OSOYOOS, B.C. -- It was a gloriously sunny, searing hot day in the Okanagan Valley. But somewhere out there, hidden among the rock ridges and wild sage scrub, the spirit of coyote was watching.
I had just spent an enlightening afternoon at the Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre learning all about this mythical trickster (who looms large in the legends of the local Osoyoos Indian Band), hiking the dusty trails and working up a howling appetite.
So off to Nk'Mip Cellars I tramped, to slake my thirst with a crisp glass of award-winning chardonnay.
Like everything else about this $100-million, aboriginal-owned resort, the winery's outdoor Terrace restaurant is impressive. I appreciatively noted that wines are available in three-ounce tasting glasses (most vineyard restaurants force you to order a full five-ounce glass, which is stupidly irresponsible, given that the vast majority of visitors are driving). Then I began devouring a huge, $40 Nk'Mip Signature Platter for two (by myself).
The tasty sampler included a little bit of everything from the native-themed menu: a juicy slab of cedar-planked sockeye salmon splashed with sweet riesling reduction, candied smoked salmon in a moist hefty hunk (not those leathery strips of jerky), caramelized onions, chilled wild rice salad and thin slices of flat iron bison steak grilled rare, seasoned with juniper salt and drizzled with a tart blackberry gastrique.
The kitchen had unfortunately run out of bannock, but the nicely toasted rounds of crusty filone bread oozed garlic from every textured pore. I was truly enjoying the meal.
Then, just as I was about to lift a forkful of chunky stone fruit relish to my mouth, a gust of wind lifted the patio umbrella right off my table. The heavy wooden pole twisted around in the air and the round base rammed me hard, straight in the collar bone. Ouch!
Bruised and more than a little spooked, I wondered if this freak accident might be a sign from coyote. If so, what was he trying to tell me?
I chose to interpret this painful poke as a not-so-gentle reminder to spread the truth: A crop of talented chefs has descended on the Okanagan from all over Canada and now the opportunities for fine feasting in wine country are slowly but surely coming to fruition.
At Nk'Mip, for example, the menu was created by Roger Planiden, who left the Fairmont Vancouver Airport hotel last winter to become executive chef for all five of Vincor Canada's Okanagan-based wineries, collectively known as the Great Estates.
Further north, chef Bernard Casavant, the so-called elder statesman of the valley, was lured out of retirement to join Burrowing Owl Estate Winery in Oliver last year.
Some say that his Sonora Room offers the tastiest food to be found south of Kelowna. The restaurant is certainly lovely, but the food? Ho hum.
Beet soup ($10) is a gorgeous crimson, prettily garnished with a sprinkling of tiny lavender flowers and star-shaped swirl of basil crème fraîche. The window dressing, alas, can't conceal the lack of flavour.
Crispy Fraser Valley duck confit ($19) melts off the bone, but the skin is dry and overdone. The dish comes with a boring beige mound of chardonnay-braised cabbage. Salad is reduced to a few wilted leaves of unadorned watercress, and the olive oil and orange cake ($12) is stale.
To be fair, I didn't eat much. And the kitchen was obviously preoccupied.
It's time to hit Westbank to discover why Travel & Leisure magazine named Mission Hill Family Estate's Terrace one of the top five winery restaurants in the world.
Is it really that good? Yes, it really is.
With the wealth, uncompromising standards and world-class ambitions of this award-winning winery behind them, executive chef Michael Allemeier (formerly of Teatro in Calgary and Bishop's in Vancouver) and Terrace chef Matthew Batey are creating exceptionally exquisite epicurean delights that are as dramatically show-stopping as the grand hilltop edifice.
Though the $40-million winery feels austere, almost monastic, the food is delicate and whimsical. It's a fascinating juxtaposition.
Asparagus soup ($11) is a silky, emerald green velouté. The pure, garden fresh flavour is intensified, but not overpowered, by a spoonful of earthy pine nuts and salty Dungeness crab. Ham hock terrine ($16) is fatty and flavourful, set between quivering layers of aged cheddar and egg custard. It comes with a dollop of ginger-zucchini relish that packs a zesty punch.
Spot prawn ceviche ($14) looks like a festive dragon boat paddling through a pale stream of creamy basil yogurt with a ball of citrus marinade granita at its head, a spiky root crisp for a tail, and the firm sweet prawns propped up between crackly, paper-thin segments of dehydrated orange and tiny cubes of cedar and ginger infused gel. Every bite, sprinkled with Lilliputian flowers and finely minced herbs, is a smooth synchronicity of texture and taste.
The desserts sent us over the moon.
This wasn't just the best meal I ate in the Okanagan. It was the best meal I've eaten all year.
The Mission Hill Terrace is a destination lunch not to be missed.
*****
Nk'Mip Cellars: 1400 Rancher Creek Rd., Osoyoos, B.C.; 250-495-2985
Burrowing Owl Estate Winery: 100 Burrowing Owl Place, Oliver, B.C.; 250-498-0620
Mission Hill Family Estate: 1730 Mission Hill Rd., Westbank, B.C.; 250-768-6467
