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Story and Photography by Manos Angelakis
Okanagan Valley
The Sonoran Dessert reaches up all the way into Canada, to the Okanagan Valley; a part of British Columbia with a microclimate that varies from hot, dry and sandy, to a warm almost Mediterranean-like region, with meandering vineyards and fruit-orchard covered hillsides, to a cool, ponderosa pine forest and rolling farmlands where fat cows graze in green meadows.
Okanagan Lake occupies the center of the valley, the remnant of a prehistoric glacier that covered the area eons before mankind set foot in the valley. The glacier moved boulders along its path grinding them into the fine sand that today  one finds on the southern part of the lake and surrounding hillsides.
The Okanogan Valley is famous for its vineyards, and orchards and gardens. It is a gastronomic paradise where wonderful wines are created in modern wineries, handmade artisanal cheeses are produced from the fat milk of cows and goats, rolling orchards fill the valley floor, and herb gardens scent the air with sage, thyme, lilac and other aromatics. There is a bounty of fresh produce, and fruit, and beef, and goat or ewe’s milk; any chef worth his or her proverbial salt would find this place irresistible.
We had wonderful food during my visit to the valley. Starting in the morning, when we stopped at fragrant bakeries and patisseries for breakfast, to lunch or dinner in some of the restaurants that were part of the wineries I was visiting. The food was local, fresh, delicious, and cooked by chefs that could make Escoffier cry with envy were he still alive. And the wines… the bad news for American wine drinkers is that only a miniscule amount of the wonderful Okanogan Valley wines, less than 2%, makes it into the U.S. market. I hope that they will become much more available, especially on the East Coast, where I live.
 The Bliss Bakery, (101-4200 Beach Ave., Peachland, BC V0H 1X6, phone: 250- 767-2711) is an artisanal patisserie located on the shores of Okanagan Lake in Peachland, BC.
Barry and Darci Yeo, the talented proprietors, use no preservatives or hydrogenated oils. Their cookies, tarts, scones, cakes, breads and other bakery products being constantly baked on-premises, fill the morning air with mouthwatering aromas. The textures and tastes are divine; freshly roasted organic coffee and fragrant teas accompanied our breakfast. And, I ate there some of the flakiest and best tasting croissants I have had since my last visit to Paris two years ago.
The Vineyard Terrace Restaurant, at Cedar Creek Estate Winery (5445 Lakeshore Road, Kelowna, BC. V1W 4S5, phone: 250-764-8866) surprised us with a sumptuous lunch that accompanied some of their wonderful wines. Chef Judith Knight presented us with a tour-de-force of her exceptional regional cuisine. Winemaker Tom Di Bello pored for us some exquisite wines, even their midlevel  ones were remarkable. Winemakers from two other wineries, Gray Monk Estate (Roger Wong) and Tantalus Vineyards (Matt Holmes) joined us for the lunch, and brought samples of some of their wines to go with the meal.
Fresh corn and crab chowder, was a cool summer delight accompanied by the 2007 Tantalus Riesling, the 2006 Tantalus Old Vines Riesling, and the 2007 Gray Monk Pinot Auxerrois. The two Rieslings were slightly off-dry, almost like a Rheingau Kabinett Trocken, a bit shy on the nose but with an excellent bracing acidity; the old vines sample had a bit more body with flavors of white peach, lime, lemon zest and a touch of honey. It is the first time I have tasted a Pinot Auxerrois and it was very crisp with subtle notes of lime, butter, peaches, and a hint of toasty oak.
The 2006 Cedar Creek Estate Select Chardonnay accompanied a Seared Scallop on Herb Risotto. I love risottos, and this was one of the best examples I’ve had, outside of Venice or Torino. The Chardonnay displayed creamy flavors of honeysuckle, hazelnut, and French oak with hints of Fuji apple and melon.
A lovely Roast Leg of Lamb was accompanied by the 2006 Cedar Creek Platinum Reserve Pinot Noir, a 2005 Cedar Creek Estate Select Merlot, and a 2005 Gray Monk Odyssey Merlot. The Pinot Noirs growing in the valley are some of the best examples of a difficult to grow grape that flourishes in this particular microclimate. The Platinum Reserve is their top of the line wine and this particular Pinot was very, very good. Medium ruby red in color with concentrated aromas of cherry, coffee, toffee, and spice. Medium bodied with supple tannins and fresh acidity. It has a long, velvety finish with a hint of subtle oaky vanilla. The Cedar Creek Estate Select Merlot was very interesting, from the mid-priced range, with dark cherry and plum, toffee and smoky cigarbox aromas. Rich and concentrated. A slightly astringent palate had plenty of spicy coffee, tobacco, and green olive flavors with chocolate on the longish finish. It should lose the astringent edge with some judicious cellaring. The 2005 Gray Monk Odyssey Merlot is a wine for full flavored meat and cheese dishes. Complex aromas include dark forest berries, plums, and a hint of cloves. The palate has ripe black cherries, spice, and lingering licorice.
