Wine country has a wide range of attractions
Honey
farms, lavender farms, goat cheese specialists and a restaurant dealing with
local products add to the delights
By
JANE MUNDY, Postmedia News
The bees were well behaved at Arlo’s.
“My dad said, If you want to be a farmer, you’re going to work every day
so you’d better like what you’re farming,” says Andrea McFadden, as we gaze
over a field of purple at her Okanagan Lavender Herb
Farm.
McFadden, like everyone
connected with food and wine I met over a whirlwind two days, goes way beyond
liking her career. Passionate people abound in
It goes without saying
that
I admit, I love wine but
I’m not very “wine savvy,” so trudging from one winery to another isn’t my idea
of a good time. To tell the truth I sometimes feel a wee bit intimidated. So
with that in mind, I planned my sojourn without wine as the focal point. Of
course, a few glasses with lunch and dinner are de rigueur.
This trip proves to be a
fascinating education, starting with Arlo’s Honey
Farm. “We purchased 25 hives in 2005,” says Kennedy, “then I bought a book on
beekeeping, planted Dutch white clover and now we have 125 hives with 60,000
bees per hive (do the math!) and I’m loving it.”
Kennedy invites me to ‘suit
up’ and with just a little trepidation, we slowly walk, like astronauts to
their spacecraft, into the swarm. Well, not quite. The bees are very
well-behaved, and thriving, unlike the plight of many beekeepers worldwide. Did
you know that one bee in its lifetime will produce less than one-twelfth of a
teaspoon of honey? Did you know that three quarters of your dinner is related
in some way to the pollination of the honey bee? Bless their hearts. “And bees
poop little yellow dots when they fly, hence that expression ‘don’t eat the
yellow snow,’ ” quips Kennedy. Hmm, I’m not sold on that piece of bee trivia.
“A bee breeder will release the virgin queen so she can have a dirty weekend
with up to 17 drones,” says Kennedy, smirking. “She gathers that sperm for life
then comes back to the hive and starts laying eggs.”
I’m getting rather warm
in my attire and just a bit edgy as Kennedy removes the frame from the hives so
we can sample their wares, fresh from the comb. Such a
vibrant taste, with a distinct note of clover. (I could never say
“distinct note” around winemakers!)
The air is intoxicating
at the lavender farm. A huge basket of rose petals being distilled to make rose
water will make its way into McFadden’s shop that sells all things lavender (my
mum would be in shopping heaven). I’m served a refreshing
lavender lemonade and sample lavender jelly that pairs perfectly with a dollop
of Carmelis goat cheese. “I read about lavender
disappearing in
It’s Monday afternoon
and Carmelis cheese shop is packed with locals and tourists
snapping up more than 20 varieties of handmade cheeses and pondering over too
many choices of goat’s milk gelato. I go for the caramel and sea salt gelato,
oh maybe some of the lemon too. Wow! “The goats and I have an interesting
relationship,” says Barmor, who moved here from
Just one bite of Carmelis “goatgonzola” or the
feta, made from a traditional Greek recipe, and I’m so grateful she is tending
the flock (her husband is the cheesemaker.)
A sign on the shop wall
says, “Cheese travellers, buy here or bring a
pre-frozen gel pack to insure your cheese.” Have cheese will travel.
That night we dine at RauDZ. The bartenders are referred to as “liquid chefs” and
perusing the ‘field to glass’ cocktails menu I can see why. I opt for the
watermelon, strawberry and rhubarb with Spirit Bear vodka (even the spirits are
local) concoction — one sip signals wonders to come and more tough decisions:
burger of grass-fed beef from Enderby nearby or their
signature Arctic char? Easy solution: I’m with friends so we share, but first a
sublime crab carpaccio with fennel followed by greens
with Carmelis blue cheese and spot prawns. What
amazes me the most is how the dishes are made with local and organic
ingredients, yet average a measly 20 bucks. How do
they do it?
“I run a non-profit
society,” says chef/owner Butters, chuckling. “Our
overhead is a bit less than restaurants in
For the past 12 years
Ingo Grady has been director of wine education at Mission Hill, but he cringes
at the title. “I want people to experience wine for what they want it to be,
whether serious or fun,” he says, “and even a teetotaller
can have a good time here.” (Any wine intimidation I have flies out the door.)
Grady can now include
art lovers along with teetotallers. Finding over 50
sculptures of cast aluminum and steel, wrought iron and bronze figures
installed around the Mission Hill estate is like a treasure hunt. “One of the
first comments came from three kids who said, ‘This swing set sucks,’ ” says
Grady, laughing, as we make our way down the stairs from the Chagall
room—complete with said artist’s tapestry and a David Foster grand piano—to the
swings, which is one of Decoster’s installations
(another swing trio is ensconced in the wine cellar, and you really have to
look for it.)
“Goat cheese loves this
sauvignon blanc,” says Grady, as we tuck into pâté de Campagne, olive oil brûlé and vanilla
pears. And there’s the farm-to-table connection again. Increasingly visitors
are coming to
Special to The