Canadian Wine Vacations | BY DARCY NYBO
Southbrook Winery, Richmond Hill, Ontario
T
he Okanagan Fall Wine Festival wrapped up on October 10th; however, there are still lots of things to experience when it comes to Canadian wine.
We start with Niagara-on-the-Lake’s 2010 Taste of the Season every weekend in November. There are twenty-two wineries to choose from for a wine and food extravaganza. Two area wineries that will titillate your taste buds are Southbrook and Stratus. What makes Southbrook unique is it’s Canada’s first Certified BioDynamic Winery. Demeter Biodynamic Certification is used in over 50 countries to verify that biodynamic products meet international standards from the growing of grapes to the production and processing of the wine. Southbrook is also Canada’s first LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) GOLD Certified winery.
Their top selling wine is Poetica; limited edition wines featuring labels inspired by the works of Canadian poets. The labels contain the “art of words” in a specially designed artist series that showcases poetry. Poetica wines are limited edition and numbered, with vintages from 1998 to 2007. Unfortunately you have to go to them, as these wines will not be available in BC until 2011.
Right up the road is Stratus Vineyards. Established in 2000, it was the first winery worldwide to fully achieve LEED certification from the Canada Green Building Council. Stratus combines several different grape varieties to produce wine that expresses the vineyard’s terroir. Their two signature assemblage wines are Stratus White and Stratus Red. Critically acclaimed, these wines show the quality of our Canadian wine industry. Aside from being part of Taste of the Season, Stratus hosts Horizontal Sundays on October 3rd and November 7th at 2 pm with a tasting of a collection of Stratus Icewines from the 2008 vintage. They also host Vertical Saturdays, on October 30th and November 27th where you can taste 2005, 2006 and 2007 vintages of their signature wines.
Should Kelowna be your destination then Distinctly Kelowna Tours has a unique offer for you. Aside from their regular Okanagan tours, they have partnered with Okanagan ATV Tours for guests to experience the Peachland area. The views are spectacular, as are the wines.
Located just 15 minutes north of the Kelowna International Airport is Gray Monk Winery. They are open 363 days of the year with fall hours of 10 am to 5 pm. If you’ve visited prior to 2009 then
you are in for a pleasant surprise. There is now a four story building where the entrance garden once stood. The new building is Tuscan style and the open beam ceiling gives the impression of walking into an old world winery. The old wine shop has been turned into a wine lounge for people waiting for tables at the restaurant (open until the end of >
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