Mom-and-pop places
I get my feet wet, too -- quite literally -- at the House of Rose Winery. While some wineries here (including Mission Hill and Quails' Gate) radiate sophistication, the charm of the Okanagan can be found in its many small, mom-and-pop places like House of Rose.
This is where I slip off my shoes and socks, climb a small set of steps and slide into the muck, placing my bare feet into about a foot of juice and skins and vines, the last remnants of a few thousand partially crushed and awfully runny grapes.
The red slush is surprisingly cold, and I grit my teeth as I give them a good stomp. The proto-vino slides through my toes, slimy and unpleasant, as I pull up the bottom fringes of my shorts and do my very best to keep the grape juice from splashing onto my limited supply of clothes.
After a couple minutes, I've had enough; climbing back out of the barrel, I chat with Aura Rose, the current owner. Still family-run, House of Rose was opened by her father, Vern, a retired teacher, in 1993.
They cultivate just five acres on site, making three white wines, three dessert wines, a rosé and three reds, including their bestseller, a full-bodied blend called Hot Flash.
The blend's name was born on an evening when Aura and a number of other women of a certain age were sipping wine and eating, admittedly a bit tipsy, and one friend underwent an actual hot flash.
"Women love it," she says with a wan smile. "And it's great with cheese."