Winetripping: Your Guide to the Best Wineries of British Columbia - Okanagan & Similkameen Design your ultimate trip through British Columbia's gorgeous Okanagan & Similkameen Valley wine country.Get ready to visit the very best producers, hand picked for you in each region from Osoyoos to Lake Country.Explore BC's hidden gem wineries, and glamorous modern tasting rooms. Included in Winetripping Okanagan & Similkameen —Top Wineries Get the inside scoop on 89 of the best wineries to visit, including what to try at each tasting room, plus tasting fees, high season hours, price range, and amenities including on site restaurants and hotel suites.Tasting Room TipsLearn tasting room etiquette, including how to sniff-swirl-sip, and whether it's OK to spit out your wine!BC Grape GuideLearn about the top grape names you're most likely to see on tasting room menus, including classics like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, plus Petit Verdot and Ortega.Wine Word GlossaryYou'll feel and sound like an expert after reading the glossary, which covers many of the words you'll see on labels and in hear at the tasting bar.

From concrete eggs, and residual sugar, to 'VQA'.The Year in Wine CountryRachel shares the best times of year to visit, and best days of the week too, if you want to avoid the crowds. Sub-RegionsThe valleys are big places, decide which parts you want to explore first with Rachel's write-ups on: Similkameen (Cawston, Keremeos), and Okanagan (Osoyoos, Oliver - Golden Mile, Oliver - Black Sage Bench, Okanagan Falls & Skaha Lake, Penticton & Naramata Bench, Summerland & Peachland, Kelowna - Westbank/West Kelowna & East Kelowna, and Lake Country).Easy ItinerariesJust want the best? Winetripping includes sample itineraries of standout producers, for each sub-region in the guide. Getting ThereFind out which route will be the most scenic (think ground squirrels, and winding river roads), and which will get you there fastest.Tour GuidesGet Rachel's recommendations for the best tour companies and wine shuttles. Fun ActivitiesFind out about 14 outside the box activities to add to your wine tour, including star gazing and snake spotting.

Vintage GuideAn easy to read guide to recent vintages, including 2010 to 2016. KELOWNA, B.C. – A single bottle of Okanagan VQA wine has been chosen the Premier’s Award winner at the 2016 B.C. Wine Awards.Kelowna’s Spierhead Winery’s 2014 Pinot Noir Cuvee was selected best wine in the province this year.The industry chose Summerhill Pyramid Winery Owner Stephen Cipes for the Founders Award, recognizing his contributions to the industry.sweet red wine whole foodsCipes is attempting to create an entire organic Okanagan Valley by 2020, starting a petition.red wine name indianMore than 600 wines from around B.C. competed for awards this year.best wine in ilThe awards evening kicked off the 36th annual Okanagan Fall Wine Festival.Platinum awards went to:Road 13 Vineyards Sparkling Chenin Blanc 2012Summerhill Pyramid Winery Cipes Blanc de Blanc 2010Mission Hill Family Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2014Red Rooster Winery Riesling 2015SpierHead Winery Pinot Noir Cuvee 2014Deep Roots Winery Syrah 2014TIME Estate Winery Syrah 2013CedarCreek Estate Winery Platinum The Last Word 2013names of wines from a to z

© 2016 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.The Best Blood Pressure Monitor, According to Your Needs Why type of blood pressure monitor is best for you? Our guide breaks down the various at-home models, so you find the perfect fit. Read More Boat Rentals: A Beginner's Guide Boat rentals aren't just for grizzled sea captains. Discover what you need to know to get out on the water. wine and food show londonRead More What is Ramen and Why Is It Suddenly Everywhere? best red wine cocktailsThis microwave staple morphed into a decade-long gourmet trend. But just what is ramen and how did it become such a hit? When the Wine Bloggers Conference comes to Penticton in June, wine bloggers from around the world will get an education about how the 100 mile-long Okanagan Valley produces wines of Alsatian, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhone origin.

While Pinot Gris and Cabernet Franc are what winos will expect, I think they’ll also be intrigued by aromatic wines made from BC’s historic hybrid grapes, specifically bred in the laboratory to flourish in our cool climate. These hybrids are the last relics of the early age of BC winemaking.BC hybrids were crossed from grapes of the Alsace region of France and Germany, as well as grapes from Switzerland and Eastern Europe, that share the 49th Parallel with Southern British Columbia. They were bred to be winter hardy, late blooming and fast ripenig to take advantage of our shorter growing season.In the 1980’s the federal and provincial governments incentivized a transition to Vitis vinifera vines known as “The Great Grape Pull Out.” Hybrids planted in the mid-20th Century became victims of the pull out, and the vineyards that were spared are the closest thing Canadians have to “Old Vines.” Tasting BC hybrids is like tasting a bit of Canadian history.Sporting a name that literally sounds refreshing, Ehrenfelser is a cross between Riesling and Silvaner.

It’s kind of a poor person’s Reisling at the Kabinett level, but I consider it a go-to white wine for lively mouthfeel and tropical fruit flavors.Cedar Creek, Lake Breeze, Gray Monk, Gehringer Brothers, Mount Boucherie and Summerhill all produce excellent examples of Ehrenfelser.With a name that sounds like a knight’s sword, Auxerrios can cut deep into the palate. Pronounced  [O.ser.wa blɑ̃], this Alsatian grape is a full sibling of Chardonnay, but I think it wishes it were a Pinot Blanc. Auxerrois is typically less complex than Chardonnay, shows lots of citrus flavors and can be made either dry or off-dry.Some of the best BC producers of Pinot Auxerrois (or Classic Auxerrois) are Grey Monk, Gehringer Brothers, and Little Straw in the Okanagan Valley.It may sound like a brand of popcorn, but Kerner was actually named in honor of physician Justinus Kerner, who also wrote songs and poetry about wine. A cross of Trollinger and Riesling, Kerner’s flavor profile is comparable to riesling’s – citrus, tropical fruits, racy acidity – and can be made into everything from dry table wine to late harvest and ice wine.

