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princegastronome · 8 years ago

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The Pseudoscience of Summerhill Pyramid Winery

A few days ago, I wrote and posted a review of Summerhill Pyramid Winery in Southern Kelowna. They posted a rebuttal, so I am compiling the exchange here.

First, to talking points of the actual review of Summerhill Pyramid and their restaurant, Sunset Bistro.

The man behind Summerhill, Stephen Cipe—considering himself a spiritual visionary at "Canada's most visited winery”—attributes the winery’s success to the unique process of utilizing the sacred geometry of their signature pyramid, designed as a perfect scaled replica of the larger one in Giza, to instill their wine with the same positive essense naturally occurring in all life forms. Lacking any ferrous components and placed to face True North, this platonic solid rests on a region devoid of interference energy and is placed on dirt compacted to 100%. This results in the pyramid acting as an interface between positive and negative space-time, a bridge between matter and anti-matter, and becoming the gate through which two realities meet and interact. This is related to Einstein’s theory of relativity, specifically his predictions on the existence tachyons (faster-than-light particles). Time and space are distorted within the pyramid and would most likely explain how the builders of the great pyramids in Egypt were able to employ negative space-time to levitate huge stones and build the pyramids in the first place. And somehow this also make wine taste better.

This is an example of data mining pseudoscientific sources and combining them with numerology and astrology along with long debunked theories that serious science left behind a very long time ago in hopes of selling overpriced alcoholic beverages already fighting dubious claims about their benefits. Here’s the uncomplicated truth about humans, we evolved as pattern recognition machines, finding answers in chaos. Our desperation to explain everything when we knew almost nothing gave rise to the mythologies of antiquity. Summerhill attempts to weave confirmation bias, ignorance, and good old-fashioned quackery into a soup of utter nonsense to justify their business.

You don’t even have to search long to find verified evidence debunking every single point made on Summerhill’s website. The data they “cite” isn’t even accurate—they list dimensions of the Giza pyramid to justify numerology, but then list incorrect numbers. There’s no doubt the pyramids at Egypt, and other locations are amazing historical monuments. And the designers were intelligent in constructing them. But they didn’t employ magic—they used their brains to solve problems. They are tombs to narcissistic despots, and anything more than that is just a plot point in Stargate.

Summerhill is bonkers, and not the adorable crazy like Perry in The Fisher King. I’m talking homeopathy, dowsing, phrenology, Pythagoras bonkers.

I’m serious; Pythagoras was crazy, flat out nuts. He was afraid of beans, hated the square root of two, and had a guy killed over a disagreement about a triangle. So best avoid that lest you start believing in sacred geometries, ley-lines, or astrology, basically everything in the Rifts role-playing game.

As for Sunset Bistro...

I admire restaurants that pull ingredients from their neighborhoods, and Sunset Bistro claims theirs are sourced from their own biodynamic gardens and wildlife preserves, another concept worthy of…wait, what?

What was that?

“Biodynamic”?

I must admit not hearing that one before. I had better do some—DARN IT! It’s more pseudoscience! Using planetary locations and lunar cycles to determine sowing cycles? It quite literally uses magic.

I’m trying my best to tolerate organic farming despite the overwhelming evidence pointing to its dangerous side-effects including nutrient leaching, soil conservation, and the massive increase in land use required to produce food over its safe GMO alternatives, substitutions credited for saving hundreds of millions of lives in regions cursed with overpopulation and untillable land. But no, you’re right, don’t trust Norman Borlaug, the father of the Green Revolution; instead, embrace geomancy. I can accomplish the same effect with a traditional organic farm and a deck of Magic: The Gathering cards.

Seriously, folks, you have to read up on the field preparations for this lunacy...hmm…lunacy…madness brought on by the moon. And before you start with the defense of biodynamics, remember they were invented by someone claiming to be a clairvoyant that taught that a disease may be part of a patient's "karma" and that interfering with said illness would be unwise because treating only the physical body would require the patient to compensate in a future life.

