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valley Happy


Nikki Bayley gets a taste of the burgeoning wine scene in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley


B


ritish Columbia’s wineries are big business. Each year,


they welcome more than a million visitors, generating $600 million in tourism and tourism-related employment. The Okanagan Valley is one of the world’s most exciting emerging wine regions, with a backdrop of pristine lakes and sandy beaches surrounded by soft sloping mountains. Add to that dry and hot summers, a riot of spring blossoms, mild winters with powder snow on the mountains, and dazzling autumn leaf colours and the Okanagan makes an attractive year-round destination. With some 2,400 hectares of vines planted, the Okanagan is Canada’s second-largest wine-producing region. From Lake Country in the north to Osoyoos in the south covering an incredible range of microclimates and soil types, the Okanagan excels at an intoxicating range of grape varietals: cool-climate


pinot noir and chardonnay, crisp riesling, juicy fruit-forward syrah and full-bodied cabernet sauvignon. The Okanagan also produces


exceptional sparkling wines, ice wines and late-harvest dessert wines. Many wineries offer accommodation, restaurants or a picnic area where guests can open a bottle of wine to enjoy overlooking the vines. Tasting fees are usually waived with a purchase.


◗ LAKE COUNTRY AND KELOWNA As the largest city in the Okanagan, Kelowna offers plenty of shopping and cultural attractions alongside laidback lake and beach-based fun. A 40-minute drive north takes you to Lake Country for relaxed golfing and spa-ing. Stay: Sparkling Hill, a decadent Swarovski crystal-studded spa resort with jaw-dropping lake views.


Delta Hotel Grand Okanagan


Resort is a downtown hotel with bags of style, excellent facilities and the delicious Oak & Cru restaurant. Sip: 50th Parallel, an ultra-modern winery with the excellent Block One restaurant, or Gray Monk, the place to enjoy a sparkling odyssey white brut overlooking the vines at the Vineyard Restaurant. You’ll pop a cork over the traditional- method bubbles at Summerhill Pyramid Winery, a wonderfully eccentric winery and restaurant with a scale model of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Last but not least, Tantalus Vineyards is the benchmark for riesling in the area.


◗ WEST KELOWNA AND SUMMERLAND On the west side of Lake Okanagan, West Kelowna boasts several big-name wineries and strip malls aplenty. Quaint Summerland offers up small-town attractions such as Summerland Sweets for locally made fruit jams.


46travelweekly.co.uk3 January 2019


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