Roz's small fry Blog

WBC13 Countdown – BC Winery Each Week – Posting 10

Posted on November 7, 2012 by rozsmallfry

November 7, 2012 – Tasting Room Radio

Here I am kind of cheating again. I promised a BC Winery Each Week and trust me, I have been personally visiting way more than that lately. Trouble is sometimes when you are researching stories, there’s not much time to left to write them up adequately at the end of research. Insert appropriate “it’s a rough life and someone has to do it” commentary here.

While this week, I will not introduce a specific winery, I am making sure that you are aware of a great resource for information on wineries – the Tasting Room Radio with Terry David Mulligan. See, that’s almost over delivering.

For those of you who have not already heard of Terry David Mulligan, let me introduce this Canadian radio and television personality based in Vancouver, BC. Pick up his autobiography Mulligan’s Stew for an entertaining journey of his life growing up in North Vancouver to almost present day.

With Jason Priestley, yes, I’m talking that handsome actor dude, he hosts another program called Hollywood and Vines.

TD cares a lot about the wine industry – not just in BC but around the world and has done somewhat outrageous things to help move legislation forward such as defying an antiquated cross-border law. When he’s not “breaking the law”, he’s out supporting events such as the Naramata Tailgate Party that I covered in Posting 2. (The photograph above shows TD meeting some BC wine enthusiasts at the Naramata Tailgate Party.)

Tune into his radio show online to get the latest wine news and browse the archives for interviews with diverse personalities in the wine industry.

www.tastingroomradio.com

Twitter: @TDMulligan

facebook.com/TDMulligan

Posted in BC Wineries, BC Winery Each Week, Joy, Lifestyle, Wine | Tagged #wbc13, BC wine, Hollywood and Vines, Jason Priestley, Naramata Bench Wineries, Okanagan, travel, wine, wineries | 1 Comment

WBC13 Countdown – BC Winery Each Week – Posting 9

Posted on October 31, 2012 by rozsmallfry

October 31, 2012 – Dirty Laundry Vineyard

For Halloween I think Dirty Laundry Vineyard is a great choice to highlight. It does a great job of marketing itself so it really isn’t a matter of giving it a push.

In fact, it really is all about its marketing. If ever there was a winery that dressed up for Halloween and every other occasion, this is it!

Bernie Hadley-Beuregard, a Vancouver marketer, is credited with finding some local lore about a Chinese railroad worker whose Summerland laundry apparently was a front for a Bordello. It was nicknamed “the dirty laundry” and this tale, true or false, was leveraged to rename the winery.

The theme now playfully envelopes everything about this member of the Bottleneck Drive Summerland Wine Route. The wines take on names like Naughty Chardonnay, Hush, Bordello, A Girl in Every Port and Gewürztraminer Madam’s, Threadbare or Woo Woo Vines. The merchandise and decor in the tasting room and all the signage on site stays true to form.

It’s all in good fun. It’s in a gorgeous setting where you can view the historic Kettle Valley Railroad, that is, in a way, an important part of its history. Wink! Wink!

Gorgeous grounds and Patio

Located at 7311 Fiske Street, Summerland, BC VOH 1Z2

Phone: 250-494-8815
Fax: 250-494-8850

Email: info@dirtylaundry.ca

www.facebook.com/Dirty-Laundry-Vineyard

Twitter: @hushhushvines

www.dirtylaundry.ca

www.bottleneckdrive.com

The Kettle Valley Railroad – part of the scenery, part of the lore

Y’all come by and see us sometime!

Posted in Alcohol, BC Wineries, BC Winery Each Week, Beverages, Joy, Learning, Lifestyle, Travel, Wine | Tagged #wbc13, BC wine, Bottleneck Drive Winery Route, learning lifestyle, marketing, Okanagan, Summerland, travel, wine, wineries | Leave a comment

WBC13 Countdown – BC Winery Each Week – Posting 8

Posted on October 24, 2012 by rozsmallfry

October 24, 2012 – SummerGate Winery

Owned by Gillian and Mike Stohler, SummerGate Winery is one of those hidden gems of small lot wineries you need to visit to witness the family’s dedication.