And you must grind quartz crystal that’s buried in a cow horn through the summer to aid in plant growth.

If I ever walk into the restaurant again, I’ll bellow at the top of my lungs, “When single shines the triple sun. What was sundered and undone shall be whole. The two made one by Gelfling hand or else by none!” before leaving. If you got the Rifts joke, that one should be easy.

They made good food. I just wished they had sacrificed a goat to Demeter using the old ways in order to secure a higher quality crop. Probably would have made the difference.

This morning, Summerhill’s founder replied.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Science is good and I applaud you for caring about truth. Narrative is also good. Science can tell us “how”, but can never answer the question “why”. There will always be a central mystery in life that we answer with story. Sacred geometry is a good story. It is a story about beauty, harmony and perfection in nature. We do not sermonize, and we never claim that our pyramid ‘makes wine taste better,’ only that it acts as a clarifier. There is a wonderful feeling in the pyramid chamber, which we invite all of our guests to experience. We honour our wine by cellaring it there. Summerhill has been awarded the trophy for Best Sparkling Wine at the IWSC in London, England, and another for Canadian Producer of the Year. We have also just been awarded the highest scoring wine at France’s 2017 Chardonnay du Monde competition with 750 entries from 38 countries. It is no accident that our wines are so often at the top of the podium. Is it the organic viticulture and winemaking? The time in the pyramid? Our team’s experience and expertise? In the end, the reason is the love that we put into everything that we do. I am sorry to read that you believe our love and care for the earth and our nurturing of the human spirit, imagination, and feeling of connectedness is ‘spiritually bankrupt’, as you term it. I invite you and welcome you with open arms to be with me at our model of man and nature. Come and walk around our biodynamic vineyard to experience the biodiversity and feel the living soil. Come in the pyramid with me and have a real experience. The precision chamber is a uniquely conducive place for meditation. We’ll drink good wine together and tell good stories. With love and gratitude, Stephen Cipes Founder/Proprietor, Summerhill Pyramid

And I responded.

Science is not just “good”, it’s mandatory to understanding the world. It’s the first step in personal enlightenment, and we are obligated not to ignore it. It’s how we protect ourselves from false hope and charlatans. The flaw in your reasoning is directly connected to your statement that “Science can tell us “how,” but can never answer the question “why”.”

Your statement is the impasse pseudoscientific believers subscribe to denounce how actual science works. Yes, science can supply the “how” within a range of error to be acceptable by peer-reviewed sources. That’s how it works. It can also supply us with reliably predictable estimations to “when,” “who,” “where,” and positively “why,” and a “why” to many of the important questions. Some remain, and always will. The issue I have is that you’re supplying answers you could not possibly possess, and then manipulate scientific terms you don’t fully understand to make your page sound more scientific when it is nothing of the sort. This is confirmation bias. It is an insult to the scientific process to use those terms in your selling points.

Yes, there are questions science cannot yet answer. That’s how science works…people can turn to spirituality if they find gaps. But ignorant people claim more gaps than there really are, and then possess the hubris to fill those gaps with answers lacking any evidence, or better, ones flying in the face of answers already discovered. If it’s belief, then it remains belief, but I will not subscribe to bottling that belief and selling it as snake oil.

When you attempt to employ scientific terminology and claim scientific methods, you’re insulting the actual scientific community. Sacred solids, numerology, and astrology have no place in science. And as for your biodynamic gardens, I’ve enough issues with the ignorance around organic farming, but then to professes a system developed by a self-proclaimed clairvoyant that taught that a disease might be part of a patient's "karma" and that interfering with said illness would be unwise because treating only the physical body would require the patient to compensate in a future life. Grinding quartz in a cow horn and burying it to improve a harvest? Utilizing lunar cycles?

If you wish to employ these practices, you are always free to do so, but the people—paying customers—deserve to know that nothing you boast is backed by scientific scrutiny. There is no evidence that it works (and no, trophies don’t count). It flies in the face of commons sense, and is considered pseudoscience by the scientific consensus. The information is available out there, and I invite people to do their own research.

