Unless you hate wine (a terrifying thought), you’d be remiss to visit the Okanagan without stopping into a winery or two. Or three, or six, or ten. Your choice.

Tourism Kelowna was kind enough to set us up with a picnic at Quail’s Gate, a winery founded in 1989 by Ben and Ruth Stewart. The Stewart family has been in Kelowna since 1908, and growing grapes since the 1950’s. You can find a good general history of Okanagan wine production here.

Quail's Gate's tasting room, shop, and restaurant sit atop a hill, with vines sloping towards the lake, and an unbelievably lovely picnic spot halfway down.

We feasted on a lunch by Basket Case Picnics, a local company that prepares gourmet picnic meals in easy to carry insulated boxes.

There was wild salmon wellington with raspberry sauce;

a mixed green salad with berries, nuts, and goat cheese;

and dark chocolate gluten-free cupcakes with cherries.

The meal was wonderful, and we also enjoyed a tasting of various Quail’s Gate wines, my favourite being the Chasselas (a Chasselas/Pinot Blanc/Pinot Gris blend).

The winery also has an award-winning restaurant, and hosts a variety of “Dinner in the Vineyard” events.

For Canadian wine-lovers, a trip to this region is essential; there are endless wineries to visit, and as you have already read, plenty of good food to pair with all of this wine.

Many thanks to Quail’s Gate, Tourism Kelowna, and Basket Case for the food and libations, and for showing us one of the most gorgeous picnic spots in the country. I’m not the only one who thinks so – have a look here, and you’ll see The Amazing Race Canada got in on it, too!

And with that, we headed north from the Okanagan. Onto Prince George, Smithers, and Haida Gwaii next.....

-LA

Very few places can live up to a name like "God's Mountain," but God's Mountain Estate in the Okanagan has done just that. Dana and I had the privilege of attending a Joy Road dinner there, a small inn and vineyard located in the hills east of Skaha Lake.

God’s Mountain looks like a little Greek villa, surrounded by vines and fruit trees and a view that literally shimmers as the sun hits the lake. Each Thursday and Sunday during the summer, the Joy Road team hosts long-table Alfresco dinners there, and late into the evening guests dine on Okanagan fare paired with local wines.

They’d already sold out the only dinner we were able to attend, but the team graciously squeezed us in by setting up a table for two in God’s Mountain’s new outdoor kitchen. A DREAM KITCHEN. I've often joked that I'll never be able to afford to build a whole house, so maybe I'll just build a kitchen. If I do, it will be this one.

Inside this kitchen, the Joy Road crew worked hard all night – when guests arrived the weather was drizzling, so they moved everything inside. As soon as the sun returned, they moved everyone back out, all while preparing an epic five-course meal in two kitchens.

Honestly, this was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. I don’t know if I’ve ever had food that’s combined such high-quality ingredients with this kind of attentive, skilled cooking.

There wasn’t anything I would have changed, which is rare (if almost impossible) for someone who loves food as much as I do, and Dana and I barely talked as we ate. There were too many flavours to love, too many pairings to appreciate.

Here’s what we ate, followed by more pictures from the evening. Cheers to God’s Mountain for hosting, to the Okanagan producers whose food we ate, and to Joy Road for working so incredibly hard. Many chefs make meals, but only a few manage to make meals we’ll always remember. Thanks for being the latter.

-Dana’s homemade bread with organic Canadian wheat.

-Spanish-style roasted olives with fennel and citrus
A tasting of Cameron’s housemade charcuterie
Baby vegetables
Pork rillet with apple butter
-Paired with God's Mountain Wild Goose Riesling

-Minestrone verde with asparagus, freshly-shelled English peas, basil, watercress, lemon zest

-Charcoal grilled leg of lamb rubbed with roasted garlic and herbs Braised beet greens with cream, Dijon, and quince paste
- Tapenade aioli
-Paired with Pentage "Hiatus"

-Panzanella (Tuscan bread salad) with roasted red peppers, parsley, basil, anchovy, and capers (my favourite dish of the night)

-Roasted broccoli with espellete peppers and lemon

-Nicoise-style salad with beans, cherry tomatoes, and potatoes

-A salad from their musician/farmer friend, Jordan

-Black Forest cake with sour cherries from God’s Mountain and locally-made Kirsch; Lemon pot de crème; locally roasted coffee and fresh chocolate mint tea

-LA

A Quail's Gate Picnic

Joy Road (Part 2/2): Dinner at God's Mountain