From the outset with its commitment to reducing its environmental impact and creating premium wines from estate-grown certified organic grapes, the SummerGate Winery has walked the talk. With a young family of their own, the Stohlers were adamant in using natural techniques such as reduced crop yield, special canopy and vineyard management practices. High quality fruit is produced without petro-chemical pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers and customers are even requested to return the bottles to the winery for recycling whenever possible.

Mike is Vineyard Manager and Gillian is the award-winning Winemaker. Together as a family, they hand harvest and gently press their fruit creating wines slowly fermented in stainless steel tanks.

The crisp and fragrant fresh wines include Riesling, Muscat Ottonel and my personal favourite, Kerner. While you can find the wines in select restaurants and at two wine stores in Vancouver, I urge you to come to see the winery and enjoy the healthy vineyard and picnic patio.

Last year at Summerland’s Light Up the Vines event, the Stohlers treated visitors to a home-baked traditional German Christmas tart that paired perfectly with her wines. Gillian also invited guests into the winery to learn more about the winemaking techniques.

Eco-friendly and without pretense, SummerGate Winery truly is testament to the saying that “good things come in small packages.”

RBuchanan photo SummerGate IMG_9047

Located at 11612 Morrow Avenue, Summerland, BC V0H 1Z8

Phone: 250-583-9973

www.summergate.ca

mjstohler@shaw.ca

gstohler@shaw.ca

WBC13 – Wine Bloggers Conference 2013

Light Up the Vines 2011

Posted in Alcohol, BC Wineries, Family, Food, Learning, Lifestyle, Wine | Tagged #wbc13, BC wine, certified organic, eco-friendly, food, Lifestyle, natural, Okanagan, organic, SummerGate Winery, Summerland, wine, wineries | Leave a comment

WBC13 Countdown – BC Winery Each Week – Posting 7

Posted on October 17, 2012 by rozsmallfry

October 17, 2012 – Bonitas Winery

Fittingly described as a “Touch of the Mediterranean, Okanagan style,” Bonitas Winery is Summerland’s only winery right on Okanagan Lake. It is a bit of a hike up to the tasting room and restaurant from the dock, however, it’s a unique experience to find a winery that you can access just off the highway by car, boat in and tie up at its wharf or land a helicopter on its helipad.

However, you choose to arrive, the inviting patios, tasting room and restaurant offer an ambiance you can drink in along with the award-winning wines. It’s no wonder that this spectacular setting is a popular venue for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays and other celebrations. Imagine matrimonial memories engraved with a backdrop of grapevines draping a picturesque hillside with the lake glistening beyond.

In Bonitas Bistro, Chef Proprietor Colin Rayner matches the fantastic wine with fine regional cuisine. If all the great food, drinking wine and celebrating amid this magnificent backdrop inspires you to tarry awhile, there’s even a winery loft you can book.

Lawrence Hopper and Diane Esslinger opened the winery in 2008 after planting vines in 1996 to grow grapes and sell them to other wineries. Initially called Hijas Bonitas, which is “Beautiful Daughters” in Spanish, the name was a salute to their four daughters. To simplify for marketing purposes, the name was revised to Bonitas Winery and still speaks to the beauty of its location and the love of sharing with family.

I recently caught up with Lawrence and Diane at the Okanagan Wine Festival’s Valley First Grand Tasting in the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre where they were lovingly sharing tastings of their wine with enthusiastic fans. An exciting chapter is unfolding for Bonitas Winery as they have negotiated its sale to new owners who will retain existing staff. The transition will be a thoughtful process of about six months while the dedicated couple turn the page to prepare for a more leisurely lifestyle. Who knows, they may actually have time to travel to those Mediterranean vistas their winery design has evoked in the Okanagan!

Bonitas Winery is a member of the Bottleneck Drive Summerland Wine Route.