I’ll keep people updated

(Pssst. By the way, I don’t think they noticed a pyramid is not a platonic solid)

#skeptic #skeptism #pseudoscience #Science #Food #Foodie #Wine #Winemaking #Winery #Kelowna

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usa-canada2017 · 8 years ago

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Vancouver to Kelowna

Driving day today, towards the Rockies through Chilliwack and along the Coquihala highway and river, very beautiful scenery with snow still on the peaks and waterfalls flowing from the melting snow. We had morning tea in a place called hope, where Rambo was filmed. In winter there is an average of 15 metres of snow with avalanches, making driving a health hazard. This afternoon we stopped at Summerhill organic winery and toured with a lady who had worked a year in McLaren Vale. Tried some ice wine that is made from grapes when they are naturally frozen at 8 degrees in the winter, very sweet (and expensive!). They have a sacred pyramid and store all the wine here for short periods. You can also attend meditation and other functions. The pyramid is a 1/8 th replica, aligned with true north and the winery takes into account the cycles of the moon when planting and harvesting.

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maxogram · 6 years ago

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Had a wonderful time supporting a great cause. What a turnout despite the rain! Thank you to Wendy and her team for once again organizing an amazing Organic Okanagan Festival! Thanks again to Stephen Cipes and Summerhill Pyramid Winery. It's an honor to be in such good company!

#maxogram #summerhillpyramidwinery #alloneera #organicokanagan #summerhillwine #yougottaseethis #marketing #activatedprinttechnology

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ediblevancouver · 7 years ago

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Wow! Blazing hot and a #pyramid. We must be in Egypt... Or we're at @summerhillwine in #kelowna. It's an easy mistake to make 😝 #bcwine #organic #organicwine (at Summerhill Pyramid Winery)

#kelowna #organic #bcwine #organicwine #pyramid

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mywinepal · 4 years ago

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I have two #organic #Cabernets for you today from @summerhillwine in Kelowna. I received their 2019 Organic Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2018 Organic Cabernet Franc to taste and review. The wines after being made were aged for some time in their winery pyramid. These wines besides being organic are also suitable for drinking by vegans. Summerhill Pyramid Winery Organic Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 Appearance: A deep dull garnet colour with a hint of ruby. About 90% opaque, but still translucent to the core. Nose: A medium intensity nose with a wide variety of aromas, starting off with dill (which I love), red fruits, blackberries, vanilla, baby powder, sweet spices and red cherries. With swirling the dill aroma fades and you then get some smokiness, mace, and dark fruit aromas. Palate: This wine is very slightly off-dry, medium-bodied, fairly round, but has some linearity. Medium acidity and very light, soft supple tannins. Flavours of red cherries, candied red cherries, red fruits, sweet spices, cedar, and touches of chocolate and capsicum. Some minerality in the background and blackberries toward the finish. The acidity provides lively red fruit flavours. Finish: A medium length finishing with light intensity red fruit, sweet spices and cedar. Light pepperiness as well. The finish fades fairly quickly. Summerhill Pyramid Winery Organic Cabernet Franc 2018 Appearance: A deep, dull garnet in colour, about 80% opaque, translucent to the core. Nose: A pronounced intensity nose, with loads of red fruit, sweet spices / cinnamon, red cherries, blackberries, oak and cedar. With some air, you can add vanilla and candied cherry aromas. Palate: Dry, medium-bodied with a soft, semi-round mouthfeel. Medium-plus intensity flavours of red cherries, candied red cherries, raspberries, and touches of salty minerality, oak and cedar, pepperiness and cinnamon. Light fine tannins and medium acidity. Finish: A medium length with a light finish. Ripe sweet red fruit, oak and cinnamon. More acidity than tannins on the finish. Both wines have very pretty red fruit flavours. Stay tuned for my full tasting notes, including decanting, on mywinepal.com. #bcwinemonth #bcvqa https://www.instagram.com/p/CN3t5JXMKPl/?igshid=1ki8sv49bdq34

