Yesterday, we took a drive (around an hour and a quarter each way) to the Naramata Bench wine country to try some places we hadn’t been before. First, though, the requisite stop at the local coffee shop for an iced mocha for the road!

Our first true stop was Deep Roots Winery, a family-owned winery, where we had a very relaxing tasting on the terrace under the vines, starting from a light pinot gris to a delicious fortified wine. I’d never heard of this winery, but I ended up shipping 6 bottles home, covering the range. It was very peaceful gazing out at the view and sipping our wine, despite my husband chomping at the bit to get moving — the poor guy serving us was the only one there with a full house! It’s still hard post-pandemic to get people willing to work at service industry jobs, in particular.

Next was JoieFarm Winery, which sells a dry rosé that’s a favourite of mine. I was also hoping to buy their white Noble Blend that they’ve recently started selling in cans — I tried it on the ferry on my March trip to Parksville and it was really good! Unfortunately (or fortunately for them), BC Ferries bought their entire stock of the canned Noble Blend! In any case, we did a stand-up tasting and once again shipped home a box — this is how we stock up for the year.

By this time (and thanks to the leisurely first stop), we were starving and were recommended to try the outdoor Bistro at Serendipity Winery. We had a very late lunch of charcuterie, seacuterie, crusty bread with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and some orange duck paté. This paired nicely with their crisp rosé, which of course I then needed to buy a bottle of for later this week! (Where has my resolve to cut back gone? On vacation!) In case you are worried, my husband was our designated driver and mainly tasted the wines before making use of the wine tasting spittoon. Not as fun for him, but better for all of us!

Needless to say, after the wine tour and the charcuterie, which was more filling than expected, our steaks we were planning for last night are still marinating and being saved for barbecuing tonight. Better with a longer marinade!

This did leave us with more time to watch the sunset, though. A great way to end the day!