Located at 20623 McDougald Road, Summerland, BC V0H 1Z6

Phone: 250-494-5208 Toll-free 866-534-4527

www.facebook.com/BonitasWinery

www.bonitaswinery.com

Bonitas Bistro

Phone: 778-516-5596

Bottleneck Drive Winery Association

www.facebook.com/BottleneckDrive

www.bottleneckdrive.com/

Note: October 15, 2012 – The Bottleneck Drive Winery Associationannounced the 2012-2013 executive for its Board of Directors, including:

Julian Scholefield, President (Okanagan Crush Pad, Operations Manager)
Jack Fraser, Vice-President (Thornhaven Estates Winery, Owner)
Diane Sarglepp, Treasurer (Heaven’s Gate Estate Winery, Owner)
Kristina Neilson, Secretary (Sumac Ridge Estate Winery, Assistant Visitor Experience Manager)

With a mission “to promote locally, nationally and internationally, the unique wines produced in the Summerland area,” Bottleneck Drive recently engaged Christina Ferreira as coordinator.

Posted in Alcohol, BC Wineries, Beverages, Family, Food, Lifestyle, Restaurants, Travel, Wine | Tagged #wbc13, balance, BC wine, Bonitas Winery, Bottleneck Drive Winery Association, food, food suppliers, Heaven's Gate, learning lifestyle, luxury, Okanagan, Okanagan Crush Pad, restaurants, Sumac Ridge Winery, Summerland, Thornhaven Estate Winery, travel, wine, wineries | 1 Comment

WBC13 Countdown – BC Winery Each Week – Posting 6

Posted on October 10, 2012 by rozsmallfry

October 11, 2012 – The Vinegar Works

My feature this week is not a winery. I warned that I might cheat a bit from time to time. While not a winery, the Vinegar Works is a proud member of the Bottleneck Drive Summerland Wine Route and as the owners remind me “you have to know how to make wine to make vinegar.”

Owners Kim Stanfield and John Gordon embarked on their adventure in farming in the late nineties starting with a small market garden. With a lot of personal sweat equity and at times participation from friends and guests, they have developed their 10-acre property into a highlight of the Bottleneck Drive route.

Passionate about organic farming, they have even designated a portion of rare riparian area into a space for future generations in partnering with The Land Conservancy. It is shelter for wildlife and a host for birds and insects that benefit the farm not to mention its role as a sanctuary for guests just wanting to experience the beauty of nature.

Created from wine made from grapes harvested on their Valentine Farm, the vinegars and Verjus of the Vinegar Works are now the gems of the farm’s product line highly valued by chefs and food enthusiasts. From July to October, these gourmet vinegars can be sniffed and tasted in the farm shop daily except for Wednesdays. Visits to the farm can be arranged at other times by calling for an appointment.

Lucky enough to be living within an easy drive of Valentine Farm, I love to visit it throughout the seasons to witness firsthand how Kim and John pour heart and soul into planting and nurturing their farm, making their base wine and transforming it into the most amazing varieties of vinegar.

I love buying eggs at Valentine Farm and you can imagine my joy when for Easter, Kim invited Sharon Misselbrook and me to colour eggs! Who says kids have all the fun?

“We’re food people,” says Kim and a blog http://vinegartart.com/ confirms it, where you can find more than 60 recipes using vinegar. It contains helpful canning tips and other recipes to deal with much of the harvest from the farm.

As hosts they are so warm and welcoming, you may find yourself wanting to linger awhile. Not to worry, they operate a Guest House http://www.vrbo.com/410311 on the property. While it is a separate cottage from their home, you’re free to roam the grounds, join in to feed the chickens or horses and pet the resident dog and cats.

We’re fortunate to find Vinegar Works each Saturday morning through the summer at the most excellent Penticton Farmers Market. So, if time precludes an excursion to Valentine Farm in Summerland, be sure to visit the Vinegar Works booth at the Penticton Farmers Market.

Located at 10216 Gould Avenue, Summerland, BC V0H 1Z8

Phone: 250-494-7300

Email: veggies@valentine.com

www.facebook.com/TheVinegarWorksatValentineFarm

Twitter: @TheVinegarWorks

www.thevinegarworks.com