Black Sage Bench & the Golden Mile

Southern Exposure 2007 Wine Tour: Day One

Nk’Mip Cellars

It's been a couple of summers since we visited Nk'Mip Cellars, and it looks like their golf course and resort building are complete. Nk'Mip counter staff are always courteous and knowledgeable about their wines, and the new restaurant looks very inviting. Next time we're up here we'll try to have lunch and enjoy the view.

Stacey and I have become huge fans of their oaked Chardonnay over the past 2 years. It is smooth with a yummy butterscotch finish.

BC Wine Lover picks:
Nk'mip Chardonnay 2005
Nk'mip Pinot Noir 2005

We drove past Burrowing Owl as we've got dinner reservations for the following evening, and continued along the Black Sage bench road.

Desert Hills Estate Winery

The wine tasting room was well laid out, air-conditioned and inviting. Randy, Desert Hills Estate Winery owner worked the wine bar. Randy was hospitable, and tried to juggle through the waves of visitors, while not forgetting us. He served product with so much enthusiasm that he swirled our glasses for us so the wine was sure to be somewhat aerated. We usually take care of this ourselves, but you can't blame Randy for making sure we get the most out of his wine.

BC Wine Lover picks:

Desert Hills Gamay Noir 2006
Desert Hills Gewürztraminer 2006

Black Hills Estate Winery

Were disappointed once again that Black Hills Estate Winery was closed and sold out. This is a beautiful facility in a state of the art, modern building. It was a bit cheeky, but since we couldn't stop for a tasting, I asked Stacey to pull into the parking lot so I could get out and take a few photos.

See my photos of the Black Hills Estate Winery.

Note to self: sign-up for Black Hills email list. This usually guarantees that you'll know how and when to order their wine.

Silver Sage Winery

A very ebullient Elena, sister of the owner, worked the front counter. Silver Sage's history is marred by the tragic story of the owner and his winemaker drowning after falling into a vat of wine in 2002. Silver Sage carried on with creating a very beautiful wine centre in the style of an Italian villa, with a very nice outdoor area for the summer months.

The wine tasting centre was very well set-up, Elena’s presentation and enthusiasm for their wines was really catching. We tried a very unique Gewürztraminer that is infused with wild sage, and it has a very strong scent and taste of sage, which were enough to convince us to buy a bottle. We also loved their Pinot Blanc. The reds were strong as well, but we decided to purchase their fetching blueberry dessert wine.

BC Wine Lover picks:

Silver Sage Blueberry Desert Wine 20004
Silver Sage Pinot Blanc 2004
Silver Sage The Sage Grand Reserve 2005

Toasted Oak Restaurant, Oliver BC

We stopped for lunch at the Toasted Oak Restaurant in Oliver, where we received great service. Their wine menu is first rate. We both had a glass of Orofino Chardonnay with our salad plates. The wine confirmed that we need to make a stop at the Similkameen winery on the way back home.

Fairview Cellars

Even at the beginning of June Fairview Cellars is closed, and almost completely sold out. I still thought it would be worth ringing the proprietor Bill Eggert in case he was doing private tastings. We lucked out, and Bill rang me a few minutes after I left my message.

Bill is considered to be one of the true independent winemakers in the South Okanagan. He minces no words when it comes to discussing the politics of the industry, and his firm albeit small place in it.

During our heady discussion we were able to taste some of Fairview Cellars' exceptional reds. Bill makes red wine almost exclusively, taking advantage of the near desert heat he gets in the Golden Mile. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc were what he had available (and open still for tasting!).

BC Wine Lover wine pick:

Fairview Cellars Cabernet Merlot 2005

Golden Mile Estate Winery

We never know what to expect when we visit a winery for the first time. Our first impressions of Golden Mile Cellars were based on their wines, specifically the Road 13 White and Red, which we've drank on a few occasions back home.

The Luckhurst family owns and operates Golden Mile Cellars Estate Winery, and they've built it into one of the best wineries along the South Okanagan's Golden Mile. The building facade looks like a castle (including he front door with drawbridge). There's nothing feudal about the operation though.

The labels are clean and modern (see the new Road 13 Red label), and the wines are fresh and easy to enjoy. We loved their Old Vine Chenin Blanc, the Chardonnay, and the Road 13 Red.

Our daughter especially liked meeting their Weinery dogs, Meg and Fil.

BC Wine Lover picks:

Golden Mile Cellars Chardonnay 2005
Golden Mile Cellars Old Vines Chenin Blanc 2006
Golden Mile Cellars Road 13 Red 2005