With the Vancouver Marathon closing the streets in our neighbourhood, we needed to make sure we set off on our journey before they barricaded the side streets and prevented us from getting out of the area. Amazingly, since I had had less than three hours sleep, it was actually our planned time of 6:45 am when my little Audi emerged from our underground parking and turned onto Beach Avenue.
As we turned onto Richards I realized that the right side of the road was already barricaded. The left lane was open but the light was red. The problem was that the light responds to pressure pads on the right side of the road so my car could wait in the other lane for hours and the light would not change to green for me.
Well actually getting from Vancouver to Kelowna for normal people is not complicated. If you want to get there fast it is about a 40 minute flight from Vancouver to Kelowna Airport and there are direct flights also from Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto. Driving from Vancouver should take around four hours and from Seattle, Spokane or Calgary- about 6 hours.
However, when it comes to driving I am not a "normal person." Firstly while I don't drive especially slowly I can say that the first and only speeding ticket I have ever received was over thirty years ago. And it was not really my fault! I was cruising over the Second Narrows Bridge and got distracted by my kids arguing in the back seat so my foot may have been a little heavier than usual on the accelerator and I did not spy the cops lurking behind the concrete pillar on the Mountain Highway exit.
Secondly, as a downtown gal, I walk rather than drive and in 10 years, I have accumulated the grand total of 50,000 kms on my little Audi. So while several of my neighbours drive back and forth between Vancouver and Kelowna like I drive from Yaletown to Kerrisdale, planning to drive to Kelowna for me became a logistical exercise akin to planning an expedition to the North Pole.
In October 2008, with my group of food and wine-loving travel pals, I spent a few days dining and wining in the Naramata area - A Taste of the South Okanagan. A month ago, on the spur of the moment I decided to book a week's vacation at the Lake Okanagan Resort in Kelowna. Although I realized that the area had changed greatly, memories of a magical week spent at the Resort more than 15 years ago had stayed with me all this time. As it turned out the week I was going to be in Kelowna was when the 16th Annual Okanagan Spring festival was on, so my plans for a sedate, book-filled vacation suddenly got more adventurous.
Dancing at Sea: Gourmet San Francisco Food and Sonoma Wine Tour
Monday, May 11th, 2009
Part II. The Wine
As we headed into the Sonoma Valley wine country, Jim told us about the wineries we would be visiting. We were going to the Carneros region, the southern part of Sonoma.
As it turned out our first stop actually was not at a winery but at Cornerstone Co-Op - a little village with several interesting stores, a gallery with some unusual and expensive sculptures, a gourmet food market / coffee shop and 4 winery tasting rooms. As we alighted from the bus, Jim handed each of us a coupon, good for a tasting at one of the four wineries.
The village area looked arid, dusty, sand-covered. I guess Sonoma is a desert and the area had a dry desert feel about it. I wandered away from the crowd who were heading for the closest tasting room and further back in the village I found Roshambo. When I heard that the only white wine currently up for tasting was a Chardonnay, I asked the pourer about other varietals. He said that he thought Larson was pouring a Gewürtztraminer, and though he gave me a taste of his wine, he very kindly did not take my coupon.
I wandered back to look for Larson. It was warm and windy - and I was feeling rather tired by now. I found my way into the Larson Winery and had a nice chat with Bob, the gentleman manning the tasting bar. He first poured their 2005 Sadler Wells Chardonnay - and then their 2006 Gewürtztraminer. I also tasted a Merlot which was quite pleasant- not much tannin but little body also.
We were allocated a fair amount of time at Cornerstone. Too much I think. I wandered in and out of the various stores - saw some great coffee table books with exquisite illustrations. But nothing really tempted me.
I also had a look at the sculptures in the gallery - the theme of the work currently on display seemed to be the human body. I was curious about one called Trophy Wife. It was a figure with a pin sized head, huge breasts and long legs. I figured there must be a story behind that but the man at the computer in the store did not know anything much about it. Too bad really.
Eventually Jim got us all back in the bus and we were off to the next winery at Cline. They had set up a tasting area outside for us but by this time the wind had seriously pickd up and it was quite blustery. The plastic cover snapped and crackled in the wind. They were pouring two white wines, a Rosé and two reds. The 2008 Pinot Gris, an unoaked blend of 60% Pinot Gris and 40% Chardonnay was pleasant; fruity with a nicely balanced acidity.
The 2007 Los Carneros Viognier was a little dry for my taste. The 2008 Mourvèdre Rosé was really nice, slightly dry but full of fruity flavour. I debated buying a bottle but the hassle of carrying bottles of wine home does not really appeal to me unless something is absolutely outstanding. I had not heard of Mourvèdre - apparently it is a Rhone varietal. Or maybe Rhine- I can't read my own handwriting.
With the Vancouver Marathon closing the streets in our neighbourhood, we needed to make sure we set off on our journey before they barricaded the side streets and prevented us from getting out of the area. Amazingly, since I had had less than three hours sleep, it was actually our planned time of 6:45 am when my little Audi emerged from our underground parking and turned onto Beach Avenue. 
Getting there. It's Complicated!
In October 2008, with my group of food and wine-loving travel pals, I spent a few days dining and wining in the Naramata area - 
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