Tom Ryan - Tourism BC
Hester Creek
by Margo Pfeiff and staff writer
A breeze scented with sage sways the sun-dappled canopy of Chardonnay vines shading the tables at Terrafina Restaurant. There’s quiet chatter as cold Pinot Gris is sipped, a respite from the hot, buttery late afternoon sun ripening Merlot clusters on rows of green vines marching down the valley. The musty aroma of crushed grapes fermenting their way into award-winning wines in the adjoining winery mingles with the fragrant basil and Asiago focaccia with sun-dried tomato tapenade the waiter just delivered.
Southern France? Tuscany? Actually, it’s Hester Creek Estate Winery in south-central British Columbia along the wine-fuelled Golden Mile where more than two dozen wineries hug a stretch of country highway on the 20-minute drive between Oliver and Osoyoos in the Thompson Okanagan region.
Wine is created to be savoured with food so it’s logical that more and more wineries across southern BC are not only pulling corks to pour samples in their tasting rooms, but also offering everything from picnic tables for your bring-along lunch to bistros and full-scale dining rooms where chefs create dishes using the best local ingredients to highlight their wines.
Oliver makes a great central location and Desert Gem RV Resort a prime RV resort to explore the south Okanagan. To book, visit www.desertgemrv.com or call (888) 925-9966.
Hester Creek’s Tuscan-inspired Terrafina, one of two winery restaurants to open in the southern Okanagan Valley in 2011, is a cozy villa-themed eatery, all wood and brick, serving Italian comfort food with style, including prawn and smoked trout pizza and braised brisket Bolognese with wild mushrooms over tagliatelle pasta.
Just down the road, Tinhorn Creek Vineyard’s Miradoro Restaurant also opened its doors last year. A chic contemporary eatery overlooking the Black Sage Bench of vineyards, it is a partnership with Manuel Ferreira, owner of Vancouver’s long-running French restaurant Le Gavroche. Dive into Mediterranean-influenced market cuisine like pasta with fresh peas, house-made ricotta, mint and preserved lemon. Nibble tapas that beg to be wine-paired, or crisp Neapolitan-style pizzas from the open-hearth stone oven.
A short drive south along a vine-lined road, Burrowing Owl Estate Winery's grand adobe winery is perched on a hillside amid vines that produce some of the province’s most coveted releases. Their Sonora Room Restaurant serves gourmet cuisine developed by Executive Chef Chris VanHooydonk to showcase their premium wines.
Snaking north-south, the winding road up the long Okanagan Valley passes alongside lakes and through small towns. On the Naramata Bench — a rapidly growing wine niche — a pair of new winery restaurants opened in the early summer of 2012. The Misconduct Wine Co debuted The Kitchen, a casual patio eatery featuring two sizes of tapas in both the style of the Portuguese winemaker — think traditional bacalao salt cod — and the Mexican chef who recommends his shrimp and octopus ceviche, a reminder of his Guadalajara home.
Nearby, Paul and Sheila Jones moved their popular, six year-old Vanilla Pod Restaurant from Summerland across Okanagan Lake smack into Poplar Grove Winery. Here, chef Bruno Terroso offers specialties like roast lamb rack and paella with prawns, scallops, chicken, chorizo, bell peppers and spicy saffron rice. Highlighting local, organic and seasonal cuisine, the year-round restaurant’s menu changes three times throughout the summer before switching to robust fall harvest fare.
A short, scenic drive along the Naramata Bench is The Patio at Lake Breeze winery, an oasis for creative casual lunches including wine-poached pickerel with BC spot prawns or a sirloin burger with bocconcini cheese, pancetta and arugula. If red wine pleases your palate, be sure to try their 2008 Tempest. This vintage recently won the coveted Red Wine of the Year award at the 2012 All-Canadian Wine Championships.
Continue north to the winery-hub around Kelowna where The Terrace at CedarCreek Estate Winery is renowned for its epic weekend brunches — on both Saturday and Sunday — that have lobster and jalapeno hollandaise making appearances in your eggs Benedict.
Quails’ Gate Winery’s Old Vines Restaurant is another favoured year-round winery restaurant. At this stop, stunning views across Okanagan Lake complement chef Roger Sleiman’s menu of regional cuisine, including Haida Gwaii halibut and local lamb with veggies from their own kitchen garden. Also on the menu are “flights” of different wines to compare and enjoy, among them library and rare releases, selections unavailable outside the winery.
In the Kelowna area, pick up or print out a copy of the new local Wine Trails brochure, then head off on a self-guided car day-trip or bicycle-powered prowl. Book in advance for lunch at Mission Hill Family Estate Winery, the grand cathedral of Okanagan wineries perched on a hilltop, complete with a Chagall tapestry and a 12-storey bell tower. Here, Terrace Restaurant is where Executive Winery Chef Matthew Batey and Terrace Restaurant Chef Chris Stewart make fresh local magic with the likes of ‘Farm to Table’ charcuterie meats and estate-made pickles as well as Okanagan honey-glazed duck breast.
Pyramids are not a usual sight at a winery, but that’s where Stephen Cipes, the colourful owner of Summerhill Winery, ages his organic wines, including award-winning sparklies which are paired up with dishes at his Sunset Bistro, the Okanagan’s only wild and organic eatery. Executive Chef Jesse Croy uses free-range meats, fish and sustainable seafood. The produce, including 40 different heirloom tomato varieties as well as a roll call of veggies and herbs, is harvested from the winery’s own organic garden that is part of the view from the restaurant balcony.
There’s something magical about eating at a winery, even if it’s just nibbling cheese with a baguette and wine on a blanket among the vines. It’s an ephemeral pleasure since many winery restaurants are only open while grapes are on the vine, roughly May through October. It's a seasonal indulgence to mull over during long, chilly winters.