Feb. 27, 2008 - Issue #645: Heaven’s Sent
Skis and vines make a perfect pairing
Okanagan
On top of great skiing, the Okanagan is an internationally renowned destination for viticulture. When you’re winding your way through the valley on a ski trip, the right combination of resorts and wineries can make for an excellent circuit, enhancing your ski experience with some unforgettable flavour.
We set out from Banff on a frosty February morning, but things changed once we turned off the TransCanada at Sicamous and started south on BC Highway 97. Winding our way through farmland near Enderby, horses cantered and chased one another through snowy fields. Spring was in the air.
Our trip was focused on the South Okanagan, and began at the Summerland Resort Hotel, located along the western shore of Lake Okanagan, next to the local Yacht Club. Our family of four, including two small girls, checked into a spacious two-bedroom suite painted in a warm relaxing palette. It featured perks like motion-detected floor-tile lighting in the en suite bathroom, and an on-off fireplace that immediately warmed the whole unit. My wife Christy worked out in the gym, while our almost four-year old daughter Amanda played in the adjoining and well-stocked children’s area. Later, Christy said, “this is the nicest place we have ever stayed.”
We awoke to fresh snow on the patio and a blue heron at the edge of the lake. Apex Ski Resort (lift ticket $54) is 32 kilometres up a winding and at times gnarly mountain road from Penticton. At Apex Village, old-school A-frame chalets sat amongst trees heavy with snow. Amanda had her first ever ski lesson here and loved her instructor, who taught her “how to turn and how to plow.”
Meanwhile, I met the mountain hosts—Bill Lemm and Fred Fedorak, a couple of retired locals—for an after-lunch tour of the mountain. “We’re hanging around because we’re hoping some girls will show up,” joked Fred when we didn’t set out skiing on time.
We jumped on the Quickdraw Quad for a fast ride to the top of the ski area, which is actually Beaconsfield Mountain, and is just under 2200 metres. I was pleasantly surprised to find most of the intermediate runs on the mountain ungroomed. We zoomed down a zigzag of runs with virtually no one else around. I had already taken in the westernmost part of the mountain in the morning, where a fistful of double black diamond runs are inspired by Clint Eastwood. Magnum, Twenty Two, Buckshot, Dirty Harry and Make My Day are all cut sharply into the trees. “Originally there was just one run over there,” said Bill, “which shot straight down the mountain like a gun barrel.”
Back at the Fast Tracks café, our 11-month old Ariel managed to nap on an old sofa while digital radio played the Dandy Warhols, loud. I got myself a double “Canadiano” (Apex’s version of an Americano) and traded off with Christy, who was ready to carve some turns herself.
With more than 100 wineries in the Okanagan Valley, from hidden gems down dirt roads to large-scale operations open year-round, we decided to spend the next day exploring. I did some phoning around, and found many of the smaller wineries had voicemail messages like this one, from Dirty Laundry Vineyard near Summerland, “we’re not available right now—you can try us at the vineyard by appointment or by luck.”
The Sumac Ridge Estate Winery, established in 1981, is open year round and is right up the road from Summerland. Its Cellar Door Bistro was Canada’s first winery restaurant, and is considered one the area’s finer eateries. I tasted a trio of whites—the Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and one of Sumac Ridge’s bestselling wines, the Gewürztraminer Private Reserve, a clean, crisp wine with hints of lime and grapefruit.
Later, travelling south toward Osoyoos, we stopped at Amante’s Bistro for lunch. Amante’s is on Main Street in Penticton and features a menu of innovative cuisine in a small 10-table room. We were served by Rose Amante, who opened the bistro last spring with her husband, chef Abul Adame. Adame has worked in some of Vancouver’s hipper restaurants, including CinCin and Bis Moreno, as well as the Sonora Room restaurant at the Okanagan’s Burrowing Owl Estate Winery.
