March 2004 Tour

A birthday party invitation in Kelowna provided us with an opportunity to explore more Wineries of the Okanagan. Apart from family events our plans were to visit Naramata Bench and St HubertuS Estate Winery.

Leaving the city of Kelowna which is situated on the eastern shore of Okanagan Lake, we drove across the Okanagan Lake Bridge, built in 1958 it is the longest floating bridge in North America (7/8 mile). Once across the bridge, highway 97 follows the Okanagan Lake to it's southern tip where lies the city of Penticton . The Westminister Hwy exit takes you through the down town area following the Naramata road signs.

A lovely drive through the countryside, through orchards and farm land, with a breath taking view of the lake and vineyards. Row after row of vines cascading down the slopes to the waters edge

We were in for a grand day.

Our first stop, Hillside Estate Winery . The winery began in 1984 when Vera and Bohumir Klolocka began replacing their apricot orchard with wine grapes. In 1989, Vera, along with two other small vineyards, lobbied the BC government to produce and sell their wine to the public directly from their site. Their s the Farm Gate Winery Policy which allows vineyards, less than five acres, to sell their wines at the “farm gate".
The winery was sold in 1994 to a group of investors who built the current winery using a timber frame wood structure
The structure includes a 72 foot tower over- looking the vineyards and lake. The cellar was dug deep into the surrounding hillside.

Upon our arrival we were warmly greeted by one of Hillsides assistant winemakers Bonnie, who was busy pruning the vines. After a pleasant conversation Bonnie we were directed to the winery tasting room.

We were warmly greeted by Robbin upon entering the Hillside tasting room. The architectural wooden structure of the building was quite impressive. The wine shop provided a variety of wines exclusive to HIllside, such as the Elvis Presley Series, which can not be found at home.

Robbin invited us to explore the winery. The rustic Barrel Room Bistro, which offers delightful lunches and dinners was still closed for the season. A second story patio offers an amazing view of Okanagan Lake and its' surrounding orchards and vineyards. We packed up our purchased treasures and set off for Naramata village. We will definitely return again in the summer.

Naramata is off the beaten path and most of the wineries close down for the winter.When driving along winding country roads, pay close attention to the signs directing you to the wineries, they are not that apparent and could easily be overlooked. We stopped along the road side to observe a new facility under construction by Red Rooster. We turned around and headed up the hillside to Lang Vineyard which was closed for the winter, accepting appointments only.* We took a few images of the wine shop and vineyards ( first photo on this page) .

It was now time to return to Kelowna.

The parking lot was full when we arrived at the winery.
The surrounding area reflected no signs of the summers terrible forts fire. From the parking lot we could see the new home under construction a and the new winery which at just been completed.

The only sign of the fire was the burnt truck that previous sat in front of the wine shop lost in the fire . Leo Gerbert and his wife Barbara also lost their family home in the fire.

The wine shop was open It was time to test the wines

We were graciously great by Barbara Gebert. Her bright smile and cheerful manner made us realize that the hard time were passed and St HubertuS was once again proceeding full full steam ahead producing some of BC finer wines.

 

The gift shop reflected memories of the fire. Banners and T shorts with the photo above by Sarah Murdock Black were for sale printed with the words Think Your having a Bad Day.

I had also purchased a ball cap for my collection

St HuburtuS bottled a Fireman's Red Gamay Noir to honor the fire fighters.

Leo gave me a guided tour of the vineyard.

It was really good to see the high spirits of the Gebert Brothers Andy and Leo and their families as they continue their dream of producing top quality wines in the Okanagan.