Food & Drink

Hester Creek Character Red

Photo: Contributed Wine: Hester Creek 2021 Character Red Winery: Hester Creek Estate Winery Why drink it? Named British Columbia Winery of the Year in 2023 by Great Northwest Wine Magazine, Hester Creek has roots dating back to 1968 when an Italian-Canadian named Joe Busnardo began

Small-batch winery opens

Casey Richardson New wineries keep launching in Summerland this spring and the newest one to open is small-batched and focused on only a few varietals that shine in the Garnet Valley area. Solvero Wines quietly opened its doors on Friday with a soft opening, run by Matthew Sartor, the pres

Party at the finish line

Photo: Don Urquhart The joy of the finish line! The 15th Half Corked Marathon kicks off this weekend with 1,100 runners taking on a 20km route through the lush vineyards around Oliver. Now in its 15th consecutive year (even through the pandemic) this year carries a theme of "Ba

Space-age food

Photo: Wikipedia/NASA Pre-packaged food for astronauts. This week, another group of private astronauts arrived at the International Space Station. They work for Space X, and will do scientific experiments and community outreach, like talking to school kids from space. NASA is sti

Rolls up rim to new car

Photo: Google Maps Armstrong Tim Hortons. Marty Eckert was just sitting at home on his couch on a Thursday night in March, when he realized he had 16 “rolls” on his Tim Hortons app. “I won a few free coffees, and then it came to the last roll,” Eckert says fr

Moving the culinary arts

Photo: Jenny Popoff Neeley Brimer and Bruno Terroso both have passions for food that goes well beyond simply preparing something to eat. They realized that connection once they started working together at Hooded Merganser Restaurant in Penticton Lakeside Resort. The result is Bluebo

Weather challenges cherries

Casey Richardson It hasn’t been an easy start for the cherry growing season in the Okanagan, with a cold April followed by record-high temperatures in May damaging crops. Balpreet Gill, who is the operations manager for Gold Star Fruit Company in Oliver, said that his cherry harvest

2021 Transfiction Rosé

Photo: Contributed Wine: Red Barn Winery at Jagged Rock 2021 Transfiction Rosé Winery: Red Barn Winery at Jagged Rock Why drink it? A blend of hand-harvested Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Sangiovese, this medium pink sipper is unusual because of the Sangiovese, far from a common

Getting down and dirty

Photo: Castanet They say April showers bring May flowers. In the Okanagan this year, we seem to have mostly skipped the rain and jumped ahead to the flowers. I love seeing the spring blossoms, and perennial plants are the garden gift that keeps on giving. I love having the instant grat

Financial help for wineries

Photo: Tourism Kelowna Farm Credit Canada has vowed to step up and help the B.C. wine industry make up for impending losses due to last winter’s cold spell. Wine Growers BC is predicting there will be a 39 per cent to 56 per cent drop in wine and grape production this year due to

First Nation food security

Photo: Facebook/OKIB The chief of the Okanagan Indian Band says the announcement of provincial funding is an important step toward Indigenous food sovereignty. The OKIB is among 15 First Nations across B.C. to each receive $80,000 for cultural food programs. "The Indigenous

Watch out for fawns

Photo: Penticton Animal Care & Control Penticton's Animal Care and Control Services are reminding dog walkers to be on alert now that baby deer and protective does are back out. "Please keep your dogs on leash and give sufficient room when passing by a doe with or without

Pub crawl with free rides

Photo: Castanet Bright Eye Brewing on Tranquille Road is one of the stops on a pub crawl planned for next Friday, put on by Downtown Kamloops and the NSBIA. Downtown Kamloops and the North Shore Business Improvement Association are hosting a pub crawl next week that will include establ

'Refined' restaurant opens

Casey Richardson A new restaurant opened in downtown Penticton is excited to “extend their kitchen to the rest of the community.” Kin & Folk had their grand opening day on Tuesday, after many months of renovations and fine-tuning the space at 557 Main Street alongside their

Township 7 Polaris

Photo: Contributed/Township 7 Wine: Township 7 2019 Seven Stars Polaris Sparkling Wine Winery: Township 7 Why drink it? Polaris gets its name from our galaxy’s North Star and is the main bubble in Township 7’s sparkling program. Like the star, this classy sparkling wine

Remembering Julia Child

Photo: Wikipedia/Lynn_Gilbert Julia Child's cooking show, The French Chef, was one of the first cooking programs on television. I was watching a show about the late Julia Child recently, showcasing her rise to fame as a television star. Did you know she had one of the first cook

Crush pad turns into winery

Casey Richardson The community celebrated the official opening of a Summerland Winery on Thursday, as the former crush pad became a featured shop. Haywire Winery unveiled its new tasting room, wines and design to local industry members with owners Christine Coletta and Steve Lorie. When

Cambium Cidery expands

Chelsey Mutter Guests returning to Vernon's Cambium Cidery (formerly BX Press) are sure to notice something different. The cidery has added a new restaurant, built a kitchen, dining room and new patio space along with it. Owners Melissa Dobernigg and Christian Scott joke that guests

Hillside 2021 Viognier

Photo: Contributed Wine: Hillside Winery 2021 Heritage Series Viognier Winery: Hillside Winery Why drink it? Viognier is an ancient wine grape associated with France’s Rhone Valley, where it likely ended up after the Romans went through in the third century. Flash forward to n

'Thanks, mom'

Photo: Contributed When I was a kid, I was weird. I liked wearing a flowery embroidered purple tunic with just about anything, regardless of colour or pattern (it was my favourite top). I wore horizontally striped socks with skirts. I carried a book bag years before any of my schoolmat