Tag Archives: Painted Rock Winery

Painted Rock & Poplar Grove Merlot from the Okanagan, British Columbia

kittenOKmerlotflowers1So being the Wine Predator that I am, I acquired numerous bottles of open and closed wine during and after the Wine Bloggers Conference that I either tasted before I left (nothing like a 3am taste and dump session to break your heart!) or I snaked across the border.

Somehow, I was blessed to bring home three bottles of Okanagan merlot (pictured). One bottle of these bottles that made it home open was Continue reading →

Some OK Falls & A Spectacular Painted Rock

For the first time, the Wine Bloggers Conference ended on Saturday night instead of Sunday (after announcing that 2014’s gathering will be in Santa Barbara which is practically in my backyard! So excited about that!!)

This left bloggers up to their own devices, and while many of them headed to flights from Kelowna or drives West to Vancouver or South and West toward Seattle and Portland, others stuck around for a day or two to learn more about wine in BC.

Personally, I knew I wanted to spend time at Tinhorn Creek. I’d met winemaker/CEO Sandra Oldfield in 2011 through Twitter where I also connected with her husband Kenn. I wanted to learn more about what it’s been like for her as a winemaker in this region for 20 years as well as about their sustainable practices–and about how she balances the demands of being a winemaker with being a mom.

But when I went on the excursion “Walk to Wine” where we trekked up a steep mountain and were greeted with a picnic with wine from the OK Falls winery association, and I tasted Painted Rock’s syrah and met owner John Skinner, I knew I had to somehow get there to hike to the painted rock, taste the wines, and learn more about his vision.

Luckily for me, John was willing to pick me up at the Lakeside Resort, home of this year’s Wine Blogger’s Conference and my home for the previous three days.PaintedRockArt

It was a beautiful hike to see the Painted Rock: Continue reading →