Saturday, July 17, 2010 Go Time! Now that our entire wine touring group was all together in Penticton it was time to get serious about wine. The weather was perfect- 30 degrees and sunny- and we were all well rested and primed to head to Summerland!

8th Generation- First time here! This was a great find right on Hwy 97 in Summerland. They get their name from the fact that the winemakers’ family has been making wine for 8 generations. There was a heavy German influence and I found their whites outstanding. A great start to the day. I bought a bottle of their Riesling (always trust Germans when it comes to Rieslings!). Intended purpose: sip on its own with friends, or maybe with some light tapas. Service: 8/10 (they gave us a very in depth description of their process and wines, Wines: 7/10.

Dirty Laundry- First time here! This was a disappointment as they seemed to focus more on the fact that they’ve themed their winery on a brothel. Each .label had some form of scantily clad woman on it and there were many stories about how a Chinese slave worker started a brothel above his laundry business (hence “Dirty Laundry”). The wines were poor and I didn’t appreciate the lack of focus on the product. I bought nothing. Service: 7/10 (our server was attentive and did give the ‘story’ well), Wines: 5/10.

Thornhaven Winery- First time here! In hindsight this place was pretty good but after Dirty Laundry we were all blown away. It sat high in the hills overlooking Summerland and Lake Okanagan and the view was breathtaking. Their reds were worth taking come but I ended up buying a Riesling/ Chardonnay blend- simply because I’ve never even heard of that blend. It is odd. This will be another patio sipper with friends. Service: 7/10, Wines: 6.5/10

Silk Scarf- First time here! We also had lunch here (see below). On the wines…VERY nice, and some unique blends here. I may be somewhat biased because of the lunch (see below), but this place really did it for me. I purchased a bottle of their Riesling/ Muscat blend. It was like a strong Riesling with apple flavours combined with the lemony/honey flavours of the Muscat. Perfect with light salads or ‘summer food.’ This will be shared with friends with food! Service: 7/10, Wines: 8/10

Sleeping Giant- First time here! This is a fruit winery and although I was impressed with some of their table wines I just couldn’t bring myself to purchase a bottle. I make my own fruit wines in Saskatchewan and could not justify purchasing something I could make myself. Service: 7/10, Wines 6/10 That was it for the wine roundup, mostly because we were treated to an amazing lunch at Silk Scarf. The idea was that we did our tasting, and then each of us chose what wine we would be eating lunch with. Then the chef prepared food based on the wine, rather than the other way around. The meal was absolutely amazing and we each agreed that it was probably the best we had eaten in years. I will never forget that meal…olive tapenade, a mint/pea paste, roasted peppers, freshly made bread, roast zucchini, freshly made goat cheese, a bulgur wheat lima bean salad, a green salad with cherries and chevre, beet gnocchi, prosciutto, halibut patties with Moroccan paprika sauce, and freshly made tagatelli with a lamb ragu. I ate all of that with the Syrah, then moved onto the Riesling/ Muscat blend. It was SO AWESOME!!!!!

Anyway, the food sort of took over the day and after that we simply weren’t into wine. We retired back to the motel mid-afternoon and spent the day swimming in the pool, laying in the sun, and visiting. It was a very early bedtime that night.