upon opening in 1982 they released their first vintage made with the grapes from the 1980 harvest. The winery is still very much a family affair, with all three Heiss sons involved in the day to day operations of the winery. In fact, George Jr. is currently the head wine maker. Gray Monk takes its name from the Pinot Gris grape, which in parts of Germany, Austria and Hungary is called Grauer Mönch (literally translated to Gray Monk). After more than 30 years in the business Gray Monk has grown from a first vintage of only 350 gallons, to one of Canada’s larger wineries distributing throughout the country, into the U.S., and even in Europe.Winery Location - Gray Monk is situated on a beautiful hillside in Okanagan Centre with a spectacular view of Okanagan Lake. The winery has just opened its new “Castle” to the public. The “Castle” is now home to Gray Monk’s tasting counter and wine shop. It is a big, bright, beautiful space; a much more suitable home for their delicious wine. This new building features a glass elevator that rises from the winery’s underground cellars and processing facility up four storey’s to the top floor of the “Castle” where visitors can enjoy spectacular, unobstructed views of the area. The old wineshop area is being incorporated into the restaurant and administrative space that was already housed in the old building. Acres of vineyards surrounding the winery are responsible for producing the vast majority of the winery’s white grapes, while most of the reds are grown in the Oliver/Osoyoos area.Winemaking - Gray Monk’s grapes are picked over a period of about one-and-a-half months. All of their grapes are picked by hand and they typically do their pressing and crushing during the second week of October. All of the white wines they produce are aged in stainless steel, rather than oak. With the exception of their latitude fifty, which is aged in stainless steel, all of Gray Monk’s red wines are aged in oak for a period of between 8 and 24 months (depending on the wine). The winery exclusively uses French oak, which is expensive considering barrels cost from $800 to $1200 and the winery only uses each barrel five times at most. After barrel aging, the wines are bottled. Gray Monk does all of their bottling in a period of 40 days / year, split between March for their whites, and summertime for their reds. Several years ago, Gray Monk encountered severe quality issues with their corks, so they are now in the process of switching all of their wines to screw caps.

Tour - The tour at Gray Monk is one of the best I have been on. I would recommend it to anyone, especially those more interested in the wine making process than winery aesthetics. It is very informative and in depth and best of all, its free!

Wines - While I was there I had the opportunity to sample a few of their wines. Here are my notes:

2007 Chardonnay - A very crisp wine with flavours of lemongrass and green apples.

2007 Riesling - A somewhat tart wine, with very intense granny smith flavours.

2007 Rotberger - Gray Monk is the only known producer of this varietal in North America. This mild Rosé has a nice peppery flavour, with a hint of cranberry. I would really like to try it with food.

2006 Merlot - The nose is predominantly Raspberry with a hint of chocolate. This wine is very smooth with great pepper flavours. Although its not as full bodied as I would like, it is nonetheless quite good.

Grapevine Restaurant
I will start this review by admitting that I am not coming into it without any preconceived notions of this restaurant. I have been to the Grapevine many times before and going in was already of the mind that it is one of the best restaurants around. That being said, there is a reason that I enjoy it so much. Quite simply, they make incredibly good food, provide outstanding yet friendly service, and have one of the most breathtaking views around.

The kitchen is run by chefs Willi Franz and Rene Haudenschild. These gentlemen do great work and are very well respected by their peers. In my experience, their kitchen has produced some of the finest dishes that I have had the pleasure to enjoy. The service in the dining room and on the patio is run by Willi’s wife, Marie Franz. She is an extremely charming and friendly woman, with a keen eye for detail. Between the three of them, all the guests at The Grapevine are in great hands.

As it was mid-afternoon I had already eaten lunch and it was too early for dinner. I had just stopped in for a snack, but for the benefit of my readers I wanted to share some information about having a full meal at The Grapevine. Lunches start from a very reasonable $13.50 for a gourmet soup and sandwich (you could easily pay this at a place like Earl’s or Joey’s) and run all the way up to $20.00 for a pan seared wild salmon fillet (still reasonable considering what you’re paying for). The item on the lunch menu that most stood out to me as something I would like to try was the “Vintner’s Veal Sausage w/ au jus, pan fried potatoes, and apple-fennel compote”.

For dinner, mains start at $20.00 for Grilled Mushroom Polenta and range up to $32.00 for the Mediterranean Seafood Pot. The dinner dish that interested me the most was teh Pan Roasted Free-Range Chicken Breast w/ Red Curry Sauce, Apple-Mango Stuffing, and Seasonal Vegetables. Both the lunch and dinner menus also feature suggested wine pairings for all the dishes, which is a great touch for those who are new to wine and food pairing.

For my snack, I opted for one of my favourite desserts, Berries Romanoff. My berries and ice cream were beautifully presented in a dacquiri glass and topped with whipped cream, berry syrup, a wafer cut into the shape of a “G”, a sugar sculpture (syrup that has been used to create an artistic design and allowed to harden), and a delicate flower. It looked almost too good to eat, but I’m glad I didn’t let my sense of aesthetics deter me, because once I dug in, it was superb. This dessert has a great contrast of flavours (tartness of the berries vs. sweetness of ice cream) and textures (crisp wafer vs. creamy ice cream vs. firm yet supple berries). If I really had to nitpick and find something wrong with the desert it would be that the berries they used weren’t local, but considering I was there before any of the local berries had ripened I don’t think they had any other choice.

Acutally, my biggest complaint would be the wine I chose to enjoy with my dessert. I opted for their Pinot Auxerrois, which is a fantastic wine and one of my personal favourites. However, it is not a good pairing for ice cream. Its just not acidic enough to cut through the cream or sweet enough to go with a dessert. As I am the one who chose the wine, I can hardly fault the restaurant.

The service, as usual, was impeccable. Despite me finishing my tour around 3:30pm, which is when the restaurant closes between lunch and dinner, they insisted that they were happy to serve me. The service was prompt, polite and friendly. This is also one of those great restaurants where some of the staff seem to know what you want before you even want it. For example, I was just starting to think that I should get a glass of water and as I turned around to flag down my server she was already approaching the table with a glass in hand.

It must be plainly obvious to anyone reading this that I highly recommend The Grapevine Restaurant. In my opinion, the perfect way to enjoy this gem is on their patio, where they have recently installed a new awning and sun shades to make the summer heat more bearable.Make your reservation for thirty to forty minutes before sunset, so you can enjoy the beautiful colours over Lake Okanagan. I promise you a dining experience you won’t soon forget.

Ambience: 5 / 5
Taste: 5 / 5
Service: 5 / 5
Value:4.5 / 5
Overall: 5 / 5