Monday 11 August 2014

Grape Run.

Last Friday, Kristin, Nicola and I headed out of the city with two intentions; enjoying a weekend adventure, and topping up our wine cupboards. We don't exactly have 'cellar' at this point in our lives. If I'm being completely honest, I have a difficult time keeping two or three bottles on hand.

Regardless, I really enjoy the B.C. wines, and even more so, when I have a chance to pick them out myself. I even find myself hesitant to drink the ones, that I hand picked from the winery. Visualizing where it came from seems to form a special attachment. Silly, I realize.

The first leg of the journey took us to the ranch, for a quick overnight, as it is the perfect 'hub' for adventures such as this, with the idea of hitting the road early the following day, to head to the Okanagan.

Knowing it was going to be a hot one, we made a quick stop to top up the water for the horses, and then headed down the dirt road towards the Coquihalla Connector.

This meant, doing some 'ranch jobs' dressed for the wineries. I'm glad the neighbours weren't around to witness how silly I must have looked cleaning out the water trough in a silk dress accessorized with a rhinestone bracelet. Of course.

 Cheyenne, however, appreciated my efforts.


As forecasted, it was quite a toasty day. We watched the hillside burn and smoulder from a forest fire as we drove through Peachland. Luckily by the end of the day it was mostly contained, and then completely under control by Sunday.

After arriving in Naramata we hit up Poplar Grove, La Frenz (My favourite), and Hillside wineries.






Entry to La Frenz- Beyond the Blue Umbrella

Entry to La Frenz Winery- BTBU

The Vineyard at La Frenz -BTBU

Outside of Hillside Winery, Naramat, BC - BTBU





Entry to Hillside Winery- BTBU


Lunch at Hillside Winery- BTBU


Girls at Lunch- Hillside Winery- BTBU

Girls overlook view from Hillside Winery

girls overlook view from Hillside winery- BTBU



After a wonderful lunch at Hillside Winery, we headed for the river channel. From Penticton you can tube down the leisurely Okanagan river channel from Lake Okanagan to Skaha lake. 

Depending on the weather, it takes about 3 hours to float the entire journey. On a hot day, this a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. As we didn't bring our own flotation devices, and hadn't organized a ride to pick us up, we used Coyote Cruises.




We completed the day with a lakeside dinner, and headed back to the ranch by the light of the 'Super Moon'. Unfortunately this is the best photo I took of the moon. 


view of the Supermoon, Peachland, BC

More stories from the weekend tomorrow-

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