I was lucky enough to be travelling with an experience local mushroom hunter who has spent his whole life in this area and knows it well. Please note: do not attempt to locate and eat VI mushrooms on your own as we have many poisonous varieties on Vancouver Island which can easily be mis-identified. Island visitors should also always keep to marked paths and trails in our forests, as it is easy for amateur explorers to get lost in the back country.

After a great afternoon of hiking, bucket in hand, I managed to find a nice selection of Golden Chanterelles and even a few of the rarer White Chanterelles, which have a more delicate texture and flavour than the spicy & firm Golden variety. Picking my own mushrooms in their natural habitat was a great experience, and I’ve never enjoyed a meal more than one filled with wild mushrooms picked just hours before with my own hands.

If you’re interested in trying your hand at hunting for the elusive, sought-after West Coast Chanterelle, touch base with a Vancouver Island outdoor or nature tour company. Many companies around the Island give seasonal mushroom picking/hiking tours during the fall, winter and spring and can teach you how to identify and properly pick these delicate mushrooms to protect their root system for re-growth in future years.

If you manage to get your hands on Chanterelles in season (keep your eye out at BC farmer’s markets this month for fresh selections from pickers), here’s a great source for how to clean & cook the mushrooms, as well as recipes to get you started on integrating them into your cooking.

A cooking tip from the High Tide Travel Blog: Chanterelles pair amazingly with British Columbia wines, I especially recommend splashing some BC Pinot Gris white wine into a Chanterelle cream sauce served over pasta.

Trust me, then thank me, this is local eating at its best.

Okanagan Wine Sub-Region: Okanagan Falls, known for gewurztraminer, riesling and pinot noir.

See Ya Later Ranch is a quirky winery tucked into the stunning hillside of Okanagan Falls, BC, just south of Penticton.

There’s a bit of an uphill drive to reach the winery, but it’s worth the small trip once you look down over the rolling green hills of grapes with the blue southern tip of Skaha Lake far below.

Part of the quirkiness of See Ya Later rests, of course, with its unconventional name. One of the legends of the name says that Lord Hugh Fraser, the original owner of the property and first to plant grapes there, came home one day to find his wife gone and a note in the frying pan that said “See ya later!”. But don’t let the kitschy name fool you, this winery is a consistant awards winner for top quality, inexpensive wines.

The second way that the ranch keeps unique is in how they express their unending love for dogs. Dogs? You ask. Yes, See Ya Later Ranch loves dogs and raises money for local SPCA charities year-round. Many of the wines are named after good old Ranch dogs like Ping (a red Meritage) and Nelly (named after Lord Fraser’s playful puppy), who now rest in the winery’s small doggie cemetery. It’s much more heart-warming than strange, and a nice reminder of the loyal animals that live at wineries and vineyards all over the Okanagan.

See Ya Later Ranch is known for their Gewurztraminer, as they should be… their 65 acre Hawthorne Mountain vineyard is the largest Gewurztraminer planting in North America. The vineyard is perfectly situated on the edge of a mountain slope that catches more sun than the rest of the surround valley (seen in the photo above with classic truck). It’s a light, crisp, fresh white wine and I’m looking forward to pairing it with indian curry in the future.

The tasting room and wine shop on the property are located in a heritage home on the property with a panoramic view of the valley and lake below. The shop was surprisingly well-stocked with wine-related goodies, and I was particularly impressed with their selection of BC cookbooks, what better time to pick up some new ideas for dinner to pair with your wine? There is a small patio restaurant serving simple but tasty fare such as pulled-pork sandwiches (great with the Pinot Noir) and house-made desserts.

A visit to See Ya Later Ranch is a fun little trek off the beaten wine path of the Okanagan and well worth a visit, with or without your dog.

Covert Farms Organics & Dunham & Froese Estate Winery

Okanagan Wine Subregion: Oliver, known for Merlot, Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer

Although British Columbia’s Okanagan region is finally getting attention as a wine travel destination, the fertile land of the Okanagan Valley can do much more than just grow grapes, and there’s a rich history here of where Canadians get their vegetables from if you drive just a little off the highway and take a look.

Covert Farms was established in 1959 by George and Winnifred Covert, who began with a small tomato and onion farm. The family expanded the farming business to eventually become a leading Western Canadian producer of certified organic vegetables, fruit, table grapes and wines.

What immediately warmed me to Covert Farms was the enthusiasm of Gene Covert (grandson of George and Winnifred, who runs Covert Farms with his wife Shelley). He’s a true Canadian farmer, who understands our unique growing cycle and gets excited about finding ways to reconnect Canada with where our food comes from.

Everything that Covert Farms grows can be “U-Picked”, which is a great way to spend a sunny afternoon (who doesn’t love foraging through a strawberry patch for that perfectly ripe berry?). The scenery is beautiful, and visitors can take a self-guided tour around the spacious property, framed by McIntyre Bluff in the distance. There’s also a lovely indoor/outdoor market selling whatever is fresh along with snacks, coffees and lunch items.

