What I Like about Wine

After five days of walking, biking and driving the Okanagan wine route, tasting as much wine as we could before our taste buds gave out we knew we had had enough. In fact now we are home and have unpacked and gloated over all the fabulous wine we just had to buy a bottle, or two or three of, I do not feel like drinking any of them. I'm thinking maybe a beer would be a nice change. I'm sure the feeling will pass.

I'm amazed at the extent my knowledge of wine and how much my taste buds and sense of smell has developed since I first did a wine tour in the Okanagan three years ago. We didn't even feel guilty if after tasting all the wines on offer our discerning brains told us it was all crap and we didn't need to buy any of it. It helps if you trust your first instinct, ignore the tasting notes and try to tune out what the sommelier is telling you. After tasting five different Chardonnays from five different wineries I determined I like a Chardonnay to be lightly oaked with a taste of fruit. Too much oak and the flavour of the grape is lost, this is true of red wines as well.

The age of the vine also affects the flavour of the wine. Wine made from older vines has a greater depth of flavour, this was evident in some of the newer wineries we visited. I like my wine to have lots of layers and a variety of different tastes so that from the initial sip to the last swallow my taste buds have enjoyed the whole experience. Even light wines like Gamay Noir, Pinot Blanc or Riesling should have a full flight of flavour. White wines should be crisp even the sweeter ones. After visiting one winery which had three different Gewürztraminer to taste, running the gamut from sweet sweeter and sweetest. I came away feeling like I had ode'd on sugar and I really had no idea about any of them.

The Naramata bench or the area around Oliver is a great place to start your wine tour because there are a lot of wineries packed into a few square kilometers. Have no pretensions about what you want. Taste everything on offer and perhaps even go back to the winery to purchase a bottle if you couldn't make up your mind the first time round. Many of the wineries have patios with deck chairs and tables where you can enjoy a glass of wine and perhaps eat your packed lunch. If you have forgotten to pack lunch they may have cheese and crackers you can buy or some wineries have bistros or restaurants where you can order a full meal as well as enjoy some wine.

If you like wine I highly recommend doing a wine tour.