flyertalker00156

What were you favourite wineries you visited? Also are these guys allowed to ship out east now?

radnub

Thanks for the report! I enjoyed reading it! I'm going to keep my eye out for those small family-run wineries the next time in out there.

iceblueshoes

Maybe the name change explains the weird castle thing from Road 13?

Thanks for the suggestions.
Def. want to get back. There were some wineries I didn't get a chance to visit partially due to time or lack of signage. Also as a solo traveller and not being able to drink more than a drop or 2 here and there, it didn't really let me enjoy the wines.
Of course!
Same here. Parents would take us around the US (Eastern) and one regret my parents mention that they have is not exploring more of Canada.
They were living in Canada almost 30 yrs before they went to Montreal the 1st time.

I was lucky enough to have spent a month out east in a French immersion program set up by the govt. during university so it gave me a chance to explore the maritimes.

I also have a book on Canadian destinations called "Unforgettable Canada" so that's been an inspiration on a lot of travel spots within Canada.
I got a mixed reaction when I asked about this, but for the most part yes.

Wineries like See Ya Later said they can't ship to ON (likely to avoid pissing off the LCBO)
See ya Later is owned by Constellation which also owns Jackston Triggs and Inniskillin. They also said (J.Triggs) that they can't ship their BC wines out east.
I don't believe Mission Hill and Quail's Gate were willing to ship though. Said get it locally.

For the most part though, most were willing to ship out east to ON. Some had case minimums, but with the exception of the 3 above most were open to doing it.

As for fave wines overall... Road 13, Mission Hill, Silkscarf were probably the best ones overall.

In general though, I find BC does more full bodied reds compared to ON esp those done in northern Rhone style, but whites are better here in ON.
The best whites I felt were the Gewurztraminer though. All were consistently great regardless of where they were.
Check out Beaumont, Thorhaven and Silkscarf, but overall most were smaller producers that I visited.

All in all, I tried about 70-80 wines over the course of the weekend.

YVR Cockroach

The Road 13 winery? I've had the wine and seem to remember I had its wines when it used to be Golden Mile Cellars. Can't keep up with all the new wineries (e.g., The Hatch wasn't even built 2 years ago when I was doing a house sit down the road behind Quails Gate) and changes in existing ones. Lots of changed and not for the better. I've been touring the Okanagan for almost 20 years and have seen Mission Hill grow into the monstrosity that it is. Most were a lot smaller. winebc.com says there are 173 licensed wineries in the Okanagan now. Some make good wines, some still making iffy ones unfortunately. Still a learning process of what grape varietals

Highly recommend Naramata next time you're in the area. The warmth and sunshine seems to make the red grapes more ripe over there.

iceblueshoes

Even here in Niagara it's hard to keep up and I've only ever been to Prince Edward County once and that's an up and coming region too.

For some reason Mission Hill reminded me of the the part in Prometheus when they find the alien craft.

Thanks for the Naramata tip. I definitely want to get back in the near future, but also want to check out Vancouver Island's wineries as well.
So many places, so little time!

iceblueshoes

Small update: Dirty Laundry will ship out east.
They replied to my mini-review on trip advisor when I said too bad only a few of their wines are available locally.
Even said I can join their wine club!

mkjr

Great TR.

I just find the wineries try to hard with all the silly names of their wineries in BC. I have started to see it here in Ontario.

A good family friend was a pioneer in the BC wine industry....IMO one of "the pioneers"....;-) but i am biased!

Looks like he might have an interesting venture set up later this year....stay tuned!

worldtraveller73

For what it is worth, the Mission Hill winery is about to host its first royal visit. Kate and William are scheduled to visit there on Sept 27, 2016.

William, Kate to bring Prince George, Princess Charlotte on B.C., Yukon visit

Schedule:

Sept. 27: Kelowna, for a public visit to UBC Okanagan to meet students and watch at exhibition volleyball match, followed by some wine tasting at Mission Hill Winery, and then a flight to Whitehorse that evening, where they will meet members of the Canadian Rangers and see a performance at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre.

iceblueshoes

Keep us posted!

As for the names... I get what you're saying but they need weird names to stand out. It's a crowded field.

It would be great to start up a travelling flyertalk wine exchange program, but ya... it's probably a pipe dream...

Crazy thing is a winery costs the same as a house in Toronto...
Regardless of whether or not one likes the monarchy, that's good press for Mission Hill.

YVR Cockroach

Cost of land is high in these parts (pretty sure it's more than $200k/acre for ag land).

Cost of establishing the vineyards is also high.

http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/far...a_planting.pdf

FWIW, the PM made an unofficial appearance there at the beginning of his summer vacation.
http://www.castanet.net/news/West-Ke...inery-visitors

SQTraveller

Brings back memories of wine-tasting when I was backpacking through BC many years back.

You are right. Quail's gate still don't ship abroad. Sad.

Hope to have reacquaint myself with the BC wine tasting on my next trip to that part of the world.

iceblueshoes

I was referring to Toronto vs. Niagara, but yes, the size of the land let alone, vineyard is a huge factor. Not to mention if it's just the land/vines and the equipment itself.

I'm sure it was just a campaign stop
But there are plenty other great ones that will ship abroad!

What's even worst is that there are plenty that won't even ship to another province!

Gardyloo

With respect, the Carcross Desert up in the Yukon is the real deal, albeit small.

offerendum

There are the whips for

WikiHNL

(Harrison Hot Springs)!

Also, I think your photos of "Stanley Park" are actually of the UBC endowment lands. The clothing option beach is Wreck Beach and that is up at UBC. The vantage point from your photo definitely looks UBC to me.

Great report!