Incredible views along the way...
After driving for about an hour I came to See Ya Later Ranch (yes it’s a winery) which was named after how the original landowner (Major Fraser) signed his latter. The wine names are named after his pets which are buried across from the main tasting place. The Major was a parton of the SPCA and being a big dog lover, I decided to drive what felt like up a mountain to check it out.
Finally when getting up there the views are incredible. Talking to one of the guys in the tasting room who was beginning his career in wines, he said he managed to come out to the Niagara wine region and was shocked how flat it was. Haha! But that he did like a lot of the wines he got to check out.
I got to try out 4 wines at See Ya Later and while the reds throughout BC were solid, I actually didn’t bring back any with me. My parents did bring me back a bottle during their more recent trip to BC though so I’ll be looking forward to that.
Another cool fact is that all tasting fees are donated towards the BCSPCA.
hehe
After looking at the various dog related items it was time to continue south to Road 13 and Burrowing Owl. Along the way, I managed to come across Inniskillin’s/Jackson Triggs BC locations and since I’d been wanting to try out a BC Vidal icewine, figured, why not?
The tasting room is a LOT smaller than the one in Niagara, but still plenty of wines to try. Since time was running to run out though, I just tried 2 wines. The icewine and a gewurtzramminer. They were growing tempranillo, but had none on sample. They said I’d have to buy a bottle for $40… while I do love to support Canadian wines, I’m not supporting a science project and would prefer to get a Spanish Riojan Tempranillo at that price.
Anyways, the icewine was good, but felt a bit watery and not as intense/concentrated as the ones we have here. Still, I’m glad I got to try it though.
Next it was Road 13, which I’d seen here in ON but never actually got to try out. When asking about if they sold any wines in ON I got an earful but this isn’t a political trip report.
Looks a bit out of place...
Anyhoo, the winery has 2 tasting menu’s if you will. You have your standard run of the mill tasting wines for about $5 (6 wines) and then you have about a premium tasting for $10. Since this was (well originally) the 2nd last vineyard I was going to visit, and none of these are available in ON, I figured, let’s go premium!
Amazing view. Wish I'd have had time to relax and enjoy the wines.
Overall, the wines were all very good, but I LOVED the reds. Rich, full bodied and a good balance of acid and tannins, yet for the most part good enough to age to allow them to mellow out a bit more. While I was tempted to buy a bottle I didn’t and was really starting to regret picking up the Quail’s Gate the day before so I’d have had room for the Road 13, but alas it wasn’t meant to be.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find the street to visit Burrowing Owl, so I decided to continue onto Osoyoos and call it a night, plus my teeth were starting to get purple and wanted to avoid any run-ins with the police. Let me be clear, I was spitting the past 2 days since I was driving. If it wasn’t on the counter, I’d ask for a spittoon.
About 30mins later I drove into Osoyoos and had another night at the Holiday Inn.
The Hotel was nothing spectacular, but the view was nice looking onto Lake Osoyoos. It looked like people could bbq, but since I was only there 1 night, didn’t ask about it.
The room. Almost the same as the one in W. Kelowna
Although the view was a lot nicer...
I had originally wanted to go visit a desert wildlife centre but didn’t arrive in time so that was out. I later went out to buy some dinner at the super market and then just enjoy a glass of wine overlooking the lake from the balcony.
Cheers!
I then got a little stir crazy and went for a walk along the lakeshore in the evening to get a few photos before calling it a night.
Osoyoos reminded me of Florida because there were so many seniors around, still with the landscape, I can’t say that I blame them. This is where the landscape and architecture REALLY started to remind me of photos I’ve seen or California and northern Mexico. Sorry, no photos since I was driving in the city at this time.
Anyways, the next day, it was time to get back to Vancouver to make my evening flight out and then back to reality. I took a different route back and made it back to Vancouver in about 4 hours. The lack of snow likely helped.
The road back to reality...
After dropping the car off and meeting up with my sister it was almost time to get back to the airport. Again, I have to give a massive thank you to Jumper Jack for providing me with a lounge pass and letting me have my first lounge experience! Gives me a small taste as to what everyone talks about.
A few snacks, but not really enough to make a meal out of.
Decent selection of spirits, but disappointed with the wines. 2 reds, 2 whites - meh at best. One of the reds was passable, but after having so many great wines, I stuck to port (night cap) and the spirits.
Overall it was a good trip and makes me wonder, why did I wait so long to go west? It’s so different, yet, it’s still the same country.
The Bird at the lounge entrance
Waiting to board
Final Conclusion
I didn’t do any wine tours (time was limited) and probably got to try about 70-80 wines all weekend which makes me yearn for more BC wines in the east here.
My main complaint (besides the snow) was that both Holiday Inn’s had marketing fees that were not listed on the website when booking. When your room fee goes up 15%, you start to reconsider and wonder if Airbnb wasn’t perhaps a better option. Anyways, I suppose if that’s my only complaint, then life isn’t too bad.
As for the Delta, the room was massive but it felt like the room as a whole is having a bit of an identity crisis. It's not quite Marriott, but not Holiday Inn. It's between the 2, but the prices (regular) are closer (or higher) than a Marriott. Perhaps it's because Marriott isn't sure where to place the brand? It's not a knock, just that it seems a bit confused as to where it belongs.
As for the club. it's simple, basic but you can easily make a breakfast out of it and the view is nice. You can even sit on the terrace (23rd floor) and eat there or have a drink.
Considering its around $40, I would say yes, it's worth the upgrade, but it's not very big and can feel packed fairly easily.
The service in the hotel in general was VERY good though. Staff was attentive and more than willing to help.
Besides, that, I did have to tell some wineries not to tell me tasting notes so that I could think up/come up with my own conclusions instead of being told what i SHOULD be picking up in the wines. Usually wasn't a problem, but Road 13 was a problem in that I had to ask twice to not be told until after I'd had my own conclusion.
Then again, there is a doxie on the label and wandering around from time to time.
Well thanks for reading and if anyone has any questions or comments please let me know and I’ll try to answer!