#organic #cabernets #bcwinemonth #bcvqa

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lifestyleokanagan · 7 years ago

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The Lock (East), Stock (West) and Barrel Kelowna Wine Tour

Start the day at Summerhill winery with a behind the scenes tour of the flat and sparkling production area. This is a unique and exclusive tour that is only for small groups. We will do a walking tour of one of the only certified organic vineyard in BC, and learn about biodynamic processes and how they relate to winemaking and go inside the pyramid and learn about the 30 days every one of their…

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dorothydeaton62 · 8 years ago

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Summerhill Pyramid Organic Winery, Kelowna, BC, Wins the Number One Place at the 24th Annual Chardonnay Du Monde Wine Competition, Burgundy, France with 706 Entrees from 38 Countries!

Summerhill Icewine Awarded Best Chardonnay Wine In The World KELOWNA, BC, April 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - The Summerhill Chardonnay Icewine is the only Canadian winery to be in the Top 10. Stephen Cipes, Founder/Proprietor of the Kelowna, BC winery, notes, "Winning the number one... http://ift.tt/2nQIVJN

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princegastronome · 8 years ago

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Sunset Bistro (Kelowna)

I got somewhat hot under the collar ranting about the winery Sunset Bistro is located within. This will be a test of impartiality attempting to separate the charlatanism of the winery from the quality of the restaurant. And let’s be clear, this divide is vast. Like deserts of Arrakis vast. On one side, Summerhill is bonkers, and not the adorable crazy like Perry in The Fisher King. I’m talking homeopathy, dowsing, phrenology, Pythagoras bonkers.

It’s important to understand the discrepancy as the Sunset Bistro is good…but there lies the conundrum, the crisis of principles. Does one patronize Sunset Bistro knowing where it is? At the end of the day, it’s a good restaurant benefiting from a breathtaking view (usually, it was raining that day) and impressively plated cuisine. The dining area is rustic but comfortable. At the far end, you can spot a more lavish dining area bordered by an awe-inspiring stained-glass window featuring the signature pyramid.

We took images of our meals. Unfortunately, I cannot match them to dishes on their website, so their menu has obviously changed, but as plain and clear as peer-reviewed scientific journals, the food is well plated and presented with care. I admire restaurants that pull ingredients from their neighborhoods, and Sunset Bistro claims theirs are sourced from their own biodynamic gardens and wildlife preserves, another concept worthy of…wait, what?

What was that?

“Biodynamic”?

And you must grind quartz crystal that’s buried in a cow horn through the summer to aid in plant growth.

At the end of the day, the food at Sunset Bistro was good, not terribly expensive, and we found the décor pleasant. I am sure this restaurant will be appealing to those looking to center their chi. Obviously, I won’t be back, especially given the broad choices closer to Kelowna. But I can’t fault the chef on shift that day or the staff. They made good food. I just wished they had sacrificed a goat to Demeter using the old ways in order to secure a higher quality crop. Probably would have made the difference.

#Food #Foodie #Foodey #pseudoscience #restaurant #Kelowna #Wine #Winery #Winemaking

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jaimetonwine · 8 years ago

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Summerhill Pyramid Winery : le summerkitsch !

Quitter Paris pour Vancouver, Canada. 49e parallèle nord où, au solstice d'été, le jour y est deux fois plus long que la nuit, et inversement en hiver. Les montagnes encerclant la ville brillent de leurs sommets encore enneigés. L’océan s’étire au loin, marée basse, d’une couleur bleu grisé. C’est la saison des fleurs, avril sonne enfin le glas avec des cerisiers, magnolias, arbres de Judée dans une inflorescence de rose à chaque coin de rue.

