Tinkerblue

Happy Thanksgiving

Growing up in Australia, we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving. I don't think I had ever even heard of it until I moved to Canada. The first time Hubby mentioned pumpkin pie I thought he was insane.  You have baked pumpkin with lamb, or maybe pumpkin scones but pie? Pie was for apple and berries.  But I'm a convert.  I like autumn. It's time for pumpkin pies, pumpkin chocolate chip bread, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin cheesecakes.

 

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving in style.  On Friday night Hubby and I went to the Midnight Service at Blasted Church Winery in Okanagan Falls.  The food was so good. BBQ from Memphis Blues BBQ - a heart attack on a plate. But it's too delicious to pass up.  Caesar Salad, potato salad, garden salad, pulled pork, beef brisket, ribs, BBQ chicken, sausage, corn bread and BBQ beans. I had seconds of the pulled pork. Hubby had seconds of pretty much everything.

 

Wine from Blasted Church, of course. White, Rose and Red.  I had to try a little of each.  Music by Ruthie Foster.  Until last year I had not heard of Ruthie Foster, now I've seen her play live twice. Awesome night.  We'll go again next year.

 

Saturday we headed to Hubby's parents on the island.  We were quite the group.  Hubby and I, our niece - Taylor, and our friends - Joanna, Kim and Deka.  Barb and Stew were already there, obviously, at it's their house.

 

 
Kim & Hubby cooking sausage & eggs for Sunday Bfast.

 

Our original plan was to park the cars at Horseshoe Bay, walk on the ferry and then Stew would pick us all up at the other end.  Slight flaw in that plan?  The parking was all full!  Joanna managed to nab a spot and Hubby, Taylor and I ended up driving on the ferry.  Flying is so much quicker.  However the weather was not cooperating with us, and it wasn't going to open up. So the ferry it was. 

 

Sunday, Kim and Hubby decided it was a beautiful flying day (although I don't think beautiful was the exact word they used).  So they drove home, picked up the planes and flew back to the island!  In the meantime Barb, Joanna and I made dinner! Well Barb did most of the making, Joanna and I kept her company. And Taylor and Deka?  They were creating whatever chaos a 6 and a 7 year old can create when they have free reign of a house.

 

The boys landed just in time for dinner. How's that for timing?  Joanna's brother, Nik and his friend Nicole also joined us for dinner.  There was so much food.  Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, green beans, brussels sprouts, boiled potatoes, candied sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. I like evenings where we linger at the table, in no hurry to leave. No need to watch TV, or finish off some work, or drive home.  Just sit, relax, chat and catch up.  

 

This morning the weekend had to end.  But it with pumpkin pancakes and a smooth flight home.

 

 

Blasted Church Winery

 

Blasted Church is one of our favourite wineries. Why wouldn't it be?

• Amazing location on the bluffs overlooking Skaha Lake
• Huge selection of wines
• Whimsical labels.
• Great signage
• Awesome sense of humour
• and their wines taste pretty good too.

 

The story is the town of Okanagan Falls needed a church.  A nearby deserted mining town had one they weren't using. So a crew set of to dismantle the old wooden church and bring it back. The demolition man, Hatfield, blew up the church. Kind of. A controlled blast of dynamite loosened the nails and spared the wood. Except the steeple.  It didn't survive.  The 108 year old church now stands in Okanagan Falls.

 

When Chris and Evelyn Campbell bought the winery it was called Prpich Hills. How exciting is that? Not! So the winery got a new name and new labels. And this year they retired those irreverent labels and are introducing equally good, if not better new labels.  

 

Our favourite wines?  All of them! Seriously. What we have in our wine rack right now:

Hatfield's Fuse 2007 x 2

Hatfield's Fuse 2009

Chardonnay Musque 2006

Mixed Blessings 2008

Nothing Sacred 2007

Big Bang 2009 x 2

Riesling 2009 (now sold out)

Amen Port de Merlot

 

We're going to the Midnight Service on October 8th. Anyone want to come with us? Memphis Blues BBQ provides the food, Ruthie Foster is the entertainment and of course the wine is Blasted Church.

 

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery

Years ago I had a glass of Burrowing Owl wine with dinner at a restaurant and really enjoyed it. Since then Burrowing Owl Winery has been on my list of wineries to visit.

I enjoyed our visit here.  The tasting room is an average size but the staff were really friendly.  There is a tasting fee of $2.00 (which is donated to the Burrowing Owl Recovery Society).  We split one tasting as I'm driving and hubby has to fly later.  They were not stingy on the samplings. There was more then enough in each pour for hubby and I to enjoy a reasonable taste. Unsurprisingly we pretty much liked all the whites we tried.

 

 

It's interesting tasting wine that is not yet ready for consumption.  We tasted two - a 2008 Syrah and a 2008 Merlot. Both are too young to drink, they need to be in the bottle for at least another year, preferably 5 to 7.  When you taste them, you have to caste your tastebuds into the future and imagine what the wine will became.  Neither tasted really awful. It was more like all the goodness is already there but that a little something was missing, Give them 2-3 years and they will be perfectly delicious. At least we hope so. 

 

Burrowing Owl also has a restaurant and a guest house. One day, when I win lotto, we'll go back and try both.

 

NK'MIP Cellars

 

In all our trips to the Okanagan we have never been to Nk'Mip Cellars. Not sure why. This trip our goal was to visit different wineries. Our first stop?  Nk'Mip. Nk'Mip is pronounced In-ka-meep. It is the first Aboriginal owned and operated winery in North America. The Osoyoos Indian Band, who operate Nk'Mip, own approximately 32,000 acres of land. Including the Nk'Mip Resort -consisting of the winery, golf course, interpretive centre, spa, restaurant and accommodation.

 

I throughly enjoyed the time we spent here. The tasting room is huge and light and airy with stain-glass windows, sculptures, and artwork. The tasting staff were very friendly.  They didn't make you feel stupid and they answered the same questions over and over again. Wine tastings are free, there is small fee for tasting the premium wines, it was $2.00 I think, don't quote me on that though. There is also a free winery tour, we missed it by about 10 minutes and didn't wait for the next one (11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm). We'll do it next time, I think it would be very informative.

 

We tasted about 5 or 6 wines, and they were generous servings.  We were particularly partial to the 2009 Reisling and the 2007 Merlot from the Nk'Mip range.  All $20.00 or under.  Pretty good. From the premium line, Qwam Qwmt, we both liked the 2007 meritage ($30.00).  I'd quite happily serve any of the Nk'Mip wines to family and friends.

 

Down the road short ways is the Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre.  A real short ways, you can easily walk there in a couple of minutes.  We didn't stop, Hubby was not a museum/cultural centre mood.  I think it would be worth it. From the website "Extensive indoor and outdoor exhibit galleries create a fun, interactive learning environment with hands-on displays, education stations and two multi-media theatre experiences."

 

And I am definitely coming back to spend a night or two at the Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort and Spa. Breakfast sitting on the balcony of a room overlooking the valley, the morning at the Desert Cultural Centre, a bike ride and a picnic lunch, the Desert Bliss Body Polish or Luxury Lavender Body Treatment at the Sonora Desert Spa, a nap, ending with dinner at the  Passa Tempo Restuarant.  Next morning I'd have eggs benedict at the restaurant, tour the winery, taste some wines, buy some wines and then head home. Hubby are you paying attention - this would make a good birthday or anniversary gift.