Taste Your Way through the Okanagan Imagine a valley floor filled with a 144 km-long lake, wildlife including bighorn sheep, cougars and rattlesnakes and rainfall of less than 30 cm a year, but with the greatest concentration of wineries and orchards that you can imagine. The Okanagan Valley is the heart of British Columbia’s grape-growing region and boasts more than 130 licensed wineries. An ever-changing panorama, the valley stretches for more than 240 km across distinct sub-regions, each with different microclimates suited to a range of varietals. Oliver (named for long-ago British Columbia Premier John Oliver) and Osoyoos (which shares a name with one of seven Okanagan bands; pronounce it “oo-SUE-yooze”) are standouts for their concentration of vineyards and wineries. Together, the towns boast 39 wineries that extend from the lush valley into the semi-arid mountains that surround the area. Prior to the development of the wine industry, almost all of the agricultural land in the Oliver area was planted first to ground crops and, later, to fruit trees such as cherries, apples, apricots and peaches. Add to this the Okanagan’s natural beauty (it’s a hallowed summer vacation spot for Western Canadians), its wide range of non-wine-related things for the whole family to do − from riding the century-old Kettle Valley steam train and swimming in those pristine lakes to biking and hiking, and its lush orchards selling juicy peaches and cherries on the roadside − and you’ve got a wine-country experience like no other. Before becoming a wine destination, the Okanagan was a family holiday spot, best known for its “beaches and peaches” − the lakes with their sandy shores, boating and water-skiing, as well as the countless farm stands offering fresh produce and fruit. The beaches and peaches − and cherries, apricots and apples − are still there, and the Okanagan still welcomes families. RV Lifestyle Worth Pondering… “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. − Lewis Carrol CSANews | SUMMER 2021 | 29
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