The libations had commenced with a 2006 Gray Monk Odyssey White Brut, a lovely pale-straw-colored sparkling wine made from a blend of Riesling and Chardonnay grapes. The wine is fermented in the bottle and left on the yeast for 16 months. The bottles are then disgorged and a dosage is added. In addition, we tasted the 2007 Ehrenfelser, a cross between Riesling and Sylvaner grapes, which grows primarily at the Mannhardt Vineyard near Kelowna and is among the oldest vinifera plantings in the Okanagan Valley. Fresh flowers, honeysuckle, and grapefruit with hints of peach, nectarine, and nutmeg on the nose. An off-dry palate is medium in body with flavors of ripe peach, nectarine and spice. The slight sweetness balances the crisp, fresh acidity. We also had a tank-sample of the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon that is still aging; I think that when it is bottled it will be an exceptional wine.
 The same evening, we had dinner at the Old Vines Restaurant & Wine Bar at the Quails’ Gate Estate Winery (3303 Boucherie Road, Kelowna, BC, V1Z 2H3). Grant Stanley, the Winemaker, and Tyler Galts, Director of Operations, prepared a tasting for us in the tasting room and then joined us for dinner. Chef Roger Sleiman presented a delightful menu with a Gazpacho and Lemon Sorbet Amuse Bouche and then six choices of starters and seven choices of main courses. The menu is very similar, with one or two exceptions, to the one seasonally available in the restaurant to the public.
I decided on a Local Summer Tomato Salad as my starter, as it had beautifully ripe tomatoes and Carmelis family goat feta drizzled with olive oil and shredded basil. I had heard about the Carmelis goat cheeses from other chefs in the area and I was anxious to taste it. I was not disappointed. Creamy, tangy, and rather mild, the feta was a great pairing to the vine-ripened tomatoes.
My main course was the Enderby Rainbow Trout, a local trout fillet with sautéed summer vegetables, lemon basil pistou, and micro-greens. If the fish were not filleted, it would have probably jumped right out of the grill; it was so fresh. It was perfectly cooked. This luscious chunk proved, once again, that cooking fish should only be undertaken by those that understand that dried out fish should never ever reach anyone’s plate.
Two of the wines were particularly impressive. The 2007 Stewart Family Reserve Pinot Noir was just blended from the best barrels of four separate batches of Pinot Noir. It is a dense, structured, velvet textured, inky colored wine with black  cherry highlights and great intensity and power. The oak was rather subdued, not surprising when I found that much of the wine was aged in 1- and 2- year old barrels. It has layered and complex aromas that reveal ripe red fruit and vanilla with hints of spice and earth.
The other remarkable wine was the 2006 Chenin Blanc, a cold fermented wine that is actually 90% Chenin Blanc and 10% Sauvignon Blanc. It was nicely aromatic, with exuberant fruit flavors, Meyer lemon jest and limes, together with complex floral notes and a delicate hint of honey. Clean aromatics and bracing acidity made it a perfect compliment to the trout; it would also be excellent with oysters and shellfish.
Another lovely restaurant was at the Burrowing Owl Estate Winery. Chris Wyse, the proprietor, and Jeff Del Nin, the winemaker, joined us for a sumptuous dinner created by Executive Chef Bernard Casavant and prepared by Restaurant Chef Chris Van Hooydonk at the Sonora Room Restaurant (RR#1 Site 52 Comp 20, 100 Burrowing Owl Place, Oliver, BC V0H 1T0, off Black Sage Road, phone: 250-498-0620 ext 213).
The starter was a BC. Dungeness Crab and Potato Cake, with Organic Heirloom Tomato Study, hand peeled Tofino Shrimpmeat, Apricot Salsa, Fire Roasted Bell Pepper Aioli and Fresh Chive Oil. I liked the pan-seared Crab Cake, full of crabmeat clusters, but for me, it was the Heirloom Tomatoes that made this plate. Layers of perfectly ripe slices in different colors (purple, red, yellow, green) created a rainbow effect on the plate and were sweet and delicious. The wine paired with the starter was a 2002 creamy Chardonnay, which definitively proved  to me that a well-made Chardonnay could have a long life without loosing its charm.
The main course was a Mountainberry “T” Crusted Roast Duck Breast, with Oliver Summer Vegetable Succotash, Poplar Grove Naramata Bench Blue Cheese, and Red Haven Peach Puree. Paired with it was a 2001 Pinot Noir. The Duck Breast was crunchy on the outside and silky in the center, perfectly roasted, and the accompanying vegetables were all locally produced in small farms, and so was the really mild Blue Cheese. The aged Pinot Noir revealed a beautifully balanced structure, a velvety texture, a nose of black forest fruit, spice and hints of vanilla and a surprising minerality, not normally sensed in an aged Pinot Noir.
The 2004 Syrah offered with dessert was just too young, compared to the other two offerings, but velvety with a nice structure. Could have used a few more years in the cellar before opening, to round out the tastes. Overall, it is a wine with great potential. The Syrah accompanied a Warm Flourless Dark Chocolate Cake, with Organic Cinnamon Basil, Local Field Berry Compote, Lapin Cherry Ice Cream, and Warm Callebaut Chocolate Sauce. This rich dessert reminded me of a “Death by Chocolate” cake that I used to have at a small local patisserie when I was living in Manhattan. And the Syrah was an excellent foil to it.
Great weather… very good food… excellent wines. What more can one ask from a sojourn in wine country?
© September 2008 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
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