Almost Summer Newsletter
Hey there, you beautiful wine adventurer!! It's time for my June (well let’s call it my late spring/almost summer because let’s be honest I haven’t been able to get many of these out there) Farm to Glass Wine Tours newsletter.
Pour yourself a glass of beautiful BC wine, sit your butt down and let’s dive in!
Well I be darned… what an amazing start to the wine adventuring season. I honestly wasn’t sure what this season would look like. I thought maybe people would be a bit gun shy to visit this season but it’s been BUSY. I really think this is a great year to visit, there is tons of amazing wine with more being released every few weeks. It’s looking like this will be my busiest season yet and that’s thanks to amazing people like yourselves, so thank you!
June in Canada is National Indigenous History Month and I was very fortunate to be invited to the US Consulate in Vancouver this past Monday to celebrate Indigenous Agriculture and Agribusiness. There are amazing indigenous restaurants, businesses and entrepreneurs in the Okanagan and BC. Check out Cree-ation Nation Experiences (@creeationnation) or if you are in Vancouver, you must dine at Salmon ‘n Bannock on West Broadway or at YVR airport if you’re travelling internationally. I also had the opportunity to try wines from Camins2Dreams from the Santa Rita Hills - if anyone has SOMM TV, winemaker Tara and her wine Maria were featured in an episode of Verticals. Their wines were amazing and hopefully we will see them in the BC market in the months to come. Visiting Indigenous Tourism BC’s website is always a great place to go as well.
It’s also Pride month and Farm to Glass takes pride in being an ally to the LGBTQ+2S community. I’ve also been working at getting Rainbow Registered Accreditation. More to come soon!
Farm to Glass Wine Tours got nominated for Best of Penticton: Best Wine Tour Service - the results aren’t out yet but should be soon but honestly it was just lovely to be nominated. Thanks to everyone who voted - I love a good social media competition so it will be fun to see the results. If you want to know the tea/gossip of what has happened because of this (I know some of you know) I will write about it at the end of the newsletter. It’s pretty juicy.
Lastly, I’ve been recording more podcast episodes with Luke from The Sipsters Podcast. I’m flattered that he has asked me to be in the episodes on the regular and you can find our most recent episodes here.
But let’s get into some news, here we go:
My favourite bubbles winemakers Jay & Wendy Rose of Bella Wines in Naramata have passed along the reigns to the amazing and lovely winemaker, Brianna (Bree) McKeage! This is MAJORLY AWESOME and I’m excited for everyone because for the next two vintages they will be collaborating together along with Bree's husband Rajen of Ursa Major. Read more about it in Scout Magazine here.
I’ve added a couple of new wineries to the Farm to Glass line up including the fabulous Little Engine Winery in Penticton, and Apara Winery which is sharing space with Rigour & Whimsy in OK Falls. Also I had my wine socks knocked off when I did a tasting at Hugging Tree Winery in the Similkameen Valley and the wines are just too good to not share with you. Little Farm Winery in the Similkameen Valley is also open for tastings this season being run by the amazing Kaitlyn (previously of Maverick and BC Wine Studio) and for those who have had tastings with her know you will be in for a damn good time, with great wine made by Rhys Pender, Master of Wine.
Are you in Penticton on a Friday evening? If so, you must check out the tastings at The Standard. This beautiful co-working space filled with local art turns into an event space in the evenings and every Friday from 4pm-6:30pm there are a rotating number of small producers pouring their wines for a flat fee of $15. Last week it was Terravista and Synchromesh, Roche, Canter Cellars and Scout. The space is stunning and if you ever need an event space for (insert fun thing here) then this spot might be the one!
There’s also a new cafe spot in Penticton called Soe, a Japanese & Danish inspired cafe featuring vintage designer wood and metal chairs around the counter, café tables, and a communal long table with curated magazines for browsing. Follow them on IG as they also have great pop-up wine nights featuring producers like Keenan and Ursa Major. This is the new hip place on the block… well maybe the first, ha! Their IG is @soe.cafe
Do you love visiting in the fall? Well great news, I’ve expanded my bookings until the end of October. I just have this super spidey feeling that the fall is going to be stunning this year. So bookings will be open right up until Oct. 31st.
