The Okanagan in pictures

The first stop on a tour kindly arranged by the Wine Institute of British Columbia was one of the region’s leading properties, Mission Hill.

Where, among other wines, db‘s Rupert Millar tucked into the Left Bank-inspired Compendium over a delicious lunch.

There was no post-prandial let up though. Travelling companion and chauffeur extraordinaire, Adam Pankratz (left), strikes a pose with Quails’ Gate’s chief operations officer Tyler Galts and below, a selection of the white wines tasted (and a rosé).

A view of Summerhill’s vineyards on the eastern shore of Lake Okanagan.

One of the region’s few biodynamic properties, Summerhill also boasts this pyramidal barrel room and a spectacular view from its restaurant terrace (below). The patch of lighter green on the right hand side roughly marks the location of Quails’ Gate and Mission Hill on the western shoreline.

The next day, despite hiking up a rocky outcrop just before, Jak Meyer was in fine form to serve up his Pinots and Chardonnays.

The sharp cliff in the distance is known as McIntyre Bluff and marks a dividing line between the north and south Okanagan. Beyond the bluff the valley begins to widen out a little and turns into the arid steppe of the Nk’mip desert.

Christie Mavety and her father Ian of Blue Mountain Winery who are lucky enough to have such a spectacular view.

There’s an equally spectacular view up the valley from the commanding heights where See Ya Later ranch is located. Lake Skaha lies in the distance and Lake Okanagan lies further up again with the city of Penticton in-between. Supposedly, the winery is so named because when the original owner brought his new wife back from Montréal, she took one look around and ran straight back home again leaving him a note which simply read…

Painted Rock’s Tyson Archer goes to great length to find barrel samples of the 2012 Syrah for db to try. The 2012 vintage, reds in particular, were consistently hailed as being of extraordinary quality by the wineries visited.

Jane Hatch of Tantalus after guiding db through a tasting of the estate’s excellent Rieslings, Pinot Noirs and amusing names for different ferments. This year’s theme is apparently westerns. “John Wayne” and “Buffalo Bill” were among the names used but one plot that underperformed was christened “Calamity Jane”.

BC Lions fan and avid db reader, the ever cheerful Howard Soon, master winemaker at Calona and also chief winemaker for Sandhill. With Sandhill he focuses on single vineyard and occasionally single block wines from sites largely located in Osoyoos.

South of the bluff. db travelled home through the southern half of the valley, stopping off here by Time Estate’s vines in Black Sage Bench. Around 80% of the vines in British Columbia are planted in the 32km stretch between McIntyre Bluff and the US border and the hot, dry conditions means it is particularly suitable for reds.

Finally, after three happy days of tasting it was nothing more than a flat out burn up Highway 3, through the Similkameen Valley (pictured) and over the mountains back to Vancouver.