Wine Country

Here’s What You Need To Know

Penticton is known as one of the best cities to visit in Canada. As you drive the country roads of Penticton, the scenery will welcome you with award-winning wineries and the intoxicating scents of the vineyards.

At any season, wineries provide intimate wine tasting sessions as you look over the stunning vineyards. You will be able to see how vineyards are prepared for growing during spring or experience the wine festival during fall as the harvest time comes on.

Wineries In Penticton and Area

Penticton is home to the wineries of South Okanagan and three different winery regions, namely Summerland, Okanagan Falls, and Naramata, which has 80 operational wineries that produce wines from over 75 varieties of grapes growing on 355 acres of vineyard. Located in the south of Okanagan Valley, the area’s temperature allows the grapes to grow with their natural acidity.

South Okanagan

South Okanagan has more than 170 operating wineries that produce different wine blends such as pinot noir, Bordeaux blend red, and Chardonnay. These wineries have been continuously developing grape varieties to produce better wines.

Oldest Winery in The Okanagan

Wine enthusiasts can also find the oldest operating winery in British Columbia in South Okanagan, Calona Vineyards. The winery opened during the 1930s, headed by the Casorsos. By 1966, another winery opened called Mission Hill.

Types of Winery Experiences

Aside from having winery tours, visiting Penticton wineries  allows you to have different winery experiences when you visit the city. You can have an unforgettable tasting of the award-winning wines, cycling adventures along the vineyard, a gourmet picnic after visiting wineries, or enjoy the aromatic vineyards while riding a Jeep.

Red, White or Rose

The most flavorful pinot noir, rose, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris are produced in the vineyards of Penticton. Sparkling wines also come from the freshest grapes that are grown in the city.

VQA

BC VQA   is often seen on wine bottles. Vintners Quality Alliance is an independent body that certifies bottled wines that meet the quality standards and only uses grapes that are 100% grown in British Columbia. Each BC VQA label should have the winery’s name, vintage, wine blend’s name, quality assurance, and location where the grapes are grown. The certification of VQA on the bottles ensures the authenticity of the wine.

The 9 Wine Regions in BC

The British Columbia Wine Authority has recognized nine wine regions: Similkameen Valley, Vancouver Island, Okanagan Valley, Fraser Valley, Kootenays, Shuswaps, Thompson Valley, Gulf Islands, and Lillooet. Each grape-growing region produces different wine styles.

How To Tour Wineries Around Penticton BC

There are many wine touring adventures that you can do in Penticton. There are wine tours provided by knowledgeable operators where you can spend your day wine tasting and visiting different wineries. You may also go around by renting a bicycle or have a self-guided tour using a motorcycle.…

Fermented juice from grapes has created its one-of-a-kind culture and became one of the world’s most in demand drinks to this day and age. Wine production is considered as a form of art and science at the same time for many centuries. The wine that you drink today is like a symbol of your personality, social status, and lifestyle as a whole. One has to wonder what kind of wine coolers they had in that era.

Wine is No Longer for the Elite and the Affluent Alone 

Wine has long been a part of human life ever since the time of the early ancestors. During the time of the Romans, wine played crucial social, medicinal, and religious roles that set this apart from other types of drinks. The Greek civilizations recognized wine’s significant importance and used the drink as a symbol of prestige and wealth during banquets.

When France was invaded by the Romans, they also brought their expert knowledge and skill of wine production to the country. Not long after, the whole nation took a grip of process. Wine started to impact the lives of the elite and the aristocrats and formed a kind of passion that eventually spread all over the world.

It is believed that wine making is also a science with a profound connection with humankind’s agriculture, geography, and history. Subtle and complex wine making methods were passed down from one generation to another. These include the best microbes to produce delicious wine, ideal materials for the fermentation tasks, and most favorable times of fermentation.

It doesn’t longer come as a surprise that today, wine tasting and making are considered as advanced sciences that are being taught at the leading educational institutions in the world. Sommeliers, particularly those who have vast experience, are professionals who are highly esteemed in the beverage and food industry.

In some countries in Asia such as Thailand and China, high level executives are also encouraged to be familiar with etiquette in wine drinking to help them when socializing with professionals from other cultures that love wine. It is done to form the status of wine as a form of sophisticated drink that can cross barriers in language and culture.

Learn to Appreciate Wine for a Refined Lifestyle

While there is no doubt that wine drinking remains to be prominent in Western cultures, this is also becoming more popular all over the world because of the spread of contemporary viniculture from Europe to Australia, South Africa, Asia, and of course, the Americas. Wine consumption constantly increases together with wine production and it is obvious that the international appetite for fine wine won’t decline any time soon.

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Having some wine after a hectic day at work can be quite a relaxing experience. Many of you probably like to have some wine along with your meals. All of this is still acceptable. However, when it comes to choosing the right wine refrigerator, many of you falter badly. Take a look at some of the stores in the city and you will come to know about the various types of wine fridges available for you. The features also differ from unit to unit. If you are a first timer, it is very important to get all the possible help in choosing the best wine refrigerator on the market.

6 Common Questions about Wine Refrigerators

When it comes to shopping for the right wine refrigerator there are 6 questions which are quite common in the minds of the customers. Answering these 6 questions can help you choose the right unit very easily.

