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[Rail Paul]

Wrapping up our Canadian trip, we stayed a while at the Penticton Lakeside resort and casino in the southeast corner of BC. It's in the Okanagan Valley area, known for fruits, vegetables, and fine wines.

The hotel is located directly on the large lake, with a small private beach, boat rentals, jet skis, and a restaurant out on the bulkhead. We had a large room on the fifth floor with a terrace, view of the lake, and a tag of $135 US. An excellent price.

The hotel has a small casino, with a hundred slot machines and a few table games with very bored looking dealers. I wasn't much impressed. Their restaurant, the Hooded Mergenser, is a decent place, with excellent lake views, setting sun, etc. I had a Glenlivet marinated beef carpaccio topped with shredded Parmesan cheese, which was fine. Dee had a roasted giant tiger prawn item, which she liked. Prices were quite reasonable.

Adjacent to the resort is a "dog beach", the first I've ever seen. The area is fenced, and leash laws do not apply. One morning, dogs were frolicking in the surf, chasing balls and sticks thrown into the lake, and enjoying themselves. Several owners had tennis racket like devices which allowed them to fling the balls considerable distances, which allowed the dogs to swim farther.

We stopped by a farmer's market street fair, which was another treat. Lots of dogs, many home baked goods and local produce. Many, many greens, onions, smoked bacon and ham, Ukrainian food, Persian food, wood products and carvings, knitted goods, household products (junk?), street musicians, and social assistance groups. It seemed to have a festival air to it.

Penticton

The area is well known for orchards and wineries. The string of deep lakes and semi-arid climate provides an unusual growing experience when combined with very long days. The sun rose at 4 in the morning and it was still light at 9.30pm

We visited Burrowing Owl winery, located south of Penticton in Oliver. It's up on a ridge, with several dozen other, small wineries. We had tried their Pinot Noir at the Cannery, and put the winery on our list.

Very modern looking place, done in adobe. Restaurant, winery proper, luxury guesthouse with large pool, and sales room. I had a warm goat cheese salad with local fruits and a glass of cab franc (2006, IIRC), which I found very pleasant. Dee had a shrimp and Asian vegetables salad which was fine. The room offers a very generous (maybe 7 oz) pour, and Dee had a glass of their pinot gris (2009). I'm not much of a white wine drinker, but I liked this wine, and thought $C20 a bottle was an excellent price.

Burrowing Owl

We also visited Stoneboat vineyards, and were quite impressed with its Pinotage. Although slightly resembling its South African cousin, this wine seemed much lighter, and more fruity. I understand that the Pinotage is coming into much wider development in BC.

Another winery of considerable note is Quails Ridge, located just south of Kelowna. We sampled their chardonnay, and chenin blanc, which we liked a lot. These are not flat wines, they burst with flavors.

The area is quite lovely, but the metro area of Kelowna is a mess. They're tearing up the main drag of this miles long strip mall, creating a huge bottleneck on the only north-south road. Once you get past this, you're back to stunning views, sharp mountains, deep blue lakes, etc.

[Rail Paul]

Sad news. Following a month of heavy rains in the desert-like area of the southern Okanagan Valley, a dam broke, burying some vineyards under 25 feet of silt, mud, and wreckage.

A dam failure triggered a massive mudslide in western Canada's Okanagan wine country this past week, burying approximately 40 acres of vineyards and orchards under soil, rocks and debris, in some spots up to 25 feet deep. The slide destroyed five homes and blocked the region's main highway. Although no one was injured, property damages are estimated to be in the millions of dollars, and affected vintners and residents are now asking if the disaster could have been averted.

"My Chardonnay is under five feet of mud. You can't even see the top of the plants," said Rasoul Salehi, executive director of Enotecca Winery and Resorts, which manages the LaStella and Le Vieux Pin wineries. Enotecca's vineyard in the Okanagan's acclaimed Golden Mile grapegrowing zone was among the worst hit. The mud destroyed 3 acres of Moscato Bianco and Chardonnay vines, including some of the oldest vines in the valley, as well as winemaking equipment, vehicles and an outbuilding.

The mud flow began when an 80-year-old earthen dam on a nearby mountain reservoir burst Sunday afternoon after a month of heavy rains. At least 20,000 cubic meters of water – enough to fill eight Olympic-sized swimming pools – spilled, swiftly barreling down the mile-high mountain. Along the way, the wall of water picked up mud, trees and car-sized boulders, ultimately spilling a 200-yard-wide swath of debris over several miles of vineyards and cherry orchards.

Wine Spectator