Still planning your visit but don’t know when you come? It’s always a good idea to check out what’s happening in the town you will be staying in. Here’s an example of what is going on in Penticton: https://www.visitpenticton.com/event/ Fun fact: did you know there’s an Elvis festival? Elvis can’t help falling in love with BC wine, and neither can we!
Did you know you can buy wine adventures as gift certificates? It’s wedding season and you know what makes a perfect gift? A romantic private wine tour for 2! I’ve also been hired to surprise loved ones and also Lulita the Tesla hides birthday cakes very easily… the opportunities are endless! Just email me if you want to know more.
Are you maybe planning on a last minute visit? Just to give you a head’s up that my website doesn’t allow bookings less than 36 hours in advance. If this is ever the case it’s best to call or text me at 604-787-6132 or email at jess@farmtoglasswinetours.ca. The first week of July is pretty packed but the middle of July is still looking great…
… plus I also have the half day wine tasting, half day sailing adventure which you can find out more here. I saw the sailboat anchored yesterday evening with guests paddleboarding and swimming and it looked just heavenly.
Remember you can save 15% off any wine tour (including sailing) with the promo code: AWESOMEFIFTEEN
Planning a trip and don’t know where to stay? Here’s some of my favourites.
Ok… so if you’re reading this until the end… or maybe you just skipped til the end because you wanted the tea, here it is:
I’m on a tour at the beginning of May and I get a phone call where I can tell it’s a provincial government # but don’t know what department so I step away from my guests and answer the call. Here’s how it went:
Caller: “Hello my name is XXXX and I am a commercial vehicle inspector. I first just want to say that you are not in trouble, I just want to make this courtesy call to you before I send off the mandatory email you will receive shortly.”
Me: …. Ok…. (slight panic)
Inspector: I had someone make a complaint stating that you are operating without the proper licences and I’ve checked everything already and you’re good and doing everything by the book but I just wanted to reach out and tell you this has happened.
Me: “I KNEW this would happen which is why from the beginning I made sure that I have all my ducks in all their rows… I even have additional insurance above and beyond what I need. I’ve always had the feeling that someone might do this and I had something similar happen my first year to a lesser degree so I’ve always wanted to protect myself.”
Inspector: “I’m so sorry…. But can I also be very candid with you…”
Me getting very excited to hear the tea: “Yes please, tell me.”
Inspector: “I’m a level one commercial vehicle inspector who’s also about to retire soon, this petty reporting is not what I should doing with my valuable time. I have to tell you that the person who made the complaint also made it against another tour operator.”
Me: “Really? Can I take a guess that the other operator is XXXX from XXXXXXX?”
Inspector: “I cannot confirm nor deny that.”
Me: “I fully understand.” - (that’s a yes for those that don’t know, ha).
That’s the bones of the conversation, I’m not allowed to know who made the complaint but I do have a very good guess who it is. I will also state that the other tour operator who got a complaint is also a women owned business. That pisses me off. Period.
Though I don’t know who it is here’s what I believe:
I think it is another tour operator who made the complaint. In fact, I’m almost certain of it. It also happened right after I got nominated for Best of Penticton.
What irks me the most here is that all transportation licences are public access, so it’s very easy to check. Also, all this information is listed on my website here or you know… they could’ve just called or emailed to ask.. It really isn’t THAT hard.
I was really mad about this for a while but I’ve chilled out now and am starting to take it as a compliment. Though c’mon, my business is not taking away from anyone else's, no one does wine tours the Farm to Glass way and if my 70-90 guests a year from the 2 million people that visit the region yearly is hurting your business then I don’t know what to say.
That’s my rant. I always love to hear from you so drop me a line any time.
Well thanks for reading and as always…
Be Kind, Drink Wine
Xoxo Jess (Owner, Guide & Fun Person)