John Schreiner's Okanagan Wine Tour Guide

John Abbott is a professor of history at Laurentian University’s Algoma University College. He is the co-author of The Border at Sault Ste Marie and The History of Fort St. Joseph.

Readers looking for an introduction to the wines and wine growers of
British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley would do well to choose this book.
John Schreiner, a widely respected wine writer, has ferreted out almost
every wine producer in the region, from cash-strapped novices making a
few hundred cases in the corner of somebody else’s winery, to peers of
the vinous realm squeezing out a hundred thousand. This guide will also
serve the needs of those touring the Okanagan.

Schreiner’s introductions to the winemakers are deft, indeed. What in
less skilful hands would be a series of potted biographies are, in his,
a succession of warm, personal stories, each conveying a sense of what
shapes the character of the people involved. Take the chequered career
of Thomas Scott Montagu Doughty IV. Famous for his Three Barrel Merlot
and One Barrel Chardonay, he modestly uses only “Montagu” in the
wine’s designation, but quixotically follows that with “Cellars
Winery” when, in fact, his stock of four barrels is sequestered, not
in cellars, but in a corner of the Poplar Grove Winery. His career path
reveals one who has made an admirable decision—to immerse himself in
the craft to the point of taking oenological orders. On the other hand,
in those few cases where the whole is infinitely greater than the human
parts, we are told so, but in a generous way: “Touring Mission Hill is
more like visiting Buckingham Palace. The winery’s jaw-dropping beauty
together with the studied formality of the staff sweeps visitors away
and sets up high expectations for the wines—which they live up to.”

Those who love dining at winery restaurants can enjoy bratwurst or
schnitzel at Crowsnest Vineyards, washed down with a Samtrot (a wine
made from an obscure, red German grape), or opt for an equally
satisfying but more sophisticated experience at Gray Monk. If terroir
matters, Schreiner has divided the Okanagan into its constituent parts
(from the Similkameen Valley to Vernon and Salmon Arm), with brief
descriptions followed by lists of the wineries located in each. In every
case, he indicates which wines are, in his estimation, the overall
winners. He also lists the oddball varieties, so that one could concoct
a tasting adventure based on those. He fails to include maps of the
region as a whole, and of the various subdivisions. Nevertheless, this
guide is highly recommended.