Deux mois que je suis arrivée, le temps de m’acclimater, de reprendre mes esprits et de me faire à ces nouveaux bruits. Le temps, aussi, de retrouver une certaine routine : celle de l’assiette et du verre. Pas facile — pourtant, je ne l’aurais pas cru tant Vancouver est connue pour être la belle, la saine parmi les autres villes du monde, on y respire l’air marin, on y mange organic, on . Et si je vis dans le quartier de Mount Pleasant, sorte de petit Brooklyn où artistes, hipsters et jeunes parents se rencontrent, je cherche encore du bon vin canadien. Il en existe, mais pas des masses.

Au début, je m’étais repliée sur les alternatives classiques de l’expatrié, se péter une bouteille à 50 dollars d’un joli gamay de Loire qui en vaut initialement 10 et qui a traversé mers et continents pour se retrouver sur les étalages tièdes d’un Liquor Store malicieusement rebaptisé Wine Cellar. Puis je me suis tournée vers le Chili et l’Espagne, qui proposent des vins bios moins chers et sympa à boire (ouvrez sans crainte une bouteille de Cono Sur ou d’Emiliana).

Mais c’était, en quelque sorte, tricher. Je ne suis pas venue ici pour me taper exclusivement des vins d’Amérique du Sud ou d’Europe. Sauf que si mon palais pouvait accepter ce goût des aliments si différents qui poussent sur le sol américain (et s’il finira peut-être par s’y faire) je savais qu’il ne pourrait jamais accepter d’ingurgiter du Monsanto en bouteille. Sauf que les vins biologiques ou biodynamiques au Canada ne se comptent qu’en dizaine, malheureusement.

On me conseille Summerhill Pyramid Winery, connus pour être les pionniers en la matière de biodynamie en Colombie Britannique. Le propriétaire Stephen Cipes, originaire de New York City, à la fois visionnaire et entrepreneur, a visité la région en 1986, et l’a pressentie pour du vin pétillant. Il a donc lui-même rapporté des ceps de vignes français “personally planted them on my hands and knees” dit-il. Un vignoble conduit par l’homme — avec ses quatre fils — et mené par la nature, en culture biologique, sans herbicides ni pesticides, des baies qui poussent sous un soleil d’aplomb dans les vallée de Kelowna et Naramata, que l’on récolte à la main, sur plusieurs jours.

Sauf qu’on découvre ensuite que Summerhill est un vrai business. Et quel business, ô summum du kitsch ! Pyramide gigantesque qui sert de cellier pour faire vieillir les vins, bouteille géante qui vous accueille à l’entrée, parterres de jardins proprement tondus, salle de dégustation qui brillent d’ornements, bassin d’aquarium et vue prégnante sur les rives du lac... Je m’essouffle d’incompréhension, comment peut-on gérer un vignoble d’une telle ampleur en suivant les principes de permaculture et de biodynamie. C’est toute la contradiction de ce pays : on veut faire bien, mais on fait toujours trop.

Dégustation : Organic Dry Riesling 2014, appellation Okanagan Valley — 20 CAN$

oeil : robe limpide, jaune pâle.

nez : très précis sur la fleur blanche, le thé vert, un poil d’agrume.

bouche : Du sucre, encore, beaucoup trop — résiduel à presque 35 g/L. On oublie le Riesling avec cette impression de goûter un Gewurztraminer, sur des notes de litchee et de pamplemousse. Néanmoins, c’est agréable, plein de fraicheur, et authentique. On sent sur le palais que ça file droit.

#PVT #BoireCanadien

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attendantdesign-blog · 8 years ago

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New Post has been published on Attendantdesign

New Post has been published on http://attendantdesign.com/a-wine-tour-of-canadas-beautiful-okanagan-valley/

A wine tour of Canada’s beautiful Okanagan Valley

Ven to a person aware of going spherical wineries, Mission Hill is just jaw-losing. The 40 in particular commissioned sculptures, the 12-storey bell tower, the collection of ancient Greek amphorae, the Chagall tapestry … that is as grand as a wine enjoy gets, yet it’s now not within the Napa Valley, however, one thousand miles to the north in Canada’s Okanagan Valley.

