The Grapes of Quail's Gate

I remember visiting the B.C. interior as a kid. Summer camping trips by the lake or a quick stop-over on the way to Vancouver. My memories are of cheap motels, mediocre “family restaurants” and cheesy tourist attractions. I know I enjoyed myself immensely, as the weather and my dad’s holiday-induced generosity made for a good time. As an adult, I have not spent much time there. When my kids were little, camping had become too much of a hassle – over-crowding and mandatory reservations sucked the “relax” out of the trip – and in recent years we usually focused on Vancouver and its delights.

But recently I received an opportunity to join a “lifestyle media” tour of Kelowna and Kamloops. It allowed me to see these two centres in a whole new light. A burgeoning food culture is arising in the region, in large part due to the success of its wine industry. Tourists are no longer coming just for the sun, beach and Ogopogo stories. They are flocking to the region to sample quality wine, eat first class food, and experience outdoor activities that rival mountain resorts.

“But wait,” I hear you saying, “you’re a beer guy! What do you care about wine, food and golf?” Well, man cannot live by barley alone. Plus the tour offered a nice sampling of the nascent beer life growing in the region. I might be a beer guy, but I also like to think that I am a keen observer of people and places. And I come away from the trip recognizing the transformation over the past three decades of these two towns.

They are still very different centres. Kelowna offers itself as a centrally located anchor of the Okanagan region, while Kamloops remains anchored as an ideally located transportation hub. Kelowna is becoming more gentrified, while Kamloops retains its working class roots (which warms my Northeast Edmonton heart).

Beer in Kelowna is mostly limited to Tree Brewing, a stalwart in Canada’s craft brewing scene. I visited Tree 12 years ago shortly after it opened, and to see it in 2010 was remarkable. While its brew system hasn’t grown, it now boasts seven 100 hectolitre uni-tanks, allowing for four batches per fermenter. I estimate (they wouldn’t reveal the number) they are up to 20,000 hec’s per year – an impressive feat.

However, wine is king in Kelowna. I spent some time at Quail’s Gate, which is a leader in B.C.’s high-end wine industry. The wines were consistently well crafted and I appreciated the range of varietals. My personal favourite was the Old Vine Foch, although we had to leave before the fortified wines came out – a pity. I quite appreciated our visit to Tantalus Wines, a small, boutique winery that produces a tiny fraction of Quail’s Gate volume. The Vintner proudly showed us around his brewhouse, offering samples of recently harvested, unfermented must from his vats. The wines didn’t have the same degree of refinement of the senior wineries, but the potential is clearly there, and it will be a winery I will seek out in the future.

Tantalus' Brew Room

I don’t pretend to be a foodie, but the food highlight was our evening offering at the Hotel Eldorado restaurant, where our cook was none other than the Food Network’s “Chef Off!“ co-host Michael Lyon. Lyon whipped up an exclusive dinner for us, paired with appropriate wines, that was exquisite. The hot chocolate souffle dessert lingered in my stomach for days it was so rich and delicious.

The whirlwind nature of the tour prevented me from assessing how Kelowna is as a city, but I get a sense that their efforts to upscale are being aided by their desirable climate and unparalleled wine access. It gave me enough to want to spend a couple of days there sussing out what only the locals might know.

Canada's Newest Brewpub - More Later...

Kamloops offered a more grounded experience of pubs, factories and walking tours. I appreciated spending some time walking through the downtown – in midst of a re-vitalization. Interestingly the city is trying to promote a Pub Crawl of key downtown pubs. I was skeptical at first, but come away believing there is enough beer stuff going on to make a multi-day visit worthwhile. The undisputed beer highlight was the VERY new Noble Pig Brewpub. It was impressive enough to deserve its own post, so you will have to wait to read about my appreciation of this place.

We also hit the Frick & Frack, which has an uneven, but extensive beer list. It is committed to B.C. brewers and so offers a wide range of local beer, from Granville Island to Stanley Park to Okanagan Springs (which isn’t really a micro anymore since it is owned by Sapporo of Japan). A particular highlight is Crannog’s Bogtrotter Brown (Crannog is Canada’s only certified organic brewery and only available on tap in B.C.). The manager also pulled out a couple of rare beer for us, including Ontario’s Flying Monkey Hoptical Illusion, which lives up to its reputation. I offered my goodnights when the crowd hit the casino (gambling is not my thing – unless it is trying a beer of which I had never heard), so I cannot directly attest to how the rest of the evening went (although oddly most reported coming home with money still in their pocket).

The tour tried hard to demonstrate that Kamloops has something to offer everyone – from golf to sports facilities to ginseng spas. Clearly the city is in transition, and there are a number of impressive amenities. I am left thinking that Kamloops is about potential – that in another 10 years it will have a very diverse attraction for tourists.

For now it still has some highlights. I was itching to hit their bike trail system, which snakes the river and, even though mostly flat, likely offers some lovely scenery and a good ride. What may be their best treasure is not a classic tourist spot. It is the Secwepemc Museum and Heritage Park – a first nations run museum located in an old residential school. Displays that talk about the very real history of that building, combined with outdoor re-creations of area aboriginal housing (pit houses) over the millennium. The significance of a first nations people reclaiming an historical abomination was very powerful for me, plus the bannock and smoked candied salmon they offered as a social lubricant was to die for.

If you live in Western Canada, you have undoubtedly been through the two K’s. The question is whether you stopped for a few days for anything other than the sun and beach. After a crazy couple of days seeing regional highlights – as the tourism people see them – I can honestly say I would enjoy spending a few, more leisurely, days hanging out in both cities to explore both the attractions I was shown on the tour but also to get a better feel of both cities. I suspect I like Kamloops more, but it may just be my kind of city – honest, working class and quietly improving. Plus it has the Noble Pig (just as a teaser for a few days from now…)