I was particularly impressed with how welcoming Covert Farms is for families. There are a wide variety of activities from educational (take your kids out into the fields to pick their own lunch) and just plain fun (the massive ‘Bouncy Pillow’ near the market had me dying to take a few jumps myself). There is also an extensive ‘Young Organic Farmers’ childrens summer camp series which is jam-packed full of amazing activities and hands-on growing techniques for organic food.

The farm is also home to Dunham & Froese Estate Winery, which was named the Official Wine of the 2011 Subaru Ironman Canada. Since producing their first bottles in 2008, Dunham & Froese wines have received many awards and accolades, including Best New Winery at the 2008 Okanagan Fall Wine Festival.

I really enjoyed seeing a glimpse into where and how Canada is sourcing the flavourful vegetables and fruit we are famous for, and highly recommend it as a unique Okanagan experience that brings you closer to what growing fresh local food is all about.

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.

Mission Hill’s underground cellar has been blasted out of the volcanic rock of the dormant Mount Boucherie volcano, and has great picture appeal. Most of the actual wine making ‘action’ is behind the scenes, but the cellar does have the added interest of a collection of ancient and antique drinking vessels from around the world set into shelves in the volcanic rock beside the barrels.

Mission Hill’s Terrace Restaurant was named one of the Top Five Winery Restaurants in the World in 2008 by Travel & Leisure Magazine, who called it one of the most glorious dining experiences around. I would have to agree, the tiny yet award-winning kitchen created a wine pairing lunch for us that achieved the careful balance of equally showcasing both Mission Hill’s wines and exceptional British Columbia cuisine.

The first course of seared diver sea scallops with compressed cucumber and apricot sorbet was paired with Mission Hill’s Martin’s Lane Riesling to bring out the fresh apricot notes in the Riesling.  Second course paired a 2009 Reserve Pinot Noir with a confit of Fraser Valley duck, a warm potato salad and first of the season ripe Okanagan cherries. The fruit and oak notes in the Pinot cut through the velvety richness of the duck, and the sweetness of the fresh cherries brought out similar notes in the wine. My mouth waters just writing about this course and pairing, being a Pinot Noir girl at heart AND able to consume BC cherries in large quantities during their short but sweet season.

Our Terrace lunch ended with Mission Hill’s 2008 Reserve Riesling Icewine paired with a French lemon tart, fresh strawberry sorbet and drops of Mission Hill Verjus (liquid derived from unripened grapes, from the French for “green juice”). The sweetness of the icewine worked well with the citrus hit of the lemon curd and I loved the reduced verjus on the side – a new flavour for me and one that I will seek out again.

I would go back to Mission Hill’s Terrace Restaurant in a heartbeat, in fact I can’t wait for my next visit. This is the kind of Canadian dining that is worth travelling for – dishes created by a chef that understands how to celebrate the wines of Mission Hill as well as the incredible cuisine that can be created with local BC food.

It’s not often I wax this poetic about simply eating lunch and drinking wine, but Mission Hill’s Terrace Restaurant really is that special of a place and should be part of any wine or food lover’s trip to the Okanagan.

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?

After spending the past few years delving into the surprisingly huge selection of BC Wines, I’m very optimistic that a brave new world of wine drinking has begun. Sitting above Lake Skaha at God’s Mountain for a wine pairing dinner with Rhys Pender (the youngest Master of Wine in Canada) last fall, I asked him what he says to people who are nervous or afraid to start trying new wines. “The trend in wines right now is to just like what you like, and enjoy wine for what it is,” he said. “Everyone has personal preferences, it’s just a matter of finding the wines that taste good to you through trial and error.”  How very simple.

It’s both great advice and comforting to anyone who is worried they’ll feel out of their element when trying new wines – just like what you like and be proud of it. What do I know about wine? Well, I know what I like!

Over the past few years I’ve worked with BC resorts, restaurants, wineries and wine sellers who are coming together for one purpose – to give people access to a wide variety of wines in one setting – using gala sampling events, festivals and wine makers dinners to showcase the wines of British Columbia with the West Coast cuisine we are famous for. This is a loftly goal that benefits both the wineries and tourism sectors while giving anyone with the desire to start trying wines a chance to dive into all the vintages out there, so everyone can start discovering what they like.

The rising number of wine festivals and tasting events are an easy, entertaining (and usually relatively reasonable) way to discover new wines. The next step in learning what you love is to visit a tasting room at a winery that produces their own bottles of the wine you now know you love.

I’ll be travelling through the Okanagan next week, and blogging about my experiences in the tasting rooms of ‘elder statesmen’ wineries such as Mission Hill and innovative newcomers like Pentage.

Happy summer tasting everyone!