Mission Hill Family Estate Winery
Okanagan Wine Sub-Region: Kelowna / Lake Region, known for Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Riesling & Chardonnay
Mission Hill Family Estate Winery has such instant name recognition for being a Canadian wine producer that I wasn’t sure quite what to expect from my first visit to their winery in West Kelowna. We would be having lunch on their award-winning outdoor Terrace Restaurant and I couldn’t help but wonder if it would be an irritating crush of tourists on such a beautiful July day.
It turns out I was wrong by far, the spacious green lawns overlooking the Mission Hill vineyards and Okanagan Lake below are remarkably calm and relaxing. And while the grounds have certainly been set up to welcome both wine aficionados and walk-in tourist traffic, it’s a careful balance which should make everyone who visits feel welcome.
I had an interesting conversation with some friends last night about the accessibility of wine these days. Are wine drinkers still part a secret fancy club with jargon and secret passwords and codes? Have we finally passed into a new decade of inclusion, where everyone can learn what they enjoy, then love what they love without reprisal? And with the ever-growing selection of British Columbia wines available, can we leave the European wine giants on the shelf and find our perfect wine right here at home?
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On my recent transatlantic cruise from Florida to Rome, Italy, I was faced with the pleasure (and sometimes irritation) of a slew of sea days to start the trip before we hit our first port. There are endless things to do on a cruise ship floating over the waves in the centre of the Atlantic, and the staff are well versed in how to keep guest entertained.
A large part of cruising is the food and drink, and Holland America Line (HAL) knows its guests well enough to realize they had a captive audience lying in the sun with a drink in hand by the pool, and created the Mixology 101 class series. Taught in three sessions on longer cruises, shorter for some smaller voyages, the martini mixing classes take place at HAL’s poolside Ocean bar. Anyone is welcome to watch, but if you pay the $12 class fee you can sample all the cocktails and get some hands-on instruction (as well as a cheesy but cute ‘dipolma’ to take home).
I am lucky enough to have two talented Vancouver Island burlesque dancers as friends, and had the opportunity to watch them perform in Victoria, BC at last Friday’s Burlesque Explosion. After a great show and fun evening in Victoria’s downtown (Canucks had just won Game Five, lots of celebrating in BC’s capital city), we woke up the next morning hungry for a big, hangover-friendly breakfast.
