It was late June and another day of wine touring was definitely in the cards. We decided to head down South of Oliver and visit some wineries that none of us had ever been to before. We started out with a list of about five wineries and where we planned to go for lunch, but our plans evolved as the day went on. The drive from Kelowna down to the Oliver / Osoyoos areas is absolutely gorgeous and well worth the trip even if you aren’t visiting any wineries. The drive from West Kelowna to Penticton traces the Western shore of Okanagan Lake and gives you a multitude of vantage points from being almost at eye level with the lake from Peachland through Antlers Beach, to overlooking the lake from up high as you drive by Greata Ranch and past Punta Norte. A quick drive through Penticton spits you out along the Northern Beach of Skaha lake and takes you along the shoreline of that lake until your reach Okanagan Falls. Although there aren’t any more big lakes to drive by the scenery doesn’t get any less spectacular as you cruise by Vaseux Lake and the imposing and impressive MacIntyre Bluff before hitting Oliver. Once you pass the Jackson-Triggs winery things start to look more and more like the Arizona desert and before you know it, you’re in the heart of wine country. If the road isn’t flanked by an vineyard, then there it is flanked by an orchard. It is a phenomenal drive and I highly recommend taking an out of town guest down that way.Through the day, we managed to visit five different wineries (Burrowing Owl, Stoneboat Vineyards, Le Vieux Pin, Gehringer Bros., and 8th Generation) as well as make stops at Murphy’s Pub in Oliver for lunch and at Tickleberry’s in Okanagan Falls for ice cream. This was also my first review where photographer Andrew Lipsett was able to join my to chronicle the event in pictures. It was great to have Andrew along and I have included just a few of his many spectacular photos from the day.Burrowing Owl - Our first stop was at Burrowing Owl. The winery sits perched on a gently rolling hill, surrounded by vineyards just north of Osoyoos. There are few wineries more picturesque than this one. Both the Winery and on-site accommodations are beautifully built, but more than that, they offer incredible views out over the vineyards and off into the distance.

2008 Pinot Gris - This wine boasts a beautiful citrus nose, and flavours of lemongrass and grapefruit on the palate. It is good wine, but it could definitely be smoother and doesn’t offer a lot of value at $20.00 / bottle.

2007 Chardonnay - The nose on this Chardonnay is predominantly lemon. It has quite a toasty flavour with herbal notes.

2006 Meritage - This five grape blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petite Verdot has a nose of pepper and jam. It is very dry on the palate, with flavours of berry and leather. This wine was very good already, but should be cellared as it likely won’t reach its peak for a few years yet.

2006 Syrah - This Syrah has a nose of black cherry. Its flavour profile features vanilla, pepper and black cherries. It wasn’t as smooth or bold as I like in a Syrah, but it was fairly good. There are much better wines available at $38.00 / bottle.

Stoneboat Vineyards - We were inspired to try Stoneboat by my experience at the Westjet Wine Tastings during the Spring Wine Festival. I really enjoyed their white blend “Chorus” and their Pinot Noir and was eager to try some of their other offerings.

2007 Pinot Blanc - A fruity nose of green apples and citrus is followed by flavours of lemon zest and green apple, with a hint of honeydew melon. A nice Pinot Blanc.

2007 Nebbia - This blended white is comprised of five varietals grown on old vines. The 2007 is the last vintage that will be produced of this blend, so if you think you might enjoy it you better try and find some before its all gone. It opens with a citrusy nose and have flavours of muscat, citrus and minerals.

2007 Duet - This blend of Pinot Noir and Pinotage was far too light for me, but it did have a nice strawberry nose and a great colour. It featured flavours of thyme, strawberry and pepper.

2007 Verglas - This dessert wine is to die for!!! If anyone out there is ever looking to buy me a present, look no further. This wine is a true rarity, especially in the Okanagan. It is made from Oraniensteiner grapes that have been infected with Botrytis (noble rot), which causes them to shrivel, making the juices and flavours much more concentrated. It has a nose of honey and caramel and flavours of tangerine, peach, and caramel. This is without question the best dessert wine I have ever had the opportunity to enjoy.

Le Vieux Pin - The visit to Le Vieux Pin was a suggestion from my friend Jen Batey who had been there on a previous trip with her husband. They had very differing opinions on the wine and its value, and had said it was definitely one of the more intriguing stops they had made. The winery is modeled after an old French railway station and has an air of sophistication bordering on snobbish. It is an interesting contrast to the desolate desert around it.

While overall, I think their wines are quite overpriced, I will say that the people who run Le Vieux Pin really have a great eye for detail. Their labeling creates what is probably the most sophisticated looking bottle of wine in Canada (which is probably why they can charge high prices). They also provide all of their tastings in beautiful Riedel glassware. This combination allowed Andrew to capture the picture to the right, which I think is an absolutely incredible image (although I think you need to see it in full size to really appreciate it).

2008 Sauvignon Blanc - This wine exhibited an nose of lemongrass and citrus. On the palate I detected notes of apple, lemon, and honeysuckle. It wasn’t a great wine, but it was definitely decent.

2008 Gewurztraminer - It had a lovely floral nose and flavours of flowers and honeysuckle, but the finish was quite rough. I definitely don’t recommend it.

2008 Pinot Noir Rosé - This rosé had a very light, almost non-existent, nose. It was dry, with flavours of cherry and cranberry. I’m not a big fan of rosés, but I did really enjoy this one.

2006 Emoi Pinot Noir - Despite being a little too light for my tastes, this pinot noir was very nice. It had an incredible nose of strawberries and great flavours of leather, black pepper and strawberry. I was particularly impressed with how dry this wine was.

