This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to Vancouver
Mountains, lakes and stunning vistas are to be expected in western Canada — but vineyards?
I muse on this welcome discovery at a local winery as I survey vine-covered hills while sipping a delicious glass of chilled Chardonnay. After sampling a few more varieties, complemented by local cheese and salami, my companion and I climb on e-bikes and pedal slowly to another vineyard, marvelling at the view over a vast sparkling lake.
Welcome to wine tasting in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, which FT wine supremo Jancis Robinson has called “the wild west of wine” and where, to the delight of this cyclist, sampling the local offerings can be done on two wheels.
A four- to five-hour drive north — or a quick flight — from Vancouver, the region is ideal for a weekend getaway and is centred on the 135km-long Okanagan Lake. Surrounded by mountains and dotted by four cities and towns, its shores have for decades been one of Canada’s main soft-fruit-producing areas and, since the 1990s, a key centre of wine production.
There are some 200 mostly estate wineries here, and their output is among the wine world’s best-kept secrets. The small-scale production means they are rarely seen in other locales. But the short, hot growing season and varied soil types mean the area’s producers are building a reputation that excites experts like Robinson, who has compared them to those who put California’s Napa Valley on the wine map.
Wine producers here are happy to point out that the Okanagan enjoys two more hours of sunshine a day than Napa in the summer. The area also has 11 officially designated sub-geographic indications, or GIs, each with a unique climate, soil type and wine style. The area is particularly known for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Merlot.
While there is a large number of wineries dotted across a sprawling area, there are three loose groupings around the lake that are ideal to visit by bike. Given the hilly terrain and the wine-sampling, e-bikes are the best option — this isn’t about bolstering Strava feeds. Epic Cycling in Penticton rents bikes and can create bespoke itineraries on the Naramata Bench (see below). Kelowna Bike Rentals, on the lakeshore, has a good selection of e-bikes and regular bicycles and is a social enterprise that supports youth and accessibility projects. Many wineries have restaurants, and some offer accommodation and spas.
Naramata Bench
Starting in the resort town of Penticton, where 1960s-style motels line a popular beach, effortless pedalling on the town’s main road leads to a wide gravel cycle path that tracks along the Naramata Bench, a vine-filled plateau with its own sub-GI that runs along the eastern shore of the lake and is home to more than 30 wineries. The wine-covered hills that fringe the lake make for stunning views.
At Little Engine Wines, owner Steven French recounts how he relocated his family from the neighbouring province of Alberta after spotting an opportunity to create high-quality wines that would compete with the likes of Napa Valley in a place that “was just so gorgeous”. Like many of the small-estate owners on the Bench and in other parts of the Okanagan, French is ambitious and focused on creating wines that are “complex” — which is evident when sipping his award-winning Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays.
A little further along the cycle path lies D’Angelo Estate Winery. Sal D’Angelo opened his first winery in Ontario in the 1980s and now has just eight acres on the Bench, specialising in Tempranillo and Montepulciano. Tastings are done on a porch overlooking the vines, with picnic tables and a nearby food truck providing impromptu alfresco meals of hearty fresh sandwiches.
The cycle path winds among wineries, before crossing the main road and continuing above the vineyards. Between the road and the trail, with a commanding view and a striking building, Hillside Winery has been producing wine for 40 years — its blended Mosaic red is a delicious result — with an emphasis on sustainability. It also has a farm-to-table bistro that is a popular lunch spot.
Eventually the cycle path leaves the Bench and links up with the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, a dramatic gravel path on a disused railway line that once linked Penticton and the town of Kelowna. One to return to on a non-wine day.
West Kelowna
About 55km away from the Naramata Bench is the West Kelowna wine trail. Although it does not have a designated sub-GI, many of its wineries lie on the slopes of Mount Boucherie, the remains of a long-extinct volcano that has bequeathed mineral-rich soil in which vines thrive.
Here, cycling is done along wide bike lanes on fairly busy roads that are less protected than the gravel trail on the Naramata Bench but still perfectly safe.
The mountain’s slopes are home to some of the Okanagan’s most-established wineries. High up above the vines, with a distinctive tower and large restaurant, Mission Hill has been producing award-winning wines since 1981, some of which can be found in the US and Europe.
Close to the lake at the bottom of the hill lies Quails’ Gate. Vines were first planted on the site by the Stewart family in 1961 and while they have now have vineyards dotted about the valley, the main estate is located in West Kelowna. In a field of what we are told are Merlot vines that slopes down to the water, we sample delicious, award-winning Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs with a trellis protecting us from the sun.
Pedalling up from Quails’ Gate, Mount Boucherie Estate Winery has been making wine on the slopes of the mountain since 1968: crisp, award- winning rosé, as well as Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer. In 2020 it opened a modern new tasting centre and restaurant with stunning views.
Further up the hill (with our e-bikes once again coming into their own), a new generation of wine producers are developing export markets in Asia at Grizzli Winery. The Chang family emigrated from Taiwan in the 1990s with dreams of making wine, and their daughter Amy has overseen the development of both the exports and the winery’s large, cedar-beamed visitor’s centre, with a restaurant serving delicious locally sourced dishes.
South and East Kelowna slopes
Across the lake from the largely suburban West Kelowna is the lively town of Kelowna, with lakeside beaches and parks and some 40 wineries in its environs, most with stunning lake views. The area is home to two sub-GI designations: South and East Kelowna slopes.
Getting around on two wheels is helped by an extensive network of bike lanes in town, with e-bikes making the terrain effortless for those who are here for the wine rather than the exercise. In the rolling hills where many wineries are situated, the roads are rarely busy and the main traffic hazard is often grazing deer.
A few minutes into the hills of the lakeshore route, overlooking the water and the town, South Kelowna’s Tantalus is on the site of one of the oldest continuously producing vineyards in British Columbia, famous for its prize-winning Rieslings. Eric Savics, a Latvian-born former restaurateur, bought the winery in 2004 and has broadened the offerings to include Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Lakeshore Road is a favourite scenic cycling route that starts in the centre of town and heads south-east towards Cedar Mountain Regional Park and Cedar Creek Estate Winery, which nestles high in the hills among the trees. One of the province’s oldest wineries, it is known for its delicious Pinot Noirs and Syrahs, which can be tasted in its stone farmhouse, which has commanding views over the lake.
Lovers of Pinot Noir can pedal further up the hill just behind Cedar Creek to Martin’s Lane, where Shane Munn makes “radical” low-intervention and complex Pinot Noirs and crisp Rieslings from a six-level gravity winery perched eyrie-like high on the hillside. Lakeshore Road ends a few kilometres further on, and the ravines of the hills mean that cyclists must retrace their steps to return to town.
Siona Jenkins was a guest of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association
Have you explored British Columbia’s wine regions? Tell us in the comments below. And follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @FTGlobetrotter
Read the full article here