Wine Country Day 4 – Okanagan Falls

View from Mayhem Winery

I think I can speak for Joan when I say that this was our favourite day so far. We had the morning free in Penticton; after breakfast at Loki’s Garage we wandered about the Ikeda Japanese Garden which was beautiful and serene.

Summer is not quite over here. The weather is bright and balmy, great for wine touring and beach toasting.

Our first Sagebrush Tours guide Christian was with us again providing us with all the information and industry gossip we could possibly want.

First up: Noble Ridge Vineyard and Winery

The Noble Ridge setting is breathtaking. We sat on the upper deck overlooking the picnic grounds with Okanagan Lake in the distance. The seven wines we tasted ranged from Joan’s okay rating – a frizzante at 2.5/5 – to our agreed 4/5 for the 2021 Chardonnay. I also really liked the 2022 Mingle which is mostly chardonnay grapes. We didn’t like anything enough to purchase here, but soaked up the view for as long as we could!

Next up: Stag’s Hollow Winery

We sat outside again under a slatted overhang and enjoyed a varied tasting. I tasted mostly whites – sauvignon blanc, albariño, a vidal that also comes in convenient cans, and a fabulous fumé blanc which sadly has yet to be released as I would have purchased it if I could. Joan tasted reds and came away with the Heritage Block which is actually a meritage bordeaux and NV Royal, a dessert wine. I love the sign in the shop – “wine a little, laugh a lot”.

Third stop: Blasted Church Vineyards

Blasted Church was our least favourite tasting today. We hadn’t reserved because the originally scheduled stop became unavailable, and this last minute visit may have been part of why we felt rushed. But we sat out on the patio – what a great day, all seated tastings! – and tasted 5 wines – two whites, a rosé and two reds. None of these excited us enough to make a purchase, but the opportunity for a photo did! Christian took the photo; I’m not sure what happened to the lighting. As you can see, Joan’s clearly the dominant person in this image!

Fourth and best of the whole trip so far: Mayhem Wines

Mayhem is quite a young winery but it is making terrific wines. We sat on the patio looking at the first photo in this post – the vines and the bluff – while sampling 7 wines. We started with sparkling white and sparking rosé, both in 250 ml tins. How convenient is that for the beach, the boat, the golf course? Then came the 2022 Pinot Gris which I purchased and the 2021 Anarchy Merlot that Joan fell for.

We spent a long time at Mayhem which, despite its name, is serene and low key. One of the owners chatted with us the whole time about wine making, varietal grapes, life as a vintner. My favourite tastings on this trip have been when a wine maker has actually spent time educating us – SummerGate yesterday was the same. Goes to show how important the personal touch is.

Following a quiet time, we wandered down the beach to an Italian restaurant where we watched goats out for their evening constitutional.

On to Kelowna tomorrow for our last two days and final tour on Saturday. See you then!

“Here’s to being single, drinking doubles, and seeing triple.”
from Atlas Obscura, Raise a Glass to our Readers’ Favourite Drinking Toasts