Similkameen Wineries

 We had a great day last week adventuring around the Similkameen Valley, one of B.C.'s newest wine producing regions. The valley itself is beautiful and less filled with neon, gift shops and other paraphernalia.

 Our first stop was at Seven Stones, owned by George Hanson, a former Yukoner. He's constructed an amazing new wine cellar. I was particularly astounded by the finishes - I asked why the stucco was so shiny - because it includes a zinc over coat to restrict mold growth in case the humidity gets too high. The boxes in the ceiling are for a Bose sound system to entertain guests and the wine in lonely moments.

 This is the view from the picnic area of Seven Stones. Not bad eh?

 Doors that have hand forged hinges, clasps and lintels. Each door weighs an astounding amount, but swings as if on gimbals.

Our next stop, just down the highway was at Orofino. 

 

After tasting their bubbly, I was in love. The owners run the shop and make the wine themselves. Their home and the shop are made out of straw. Their location is beyond compare, as you can see from the photos of their picnic area. We bought a bottle of frizz for the picnic and entertained ourselves. An excellent experience. I'd recommend them as your doorway into Similkameen wineries. We then headed down the highway to attempt another tasting. Many of these wineries are very small, family owned enterprises, so you can expect that not everyone will be open for tasting when you drop by.

Can you imagine this as your view? Herder

 Then on to Robin's Ridge, with the tasting room run by the wine maker and proprietor, Tim.

Tim's 2010 Gwertz and his 2011 Gamay were astounding.

 

 Our final stop was at St. Lazlo's run by Joe and his family. His wines are an adventure, as is the tasting. His vineyard was the first we stopped at 3 years ago when we began our wine tasting adventures. We remain fans of his eccentric, idiosyncratic style. He certainly marches to his own drummer an makes the kind of wine he likes an sells it to others who enjoy it. We particularly like his fruit and desert wines. He even made a walnut liquour, which we first tasted 3 years ago and he declared as ready for sale this year. 

 Jo's got lots of wine, many different types of heritage European grapes and an amazing kitchen garden. He welcome's all comers, be they lawyers or drifters. We like his style. He took us on a tour of his vineyard, proffering grapes by the bunch. By the time we got back to Osoyoos, we'd forgotten their names, but their taste was amazing. Our Italian friend, also a Joe, named every one of those grape varieties by tasting the delicious grapes. Other Yukon friends who were also in Osoyoos at the time devoured the grapes like candy.

We were very lucky to get out of there without a kitten. In the photo I'm cuddling an adorable tabby kitten whose eyes were barely open, who decided that our dog, Isla, pictured below, was not to be tolerated. The kitten hissed and had his claws ready to deal with the marauder (dog) who was thinking her death was imminent. We didn't get a photo of Chris putting the kitten on top of the dog. Neither animal was impressed by this. We figure this kitten will be a well adjusted soul, agreeable to most things.