April 30th Newsletter: LEVEL Up Your Dining + 13 Things Happening
Spring is definitely here, and it fact it's gloriously beautiful and it's such a great time of year to visit. Any winery that isn't already open to the public, will be as of May long weekend and then it's full steam ahead!
The apricot blossoms are ahhhhhh-mayyyyy-zing! The bees are buzzing, the sap is flowing through the grapevines as they wake up from their winter slumber. If we have a nice warm and dry spring.... this could mean the beginning of a great growing season. I've heard a mix bag of reviews of potential winter (frost) damage... but grapevines are resilient little buggers, it's impressive!
As Farm to Glass grows, I'm always looking at taking wine adventures to the next level. So I'm happy to announce that this season I'm offering guests to have dining experiences at a selection of winery restaurants, as well as food trucks, outdoor patios and the Naramata Inn. For more information about LEVEL UP, visit here.
- Love Syrah? Then you probably know Le Vieux Pin's Cuvée Violette and the 2021 has just been released!
- The Wine Lexicon.... Does wine makes no sense to people who don't have access to those fruits or foods or aromas? An interesting article and though there is a pay wall, you can read this one without subscribing.
- One of my favourite Malbec's won Platinum ath the Lt. Governor's Wine Awards! Fox&Archer's 2020 Malbec is a stunner and guess what... it's a regular stop on my Naramata Wine Tour as well as the East vs West: Summerland/Naramata Wine Tour
- Vancouver! I hear there's still some tickets for th ultimate wine dinner experience at Maenam featuring wines from one of my Similkameen favs, Orofino! It's May 8th at 6:30pm. Find tickets via Maenam's IG page.
- Speaking of Similkameen, don't forget to pick up your Similkameen Wine Passport from the local visitor centre or participating wineries/cideries. Collect codes from your visit, and enter to win an amazing Similkameen lover's package. Bonus: you'll see a super duper schnazzy advertisement from yours truly...hehehe. You can also download it for easy access!
- Have you dined at Pizzeria Tratto in Penticton? Add it to your list on your visit! My personal secrect: when you order pizza, ask for a side of their caesar dressing as a dip for the crust.... you can thank me later.
- There's a new Spanish Tapas & Gin bar coming to Penticton! CHULO Tapas & Bar is a beautiful smash up of the minds of Chef Pierre Geronimo of Origine Catering and Marrow Vermouth's Shawn Dalton. There's a pop-up teaser on May 7th at Tratto if you're around and in town!
- Champagne of Beers!? More like Beers Crushed by Champagne... hahahaha. I hope they at least recycled the cans. Champagne got all bubbles mafia on Miller and I have questions. Why would the beer wizards of Belgium, want Miller High Life? Right?!
- I LOVE ME A GOOD SALE! Narrative is having a wicked 25% case sale (but it ends today, April 30th!) so go get it!
- Getting certified organic is hard work and takes years in the making, so congrats to Clos du Soleil for certifying La Côte Vineyard!
- Podcast lovers! Take a listen to TRIPOLOGY: The Traveller's Podcast and have some propper giggles with Adam and Alun as they tell stories from their backpacking journeys around the world. They're banter is wonderful, and their insights are incredibly unique and thoughtful, even touching on important topics like mental health. Also... you may recoginze Adam's voice if you're ever visited Daydreamer wines in Naramata. Though he wears many hats at the winery, you'll most often find him in the Wine Shack Tasting Room.
- If you haven't heard, I've launched a new wine tour: Wonder Woman of Wine | Okanagan Women Winemaker Tour
- Lastly... and I'll report back in a later newsletter. When you will be reading this, I will just have returned from a trip to LA where I had the opportunity to share some Naramata wines from Bella, Daydreamer, Nichol and Lock & Worth with one of my own podcast favs, Adam Huss of Organic Wine Podcast.
Be Kind, Drink Wine.
xoxo Jess (Owner, Guide & Fun Person)