5 Okanagan Wines You Need To Try
A few months back I went to the Okanagan for my girl Tiffiney's stagette. We had a great time wine-ing and dining and exploring Kelowna and the surrounding area and today I wanted to share my 5 favourite wines from that trip.
Now I'll preface this post by saying I am definitely a wine lover. I love red wines, rose wine and while white wine isn't my favourite, you won't see me passing up on a glass or two if offered. ;) So with this in mind I'm sure you can imagine my excitement to visit a few vineyards and learn about how wine is made and where it comes from. While I was the MOH and did do much of the trip planning and organizing we were very fortunate to have a sommelier in the bridal party who organized a few tours and visits to take us to some pretty spectacular places. It was hard for me to narrow down my top 5 but today I thought I'd share the best 5 wines I tried on that trip.
In the comments below let me know if you've tried any of these wines, or if you have any suggestions that I should try - I'm always looking to try new wines!
On our first day we stopped at Quail's Gate for lunch and as per our server's recommendation, ordered up two bottles of this Chenin Blanc. I think almost every one of us on the trip ended up leaving with one from the shop because we all loved it. In a tragic event, I accidentally dropped my bag of wine and it shattered in the bag on the sidewalk when we were walking back to our hotel. We had to stop at three liquor stores to find it and I bought two bottles just in case (haha!) and I'll say now, I should have bought way more! This is an easy drinking crisp white that's not too sweet - I love it and I'm sure you would too! ;)
2. Mission Hill Martin's Lane Pinot Noir
I won't lie to you, I've always liked Pinot Noir but as we toured the Okanagan, I wasn't enjoying any of the Pinot Noir I had tried. At least that was true until we visited Mission Hill. I could go on and on about my experience at Mission Hill, it was truly exceptional but for now I'll focus on this wine. Awarded 2013's Pinot Noir of the Year by the Decanter World Wine Awards, this wine is a must try from the Okanagan Valley. I have a bottle at home James and I are saving for a special occasion and I already can't wait to open it up and enjoy!
From all of the vineyards we visited, 8th Generation was by far my favourite. There wasn't a single wine of theirs I didn't enjoy and I could have spent a fortune there! I left with 8 bottles of wine from that vineyard alone and even that was me paring down my favourites to only bring back a few. It's really hard to say for sure which wine was my favourite but the bubbly rose that is their 'confidence' was definitely one of the best.
I'm definitely more of a red wine drinker than white however typically merlot is not my favourite type of red wine, so I was pleasantly surprised when I tried this one from Silkscarf. It was one of the last wines we tried at that winery and you could say it was love from first sip. It's a wine that keeps for up to three years (or at least the year I bought was) however if I'm being honest, it only lasted a few months since I brought it home! This is another bottle I definitely wish I had bought more of!
5. Haywire Winery Pinot Gris Switchback
This was one of the last wines we tried after our full day of wine tasting and as a girl who isn't the biggest white wine fan, I was starting to tire of whites that were too sweet. I was thrilled to taste this Switchback because it had the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. It wasn't too sweet, it was very fresh and crisp and I'll say from experience - very easy to drink! haha If you are like me and don't like overly sweet white wine, you'll enjoy this Pinot Gris.