We arrived at Nk’Mip Resort (pronounced ink-a-meep) in time to visit the on-site Nk’Mip Cellars. The winery is part of the Osoyoos Indian Band’s long-term, $25 million Nk’Mip development that includes the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre, a nine-hole executive golf course and the Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort & Spa.
At Nk’Mip Cellars we tried five wines, including their Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir. Ariel filled the big circular tasting room with her booming shrieks, while the wine cellar hostess told us about our ski destination for the next day. “Mt Baldy is one of the best kept secrets in the Okanagan,” she said. At sunset, we opened a gate right in front of our villa and walked downhill through the vineyards, the crunch of snow beneath our feet, and the warm glow of the sun on the resort’s adobe walls.
Spirit Ridge also features the elegant Passatempo restaurant, where we tasted tapas and perhaps the finest wine we had all week, the hard to find Orofino Red Bridge Red (2005), from nearby Cawston, BC. Passatempo is run by Edmonton chef Brad Larazenko, who also owns Passatempo Winebar, and Culina in Old Strathcona. Everything at Spirit Ridge is an easy walk, so after dinner and after we got our girls off to bed, we ordered the chocolate plate with ganache for two and brought it back to our villa to enjoy in front of the fireplace.
Thursday morning we awoke to more fresh snow on the valley floor and set out for Mt Baldy. The winding access road ascends up the benchlands from Oliver. In the 45 minutes it took me to cautiously drive the road, the only other vehicle we saw was the snowplow coming back down the mountain. Surprisingly, Mt Baldy (with $42 midweek lift) has one of the highest base elevations in Canada at 1725 m.
The resort’s president, Brett Sweezy, welcomed our family and was happy to head out for a morning of skiing. Joining us was Bill Hunter from the British Columbia Ministry of Tourism, Sport, and the Arts, who was at Baldy for the official opening of the Sugarlump Quad, as well as the unveiling of Osoyoos’s new brand, “Canada’s warmest welcome,” which both took place on Feb 1.
We were skiing on “big powder Thursdays,” which is Baldy’s biggest day of the week for business. Because they are closed midweek, fresh, untracked snow tends to accumulate. Sweezy bought the resort with partners in 2004. He actually lives in Sandpoint, Idaho, and makes the four-hour commute every week. Originally from New Hampshire, a ski trip to the Canadian Rockies in 1989 changed him forever. “Since that trip, I’ve never skied the East Coast again,” he said.
The philosophy at Baldy is definitely “small is beautiful.” As we rode the Sugarlump, Sweezy said, “I actually didn’t want to buy a high-speed quad. For one, its a third more expensive, but more importantly, I don’t want to put that many skiers on the mountain, that fast.” We checked out their new terrain park and Sweezy pointed out the trimmed trees off several runs to improve the glade skiing at Baldy.
There is something about Baldy that reminds you of the skiing you did growing up. Our girls had a great time at Baldy. Amanda had her second ski lesson, and was returned to me in the lodge by her instructor, hot chocolate in hand.
The next morning we were able to visit the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre, where Bob Etienne, interpreter and facility manager, took our family on a guided tour of the arresting architectural space. From the rammed earth foundation—local landscape layered to create an indigenous concrete—to the high-tech pit house where salmon swam up river all around us, the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre was one of the highlights of our trip.
After lunch, we explored more of the area wineries, including stops at Burrowing Owl, Golden Beaver, Desert Hills, Gehringer Brothers and Tinhorn Creek. At Silver Sage Estate Winery, we met Elena Dudlettes, one of the characters of our visit. She had us taste their unique Special Sage Gewürztraminer, followed by their blended Meritage, and finally we broke down and tried some dessert wine. The Silver Sage Flame Dessert Wine was smoking hot, or as Dudlettes suggested, “the perfect gift for a mother-in-law who talks too much.”
Back at Spirit Ridge, we took an encore trip to the hottub, then put our feet up in our cozy villa, and agreed it was the best family trip we’ve ever had. We were on the road at sunrise, the sentinel sculpture of Nk’Mip horse and rider coming to life in the morning sun. V
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