Chris D.
Yelp
My girlfriend and I were on vacation through Okanagan wine country. Over six days, we visited sixty wineries. You can follow our various locations with this disclaimer. That's sixty wineries, not an exaggeration. We ended the trip with 120 bottles acquired.
And this is why you travel to this region--this is why you make the effort. Road 13 is a @#$%^& castle, and I hope the censors allow that single expletive (even covered, they have a tendency of blocking it).
Okay, it's not technically a castle. I mean it doesn't have a moat or defensive structures. It's certainly unable to handle a siege, though if trapped within, it would provide the most delightful time until the cellar ran out of fermentations. I can think fewer places I'd rather be when the Mongols charged across the land. A truly astounding site, Road 13 is one of the best-looking wineries in the region, and proof positive that one is not required to travel to Tuscany or Napa Valley to partake a wine tour.
I fixated on the castle motif for some time, though in honesty, it's more a façade, and filled with half-cut barrel displays and curved walls filled with crimson-topped bottles, the tasting room is the only aspect medieval inspired. If you secure a more extensive wine tasting, your instance in the dated theme ends and you are escorted outside, across the grounds, to a modern glass-draped modern bistro overlooking the rolling vineyards, crossing centuries in seconds. Not jarring in any way.
It was in the lounge where we started our EXTREMILY all-encompassing wine sampling. There were several offered, and before the sun reached its zenith, we had enjoyed twelve glasses of wine. Twelve. The samples were miniscule to be sure, but even with the charcuterie pairing to help fill our stomachs, it was far too much alcohol so early in the day. Who do you think I am, Nicholas Cage baiting for Oscar glory?
I was okay by the hour's end; the girlfriend not so much, and she had to bow out of the next two wineries. Road 13 was also the visit that changed our approach to each location. If Road 13 is your only choice or one of only a handful, then by my guess, enjoy the lounge and partake in the long tour. You may even get a pleasant German host like we did. We ended up taking home three bottles, though decided afterward we couldn't survive the trip taking such extensive wine samplings at each location.
I didn't mention my opinion on the actual wines yet, but they are...fine. They're all right. This is one of those occurrences where the location and the experience of the visit greatly outweighed the quality of the wine. I mean it's not bad wine--we got three bottles, but the location is amazing. If you visit only one winery in the region...well...you'd be an idiot, but if so, I think this would be the one the most aesthetically pleasing.
one of the best in the region. Don't miss this place.