2006 Epoque Merlot - This merlot displayed a nose of black cherries. The most dominant flavour was mixed berry jam and it exhibited soft hints of thyme in the background. Not my favourite Merlot, but not bad.

Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery - I have to say that Gehringer was definitely the favourite stop of the majority, if not everybody in our group. This isn’t a flashy winery with beautiful architecture like Mission Hill, or an incredible view of the area like Burrowing Owl. These guys are all about substance over style. Their labels probably haven’t changed in at least fifteen years, and they don’t even have a website! What they do have, however, is great wine at incredibly low prices. I’ve said it in a few of my other columns, but quite simply Gehringer Bros. represents the best value you can find in Canadian Wines. Everybody in our group left this winery with at least one bottle of wine, and most of us left with a lot more than that. I’m not saying that they have “The Best” wine in the valley, because they don’t, but they do have very good wine at unbelievable prices.

2007 Dry Riesling - This riesling has a nose predominantly of lemongrass, with hints of tropical fruit, melon, and minerals on the tongue. It is a very crisp wine, and I quite enjoyed it.

2008 Desert Sun - This blended white has a beautiful floral nose, with just a touch of lychee fruit. It is really smooth and buttery on the palate (especially for $12.99 / bottle), with a taste of honeydew.

2008 Schonburger / Gewurztraminer - This is my favourite offering from Gehringer. It has an absolutely incredible nose with scents of vanilla and flowers. It displays a wide variety of flavours from fruits like honeydew and green apple, to other flavours like honeysuckle and spice. A phenomenally refreshing wine!

2008 Pinot Noir - This pinot has a nice nose of blackberry and spice, with flavours of plum jam and pepper. While it can’t be considered a truely full-bodied pinot noir, it does have a fair amount of weight, and definitely more so than most of its competition from around the valley.

2007 Cabernet / Merlot - This is a Bordeaux style blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. It has a nose of cherries with bright berry flavours and a hint of white pepper.

One of the many great things about being in the Okanagan is the bountiful availability of fresh produce, particularly fruit. After a great stop at Gehringer Brothers we were heading down the road, back to the highway when we spotted some kids selling cherries at the side of the road. The entire convoy (three cars) decided to pull over and buy some for the drive. When I say you can’t get fresher cherries than we had that day I’m not exaggerating. The kids, were literally picking them as we ordered. They made for a great treat on the way to our next stop…. TICKLEBERRYS!!!

Tickleberrys - It is my honest opinion that Ice Cream is the greatest food ever invented. Give me the choice between Ice Cream and any other food and I will choose Ice Cream 999 times out of 1000. For me, there is no better place in the Okanagan to get Ice Cream than Tickleberrys. If you haven’t been there, do yourself a favour and go. Its just over an hour south of Kelowna, in Okanagan Falls (less than 10 minutes south of Skaha Beach) and is well worth the drive. They have dozens of flavours to choose from and dole out very generous portions. In fact, a Child’s sized cone is more than enough for most adults (two large scoops). If you make the trip and see a gigantic line, don’t worry…. I’ve seen the line wrapped around the store more times than I can count and its never taken more than ten minutes to get an ice cream because they have a huge army of remarkably efficient staff.

8th Generation - 8th Generation is located in Trout Creek (between Summerland and Penticton) and was formerly Adora Winery. Bernd and Stephanie Schales purchased the winery, along with its vineyards in the Oliver/Osoyoos area and rebranded it as 8th generation. Bernd is an 8th generation winemaker and his wife Stephanie is an 8th generation grape grower. Thankfully for us, they fell in love, got married, combined the knowledge of both families, and started making wine for us to enjoy. There is no question that Riesling is their specialty, but they do have some other great wines to try as well.

2007 Pinot Gris - This wine has a nose of grapefruit and banana and tastes of the same, along with a hint of mineral. This wine is crisp and clean, definitely worth a try.

2007 Riesling Dry - This wonderful Riesling is made from grapes grown on vines twenty years old or more. It has a beautiful nose of green apple and honeysuckle. When tasted it brings to mind citrus and minerals. This is my favourite Riesling at 8th generation. I have owned several bottles of this and they are always quite good.

2008 Riesling - This sweeter Riesling has a nose of grass and citrus. It has very nice citrus flavours, but overall is a little on the sweet side for me to really enjoy.

2008 Pinot Meunier Rosé - I love this wine! This is one of my favourites in the valley, despite not liking most rosés. It has a beautiful nose of strawberry and tastes of strawberry and grapefruit. This wine may actually remind some drinkers a bit of the taste of Champagne (from Champagne, not sparkling wine) and that is no surprise as the Pinot Meunier grape is commonly used help give Chardonnay (the most commonly used Champagne grape) a fuller flavour and more body when producing Champagne.

2007 Merlot - This wine had a smokey nose, with aromas of cassis. It’s flavour was predominantly pepper and black cherry. It was quite good, but not outstanding.

My second wine tour of the summer turned out to be a great day and I’m really hoping that I can find the time for a 3rd sometime soon. I would recommend visits to any of these wineries, although for different reasons. Burrowing Owl has impressive facilities and a spectacular view, Stoneboat has some great whites well worth checking out and a dessert wine that will knock your socks off, Le Vieux Pin has an incredible ambiance that has not been reproduced anywhere else in the valley, Gehringer has the best value you’re going to find in wine, and 8th generation makes the best Riesling and Rosé around.

If you find yourself bored one day, hop in the car and head out for a little wine touring.