1. Built-In or Freestanding: There are 2 types of wine refrigerators in the market. One is a built-in and another is a freestanding. The former is designed to be placed under a counter and the latter is designed to be installed as a stand-alone fridge. If the freestanding ones are made to stand under a counter these will easily get damaged due to overheat. On the other hand, the built-in ones come with vents in front which allows them to stand under counters very easily.
2. Compressor or Thermoelectric Based Wine Coolers: There are several wine refrigerators in the market which come with thermoelectric cooling technology instead of using the traditional refrigerant and compressor. This technology helps to cool inside the fridge evenly and also reduces the vibrations which can disturb the sediments in the wine bottles. These refrigerators will naturally consume less power and are also quieter.
3. Dual Zone or Single Zone: If you choose a single zone wine cooler, you will notice that these do not have separate storage spaces and also come with a single temperature control. This is best suited if you plan to store either white or red wine in the fridge. On the other hand, dual zone coolers come with two separate storage spaces and temperature controls. These are rightly suited for storing both red and white wines.
4. Refrigerators or Wine Coolers or Beverage Coolers: As compared to a normal refrigerator or a beverage cooler, a wine cooler ha a higher temperature range. This is simply because wines cannot be stored at a very low temperature.
5. Humidity and Wine Aging: The aging process of wines is very complex. It involves subtle chemical changes that is possible in specific conditions in order to get the best results. Some of these conditions include a relative humidity of around 70%, a steady temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit, and away from direst light. Thus, a cellar is the best place for wines to age properly.
6. Clean the Wine Cooler Properly: Before you decide to clean the wine fridge, remove all the contents and clean the shelves, with a soft cloth and mild detergent.

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Wineries in Kelowna Offer Wine Tasting

A sip of wine is wonderful, but when paired with the right food, a sip of wine is extraordinary. Food can completely alter the wine tasting experience, often transforming the flavors into a power experience. Kelowna Wineries offer tastings to educate and inspire guests to explore their palates.

The concept existed since the naissance of wine making. Why is this important to the wine industry now?

Is it because we are starting to see more and more wineries building restaurants to compliment and showcase their delicious wines? This is absolutely a growing trend across wineries worldwide. By providing an avenue for guests to experience the evolution of flavors with the perfect food pairing, this mélange is attractive.

Is it because tasting small bites of food can clear a pallet so that the taster can experience something comp

What makes modern wine and food pairing remarkably unique are the events that are pointed at illuminating the flavors of wine. Kelowna wineries are the perfect example. As we know, wineries in this region have exceptionally diverse portfolios resulting in complexities and challenges with wine and food pairing. Without this structure, the pairings become too diverse and too challenging to organize. For a guest, a wine and food pairing should be focused and organized – this is where wine and food events come in.

Let’s look at The View Winery. This winery has over 10 types of wine ranging from white, red, and rose. They host events like Cuvée and Cupcakes, where they expertly pair some of their award-winning wines to cupcakes that will bring out the rich flavors of the wine. Or Pizza and Pino, with a pairing of the winery’s Pinot Grigio and Pinotage wines and delicious Italian pizza.

With an ever-growing wine industry in Kelowna, don’t hesitate to try out one of these fun and enlightening wine and food pairing events found in this region.…

The Wine Industry Areas Of Southern California

California is a state that produces 90% of all wine in the United States, and the vineyards in the north, in Sonoma and Napa, are among the most well-known in the world. Nevertheless, they do not have the only quality vineyards in the state. The wines from the younger southern California wineries are on an equal par with their cousins of the north. The bulk of Southern California wine is produced in two locations, the vineyards of Santa Barbara, 100 miles north of Los Angeles, and those close to San Diego, 100 miles south of the city. Both areas have been deeply associated with the growth of the California wine industry, a market that now ships over 450 million gallons of wine a year to the US and other countries. Santa Barbara’s Vineyards. The coastal mountains east-west placing produces the valleys that open onto the Pacific Ocean. The flow of fog and breezes that result from this bit of serendipitous location produce the perfect conditions for the world-class ranges of wine that are the pride of Santa Barbara. The moderate environment produces the most beneficial conditions that grapes require for optimal sugar and acid levels. There are also several “micro-climates” near the Pacific Coast and the Pala Mesa mountains. The fifty-mile coast from Point Conception to Rincon forms the longest east-west coastline on the west coast. The vines here grow on anything and whatever, from the rolling hillsides to the exceptionally warm valleys, where summer season temperatures often reach 100F or 38C.

This climate allows the vintners to work throughout the 4 seasons: the pruning and weeding are done throughout the winter season, brand-new planting starts in the spring, canopy management in the summertime, and lastly the yearly harvest in the fall. This location has a similar climate to the Rhône valley in France, and the winemakers have actually responded similarly. One specific vineyard is situated on a hillside 1,000 feet above water level, with ideal northern exposure making it the ideal place for the Rhone varietals that are grown here. There is an abundance of European grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Sangiovese, and Syrah.

This variety is made possible by a lot of micro-climates in the region. For example, the cool-climate Chardonnay succeeds due to the fact that of the occasional snow on the mountains. In contrast, the heat-loving Syrah flourishes in the warmer micro-climates. The winemakers likewise handled the vibrant challenge of growing the challenging Pinot Noir, a wine resonant with strawberry and herbal aspects. While there were almost no vineyards in the county twenty-five years ago, today the wine industry is a $100 million dollar service.

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