Wine is booming inside the Okanagan. Two decades in the past, there had been only 31 wineries in the area; now there are over a hundred thirty. The area is ruled via the spectacularly stunning 135km-lengthy Okanagan lake, which runs from Vernon within the north right down to the semi-desert region of Osoyoos. It’s even reputed to have its personal equivalent of the Loch Ness monster, the Ogopogo.

Although now not that to remote places vacationers, it’s a fave summer excursion spot for Vancouverites and a refuge for Canadians from states such as Saskatchewan and Alberta escaping the brutal winter temperatures of the midwest. “As quickly as you return out here, you sense as in case you’re on vacation,” my guide instructed me. “There’s so much to do at the lake – cruising, boating, kayaking – otherwise you simply pull over and opt for a swim.”

Bold wineries together with Undertaking Hill and Quails’ Gate had been fuelled by using a tech industry growth that has added increasingly more nicely-heeled millennials to the vicinity. Wineries have usually been a plaything for rich marketers like Venture Hill’s Anthony von Mandl but much less flamboyant estates, such as LaStella and Hester Creek (which has its very own chef’s desk and cookery school), are engaging places, a few modeled on Tuscan farmhouses.

The Okanagan, like elements of the neighboring US states of Oregon and Washington, turned into until these days an undeveloped rural region, dotted with ranches and fruit farms, and this culture may be witnessed before everything hand thru farm-to-plate studies on estates together with Covert Farms’ sprawling 650 organic acres.

that is the simplest location I’ve been to where you can integrate a tasting tour of the farm with a wine tasting. Proprietor Gene Covert, the fourth generation of his family to farm the belongings, drives us around in his choose-up truck, preventing within the vineyards for a pitcher of sparkling “pét-nat” obviously fermented rosé and to cram our faces with wild blueberries directly off the bush. From the farm, there are hikes up the towering McIntyre Bluff, a 300-metre cliff fashioned over the past ice age. Perhaps earlier than, rather than after, the wine tasting, I endorse.

Any other tons smaller farm, Outdoor, does the farm-to-plate thing by going for walks a chef’s desk and cookery school. It’s owned by chef Chris van Hooydonk, who walks us across the heavily weighted down cherry bushes of his two-acre “hobby” orchard before cooking us a simple, impeccably sourced lunch matched with local wines. All the elements are rigorously call-checked: fat, candy Purple Bay scallops, sustainable prawns, natural lentils, home-grown peas and pea shoots.

With the talent that would effortlessly have made him a shining light in Vancouver, van Hooydonk chose to live inside the Okanagan, so he can spend greater time together with his own family and “cook dinner food I’m excited about that week”. It’s now not a cheap meal – minimum spend for the dining room is C$500 (£300) – but it may accommodate 10 human beings and you can take your very own wine. “And that I’m there inside the kitchen,” says van Hooydonk. “A number of humans say they like shaking palms with the individual making ready the food.”

There’s an individuality to the Okanagan that’s now not observed in Napa, or maybe Sonoma. Take the tiny Upper Bench Winery & Creamery in Penticton, wherein Uk-born Gavin Miller makes the wine and his spouse, Shana, an impressive selection of cheeses. We will taste the 2 together, and Gavin’s deep pink rosé is an all at once exact in shape with Shana’s punchy Stilton-fashion King Cole blue.

Upper Bench is just one in every of some of the wineries alongside the Naramata Bench, a 14km ridge that turned into as soon as part of the lakeshore. From a visiting point of view, they’re best as they’re carefully spaced. Almost next door to Upper Bench are Poplar Grove, with an exhibit tasting room, and its rock’n’roll sibling Monster Vineyards – an allusion to the Ogopogo – which has All the city vibe of a downtown Vancouver wine bar.

At biodynamic Winery Summerhill in Kelowna, the wines are aged in a 4-storey duplicate of the Exquisite Pyramid of Giza, which seemingly enhances their aroma and clarity and reveals “the knowingness of eternity”. Er … Ok. however it makes a without a doubt instead scrumptious and multi-award-prevailing sparkling wine called Cipes brut (modestly named after the Owner, Stephen Cipes), so Perhaps there’s something in it. I’m not sure I ever reached the “knowingness” of who I was, even though: there’s Plenty of hippy-dippy stuff inside the Okanagan.

