Feeling great from my little hike to Canyon Falls/Crawford Falls in Kelowna, why not spin by a few wineries on the way back to town? Also a great way to appreciate the joy of repeated applications of alcohol based hand sanitizer to newly scratched and scuffed hands. Yowza!
I stumbled upon the newest addition to the bench, Priest Creek family estate winery on Saucier road. While the wine shop is only a few months old, this brainchild has been in the works for 4 years and features wines from 2016 on the tasting menu. Yet another winery employing the talents of well known LOCAL wine maker Jason Parkes (see: The Hatch, Black Swift, Crown & Thieves and Indigenous to name but a few), Priest Creek has a cute little wine shop in a rural farm setting and a surprisingly solid and diverse, if yet limited selection of wines for a newcomer to the Kelowna wine scene. As such I got to run the gamut and try the whole menu and was generally pleased by what they had to offer. I am not typically one for sparkling wines but I genuinely enjoyed the economically priced Decota. Other standouts included a lighter-than-expected (for the variety) Cabernet Franc and a creative Pinot Gris that found a home in my wine rack. Excited to see what the future holds for this up and coming new winery.
Final stop on the way down the hill, the always enjoyable The View. After many return trips to this well noted Winery and Cidery, I can honestly say I have never not had a great experience here. The staff, like the wares they showcase, are unpretentious, pleasant and have tons of personality. From the lady who was welcoming family dogs to join the rest of their party in the tasting room with a doggy treat, to the young lady sneaking in a few cider tastings between my wine flight selections and the rustic decor and quaint atmosphere, The View solidified its place amongst my favorite LOCAL establishments. Highlights include the Pinotage (Rosé and Red), the Wards Picker’s Hut Winter Spice cider (Warm or cold, it’s Christmas in a bottle – yum!) and the new this year tea infused ciders. The “Lynx the Cat” vanilla honeybush is billed as vanilla cupcake in a glass, an assessment I cannot argue with. Along with popular favorites like their Bling canned sparkling wines, The View/Wards laughs at stuffy traditionalism and is always innovating with fun and delicious new experiments. I love it.
To top it all off, as luck would have it, my pantry was out of honey and newly owned and newly relocated Arlo’s Honey was right on my route. On the advice of the young family member manning the register at the honey shack, I picked up a jar of Elderberry honey I am looking forward to cracking into. Happy to support pollinators and a great LOCAL family business too.
Goal of the enjoying a grey, cool Thanksgiving Sunday afternoon in Southeast Kelowna? Crushed