In BC, look for Kerner by Crowsnest, Gray Monk, Hainle, Oliver Twist and Tinhorn Creek of the Okanagan Valley, and Venturi Schultze of Vancouver Isle. This cross between Pinot Noir and (Chasselas x Muscat Hamburg) was only released in 1979, making it a relative newbie. Schönburger (pronounced Sh-ron-burger) is also grown in England, which shows what a early ripener it is. A delicate wine, it has floral aromas with muscat flavours and hints of sweetness.Single varietal Schönburgers are produced by Black Widow in the Okanagan, and by Venturi Shultz of Vancouver Isle. As a blender, it’s popular with numerous wineries.With a name that translates to “Victory Vine” in German you’d think this white wine would be more popular with nationalists. Pronounced See-geh-RAY-buh, it’s a cross of Madeleine Angevine and Gewürztraminer that typically has the intense aromatics of Muscat and the flavours of Gewürztraminer. Siegerrebe is such an early-ripener it tends to achieve high must weights although the wine can be low in acid.

Look for single-varietal Siegerrebe by Gray Monk, Dom de Chaberton and Recline Ridge in the Okanagan Valley, and Blue Grouse on Vancouver Isle. Siegerrebe is found in many blends.Easily mispronounced with a obscene twist, it’s pronounced mar-esh-shall-fosh and named for French Marshal Ferdinand Foch (1851-1929) who helped negotiate the armistice of the First World War. Marechal Foch’s genetics are controversial: some believe it’s a cross of Goldriesling (itself an intra-specific cross of Riesling and Courtiller Musqué) with a Vitis riparia – Vitis rupestris cross. Others contend that it contains the grape variety, Oberlin 595. As it is, Marechal Foch is an early ripener that produces small berries. The wines can have strong acidity, and show flavors of black fruit, mocha, coffee, and dark chocolate. Styles swing from fruity reds like Beaujolais, to Zinfandel-like wines, and to Port-style dessert wines.Lang, Quails Gate, and Sperling own the last old vine Foch vineyards in the Okanagan Valley.

Quails Gate makes an excellent Old Vines Foch. Okanagan producers include House of Rose, Recline Ridge, and Niche, as well as Muse Winery on Vancouver Isle.No, it’s not a packaged toast product for children; nor does it mean ‘too much money’ in German. Zweigelt (pronounced TSVYE-gelt) translates as “two indispensible,” and is currently the Austrian national red grape. Developed by Fritz Zweigelt in 1922, it’s a cross of St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch. Zweigelt wines tends to be light to medium in weight and tannin level, with purplish color, and have dark red to black fruit flavors, with earth, leather, and some minerality. In other words, quaffable.In the Okanagan Valley, you’ll find a variety of Zweigelts by Arrowleaf Cellars, Hainle Vineyards, Mistral Estate, Summerhill Pyramid, as well as an Zweigelt icewine by Kalala.The easily pronounced Blaufrankish is known as Kékfrankos in Hungary, Frankovka in Croatia, and Lemberger in Washington State. Not the most romantic names to give a grape, but this one has been called “the Pinot Noir of the East” maybe because it was once thought to be related to Gamay.

Blaufränkisch is a cross between Gouais blanc and a Frankish variety that might be Blauer Silvaner. It’s dark-skinned, late-ripener that produces a reasonably tannic red wine.Mount Boucherie makes a Reserve Blaufrankisch from vineyards in the Okanagan and Similkimeen Valleys of BC. Rustico Cellars makes it into a blend called Last Chance.A cult, and personal favorite, Baco Noir has the most perfect name as it really does smell and taste like tobacco. Smoke, ash and herbal notes carry along with black fruit and caramel on a medium body with assertive acidity. Kinda where a Cabernet Franc meets a Gamay.Produced by French hybridizer Maurice Baco and pronounced BA-koh NWAHR, it’s a cross between the French cognac grape Folle Blanche and an unknown variety of Vitis riparia from North America. The Vitis riparia probably accounts for the vine’s vigor and resistance, making it a perfect grape for the winters of Southern Ontario.Thanks to the previously mentioned great vine pull, not much Baco Noir remains in BC.

Summerhill Pyramid has the last exisiting vineyard and produces a very good single-varietal bottling. Niagara-on-the Lake’s Henry of Pelham is perhaps the best known producer and make the Baco I like the best.Gore Vidal may have been a white guy but this wine is not named for him. Vidal is an inter-specific hybrid variety, a cross of Ugni Blanc and Rayon d’Or (Seibel 4986) that manages to produce high sugar levels in cold climates while maintaining good acid levels. Best of all, it’s thick skinned and resistant to powdery mildew. Vidal Blanc is fruity, with honeyed notes of grapefruit and pineapple, and makes a beautiful, nectar-like ice wine. In fact, Vidal is the best deal in Canadian ice wine, often costing 10-20% less than a chardonnay or riesling ice wine.Vidal icewine is made by Prospect Winery, Paradise Ranch, Peller Estates, Mission Hill, Inniskillan and Naked Grape, among others.BC wines are cheapest bought at the winery, especially if you can negotiate a media discount.