At the opposite crease of the valley in Summerland, a cool Winery called the Okanagan Overwhelm Pad is filled with tulip- and egg-shaped concrete tanks designed to carry out the high-quality within the “no-additive, native ferment” wines made for its Haywire label and different small manufacturers. As Captain Beefheart pumps out over the sound gadget, a small white fluffy fireplace rug inside the shape of a Wonderful Pyrenees pup called Bijou wanders across the tasting room. They encourage you to have a seminar – now not just a tasting. Oh, and the winemaker has a beard and tattoos. Of route.

As you drive further south, it receives step by step hotter and drier. A massive part of this southern a part of the Okanagan, Canada’s only barren region, is owned by First State Canadians, who farm a few 32,000 acres around Osoyoos. They, too, have a Vineyard and motel called Nk’Mip (stated kameez), in conjunction with a soaking up the cultural center which strains the records of the Osoyoos people.

Underneath an invitingly blue sky, I set out at the Nk’Mip on the footpath but have the second mind when I see the yellow caution symptoms: “Be alert: watch for rattlesnakes.”

“You rarely see one,” my manual Darlene tells me later, most effective half of convincingly. not often is simply too regularly for me.

This comparatively unspoiled part of the sector seems to be in particular rich in critters, which include black widow spiders (eek!), wild deer and bears. Those closing are a particular danger for Vineyard proprietors as they could consume their own weight in grapes in at some point.

I will absolutely blame them.

The experience turned into furnished through Destination British Columbia

Getting there The Okanagan valley is 4 hours’ pressure from Vancouver, or site visitors can fly to Penticton or Kelowna and choose up a hire vehicle. Canadian Affair (canadianaffair.Com) has a week’s fly-pressure to Vancouver and the Okanagan valley from £496 including flights from Gatwick, and automobile rent

where to live

In Zed (doubles from £84 room simplest, hotelzed.Com) is a colorful new boutique Inn in downtown Kelowna with a table tennis lounge and complimentary curler skates. High above the valley ground Observatory B&B (doubles from £87 B&B, jacknewton.Com) in Osoyoos has its very own telescope and a rooftop observatory. Spirit Ridge at NK’Mip lodge (doubles from £ninety four room best, spiritridge.Ca) is First Countries owned, with villas and more than one pools.

wherein to consume

Waterfront Wines (mains from £15, waterfrontrestaurant.Ca) in Kelowna is a small bistro run by chef/sommelier Mark Filatow, supplying the Super value for the High nice of meals. Miradoro, the eating place at Tinhorn Creek Winery is one of the many classy Winery eating places within the valley offering tapas (from £7) and pizza (from £eleven) as well as a complete restaurant menu. Component grocery, Component cafe, the Bench Marketplace is a homely Penticton group and Fantastic for breakfast or brunch, with epic scenes.

visiting

Authentically Okanagan (aoktours.Com) and enjoy Wine Tours (experiencewinetours.Ca) offer organized Excursions of wineries up and down the valley from £75pp. A less expensive option is planning a self-guided excursion on the Good enough “hop on, hop off” wine go back and forth (six hours £38pp, okwineshuttle.Ca). more information from Tourism Kelowna

