Wednesday, July 15, 2015

A trip to the Okanagan: Golf, wine and relaxation

It has been a while since I spent any time exploring the Okanagan, but earlier this month I set off with some old friends (old in both senses of the word) to play some golf and visit some wineries around the Okanagan. I had forgotten how beautiful it is.
We spent the first 2 nights at the Walnut Beach Resort on Lakeshore Drive in Osoyoos. I can highly recommend it. I particularly liked the fact that you could walk out of the resort into the pool or onto the beach and into the lake...a very clean and warm lake.
Dinner the first night was at the Tinhorn Creek Estate winery. While I don't know enough about wine to say whether this is a good winery or a great winery, the outdoor terrace of the dining room was very lovely and I enjoyed being able to sample flights of different wine with each course of dinner.

Below are some photos from my Okanagan scrapbook.
The view from the terrace of the NK-MIP restaurant was magnificent and Gail, our server was very special.
This is one golf course sign to which we all paid attention
The Mission Hill Winery is very reminiscent of the California wineries one finds and around Sonoma. It is a very sophisticated and elegant place....not what one expects when you think of BC wines of 30 years ago.
A creative chandelier in the Mission Hill winery
While Quail's Gate is not quite in the same league, it has a very lovely dining room and terrace with excellent food.
My small cheese board at Quail's Gate. (I'm watching my cholesterol)
If this Kelowna restaurant reminds you of a former Vancouver restaurant that's because it is. Yes the former owner of Cafe de Paris is now operating Bouchon's Bistro in Kelowna. He even kept the frites containers!
Another golf course sign we respected
When we asked around for another good Kelowna restaurant a number of people recommended Raudz. While I didn't like the fact it wouldn't take reservations, I enjoyed the vibe and food including this very deluxe filet burger. (I'm watching my cholesterol)
I was surprised to learn the yellow cherries are considered sweeter than the red
The dining room at Summerhill Pyramid, with an adjacent outdoor terrace. Good, but not great.
The Harvest Golf Course was my least favourite of the lot. I much preferred NK-MIP, Desert Gold in Osoyoos, Fairview Mountain, Tower Ranch and Rise. Gallaghers Canyon and Quail are also fine to play.

By the time we left we could see the smoke on the horizon from our unit at the Manteo Beach Resort. Thanks Mary Ann and Jon for making it all happen.


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