RV Lifestyle Story and photos by Rex Vogel The premium Okanagan wine industry didn’t begin until the late 1980s. After dabbling for decades in easyto-grow hybrids and labrusca (native American varieties), the Okanagan wine industry got its real launch in 1988. In a move designed to counter the North American Free Trade Agreement’s negative effect on the Canadian wine industry, the government began paying growers to pull out labrusca and French hybrid vines and replant with the more desirable European (Vitis vinifera) grape varieties. Today, most vines in the Okanagan Valley are less than 25 years old andmany of its wineries are still run by the families who started them. The wide diversity of growing environments in the Okanagan means that the region is suited to an unusually varied selection of grape varieties. The top white varietals include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Gewurztraminer and Riesling, with some grapes being left to freeze on the vine for the region’s famed icewines. These are concentrated, sweet dessert wines often served in chocolate shot glasses. Among the reds, expect outstanding Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Gamay Noir and Marechal Foch. Wineries that clearly exceed our grape expectations include Tinhorn Creek, Gehringer Brothers, Hester Creek, C.C. Jentsch Cellars along Oliver’s Miracle Mile, Burrowing Owl on the Black Sage bench and NK’mip (pronounced ‘Ink-ameep’) Cellars, North America’s first aboriginal owned and operated winery near Osoyoos Lake. NK’mip sits on natural desert land surrounded by the stunning contrast of sagebrush and vineyards. Wine tasting here is as much about the surroundings as the wine itself. Wedged between the Cascades and the Columbia Mountains, the Okanagan Valley enjoys hot summers and mild winters unique to Canada – it constitutes the country’s only temperate desert region. Borrowing Owl Gehringer Brothers Tinhorn Creek looking south toward Osoyoos See Ya Later Ranch looking north toward Okanagan Falls and Skaha Lake CSANews | SUMMER 2017 | 23
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