It was a very hot this summer in the BC Okanagan. As such some of the grapes from the southern end of the valley were ready for harvest. I visited the north and central parts of the Okanagan on this trip. The wineries I visited were not yet harvesting, but indicated that they plan to harvest in October.

I spent most of the time on this trip visiting wineries along the Naramata Bench, an area that has been said to be the most expensive vineyard land in BC. The wineries I visited this trip are:
- Hollywood & Wine Estate Vineyards
- Dirty Laundry Vineyard
- Greata Ranch Vineyards
- Thornhaven Estates Winery
- Therapy Vineyards
- Kettle Valley Winery
- Black Window Winery
- Howling Bluff Estate Winery
- Poplar Grove
- Stoneboat Vineyards
- Van Westen Vineyards
- Stonehill Estate Winery

Tasting approximatley 6 wines per winery and visiting 12 wineries, I'd have to post about 72 tasting notes on this page, which I think is a bit too long for most of us. So, I will highlight some of the wines here, and the complete list will be in the Wine Reviews web page.

Starting off at the north end of the Naramata Bench, the first winery I visited was Therapy Vineyards. They have many wines with labels related to Sigmund Freud, who of course was a therapist. For some reason on this trip, I tried alot of Gewurztraminers. Therapy's 2008 Gewurztraminer ($20) had a nice herbal and citrus aroma. Good acidity, with herbal, floral and tropical fruit flavours and a bit of spiciness on the finish. A red I particularly liked is their Shiraz 2007 ($28). The grapes for this wine come from south of Oliver. The grapes were aged in both French and American oak barriques and spent 10 months in barrel before bottling. This wine was deep purple in the glass. Dark fruit, black berries and subtle oak aromas. On the paplate was ripe black fruit, plummy, and a bit of chocolate. Smooth mouthfeel with low to medium tannins.

The Kettle Valley Winery was next on the route. If you like Malbec, the signature grape of Argentina, I'd suggest trying a bottle of Kettle Valley's Malbec 2006 ($35). This wine has gone through full malolactic fermentation making the wine softer. It was aged in French oak for 21 months. The wine had typical deep purple colouration. It had dark fruit and vanilla on the nose. Vanilla, cherry and plum flavours with medium tannins. Enjoy with some grilled meat. If you like some fortified wine, maybe with some cheese, try their Starboard fortified. This is a blend of Malbec and Petit Verdot grapes, again aged in French oak. Dark fruit and chocolate aromas. Flowery, plum and chocolate flavours. Medium sweetness.

A winery that is usually not open for public tasting is Van Westen Vineyards, but I lucked out the day I visited. All the grapes for this winery are grown within 2km of the winery. I first tried their wines at the Naramata Bench spring 2009 release in Vancouver, and was anticipating visiting the winery. My favourite of their flight was the Voluptuous 2005 ($29.90), which is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, barrel aged for 18 months in French oak barrels and complete malolactic fermentation. This wine was medium garnet in the glass. Red cherry with cedar aromas. Cherry, cedar flavours with a chocolate finish. For those unfamilar with Cabernet Franc, this grape tends to add a cedar aroma to wine.

The Black Widow Winery's wines are 100% single vineyard and estate bottled from their 7 acres Naramata Bench vineyard. The winery owner, Dick Lancaster, greeted me at the door and led me through his hand crafted wines. His Gewurztraminer 2008 ($20) was light lemon on colour. Light spice and tropical nose. Good acidity with a tropical flavour. A nice dry Gewurz. His Hourglass 2007 ($38) is a Merlot / Cabernet Sauvignon Blend and has lots of complexity. Medium purple in the glass. Cassis, cherry, plum and vanilla aromas. Lots of fruit in the glass, with black cherry, plum and vanilla flavours. Medium length with a cherry / vanilla finish.

Next I visited Luke Smith the owner of Howling Bluff Estate Winery at his home. His kitchen and dining room being the tasting room! While still a young winery, Luke has already started to win awards for his wines. I quite enjoyed his Pinot Noir 2007, done in a New World style. Raspberry and some smokiness on the nose. Red cherry and raspberry flavour, with a bit of spiciness and a bit of oak. Light body and very enjoyable. Where's the grilled lamb chops or duck breast?

Popular Grove has two things I like; wine and cheese. I did purchase their Naramata Bench Blue, a creamy, milder blue cheese. On the wine side if you like a New Zealand style Sauvignon blanc, in the sub $20 category, try their Monster Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2008 ($17.90). Lots of gooseberry and herbal aroma. Light body, but good acidity, with more gooseberry and herbaceousness on the palate. A recent Double Gold winner at the All Canadian Wine Championship 2009, is the Poplar Grove Merlot 2005 ($29.90). This wine spent 18 months in mixed French oak. It has a cherry, cassis, leather nose. Big cherry flavour with some vanilla. Medium tannins and length.

Stonehill Estate Winery was the last winery on the Naramata Bench for this trip. I liked two, not as well known grape varietals from this winery. The first was their Semillon 2007 ($16.90). This one had a pear and creamy nose. Nice acidity, with apple and melon flavours. The other was their Zweigelt Reserve 2006 ($19.90). I think Zweigelt may be an up and coming grape in the Okanagan and BC. There are a few wineries producing wine from this grape. This one had a dark cherry cordial type aroma. Very smooth in the mouth, with more dark cherry cordial and plum flavour. This wine, and grape, has a nice richness to it that makes it go well with a stew over the winter.

The other wineries I visited were scattered north and south of Penticton. I mae a point of visiting Stoneboat Vineyards as their Pinotage won a Governor Generals award. Pinotage is a grape devised in South Africa through the crossing of the Cinsault and Pinot Noir grape. Very few countries outside of South Africa grow pinotage. Their Pinotage 2007 ($24.90) had black currant, cedar, black fruit and spice on the nose. Black sweet fruit on the palate with medium tannins. A dry cherry finish.