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mywinepal · 4 years ago

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After interviewing Ezra Cipes from @summerhillwine about their newly released #biodynamic #Muscat and #Chardonnay wines, I was very excited to receive these wines to taste and review for you. Biodynamic wines that I have tasted all seem to have bright fresh fruit flavours, for both the white and red wines. Biodynamic viticulture and winemaking go beyond what is done for organic certification. I will get into the details of biodynamics in my article reviewing these wines. Let me tell you about these 2 wines. And BTW these wines are also #vegan. Summerhill Pyramid Winery Estate Grown Biodynamic Muscat 2020 Appearance: A bright, medium intensity lemon colour. Nose: Medium-plus intensity with aromas of orange, lychee, spearmint, candied fruit, sweet spices, and a touch of lime. Palate: A little more than off-dry, this wine is medium-bodied, soft, smooth and round with lower acidity. There is a slight acidic prickle that fades quickly. Medium-plus intensity lychee, sweet spices and orange flavours, with touches of floral and minerality. Finish: Medium length with a soft, light finish. Summerhill Pyramid Winery Estate Grown Biodynamic Chardonnay 2020 Appearance: Bright, medium-plus intensity pear skin plus lemon colour. Nose: A medium intensity nose with deep aromas. Ripe apples, pears, apricot, honey, and touches of sweet spices and oak. Palate: Dry, medium-plus body, with a thicker, round mouthfeel. Medium-plus acidity that leaves a light prickle in your mouth. Pronounced flavours of ripe pears mainly, with lesser amounts of apples, apple skin and pear skin. Light flavours of sweet spices and pepperiness. Touches of lime and blossom, and honey and oak from mid-palate to finish. Finish: Medium-plus length finishing with citrus and pears. Medium intensity pepperiness and some acidic prickle. Both are elegant and delightful wines. Stay tuned for my full tasting notes, including decanting, on my winepal.com. #DEMETER #pyramid #winewriter #somm #winemedia #whitewine #winelovers #wineblogger #luxury #bcwineries #bcvqa #coolclimatewine #drinklocalwine #buybcwine #mywinepallikes #bcwine https://www.instagram.com/p/CNslndAsTTL/?igshid=exbjly67f600

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princegastronome · 8 years ago

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Wine Diary: Summerhill Pyramid

It does sound like two locations. Summerhill. Pyramid. One is original, the other not so much. After some research, I concluded that it is not called Summerhill Pyramid. It is called Summerhill, and it is a Pyramid Winery. I honestly don’t know what that meant, and given Summerhill is the only one with the title, I decided to look up their claims.

And I need to preface by stating the next five sentences are completely insane.

And somehow this also make wine taste better.

So that’s a thing.

By the way, I was not exaggerating or interpreting implications—most of that above was near verbatim on Summerhill’s website, which I invite you to explore. If that sounds insane to you, congratulations, you’re still a rational human being; you can read on and hopefully be wavered on your decision to visit this winery. If you believed it all reasonable and lucid, be warned, because I’m about to make you very upset.

Oh, did I mention that the Sunset Bistro restaurant inside the winery serves amazing food? Seriously, it’s amazing. Thankfully, most review sites separate bistro from winery, allowing me to rate them separately.

I won’t waste any more of my word budget into the absurdity Summerhill attempts to sermonize. I have issues with their over-priced wine, a result of them justifying their bankrupt spirituality. They claim themselves the most visited winery in Canada, and like everything else, it’s unverified. If you search for the best wineries in BC or all of Canada, Summerhill fails to top any of those lists. Can I name better wineries? Having been to over 90 wineries in BC alone, I can think of about thirty, ten just in Kelowna.

Well before I even discovered the questionable claims of Summerhill, several friends and I had tried their Alive Organic Wine at a local festival. It wasn’t until I entered the winery did I discover that brand was produced at Summerhill. Back then, we all unanimously agreed that Alive was the worst wine we had ever tried, and we’ve sampled wine from juice boxes. Summerhill only got close to a pass with their Ehrefelser, the only bottle reasonably priced.

We were on our second wine trip of three in a single year. In that time, we visited the best the Okanagan had to offer. I will offer praise in its own review that the paired restaurant, Sunset Bistro, is authentic and delicious, well-staffed, with an amazing view, and well-decorated plates. But avoid the winery at all costs, lest you also support homeopathy, faith healing, dowsing, or phrenology. If you do, go right ahead, and join the cult of Summerhill and instead avoid me.

#Wine #Winery #Winemaking #Food #Foodie #pseudoscience

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