Fern and I would like to thank  winemaker Howard Soon from Calona/Sandhill wines and Peller Estates. We never imagined we would be treated so well. To spend over three hours with one of the most famous winemakers in the Okanagan valley was one of the top highlights of our vacation. Especially on Thanksgiving monday when he had some family in town.

When we looked up the address for the winery i thought it was weird that is was almost in downtown Kelowna. We arrived and could not believe that the building in front of us was where they made tons of award winning wines. I do have to say that the expression "you can't judge a book by it's cover" is definitely true about the Calona/Sandhill/Peller Estates compound. 

This is the entrance into the vineyard (although they don't actually grow grapes at this location) The building looked very plain almost like an old warehouse and this entrance was the only sign, it was quite easy to miss.

We arrived at 11:00am, went inside and there were customers wine tasting, so we thought we'd join them. I told the lady at the desk that we were there for a tour of the winery.  She informed me that they do not offer tours at this vineyard. My heart skipped a beat, I thought for a minute that i had imagined my appointment. I asked if Howard was in and explained that we were pretty sure that a friend at Andrew Peller Ltd arranged us a meeting with Howard. After a few minutes on the phone she came back with a smile, and said "Sorry to scare you, Howard is on his way."

Shortly afterward, Howard came out of the back to see us, and greeted us warmly. Fern and I had met Howard a couple of years ago, when we did a Sandhill wine dinner for charity. My wife and I also had the privilege of meeting Howard a couple of times at the wine festival. For having only met Howard a couple of times I was amazed that he took time out of his Thanksgiving monday to take us on a tour (exclusive to us). When we went through the back door of the wine store, I was really amazed by the sheer size of the operation. From the street you wouldn't expect that this building pumps out all of  the Calona wines, Sandhill wines, and a large portion of Peller Estates wines. Not to mention, all of the other small companies that they bottle for.  They even bottle beer...

The equipment they use is top quality and made for volume. Fern and I stood beside a steel drum that held over 100,000 litres of wine.  That's almost 70,000 bottles!!! The coolest part of the trip was almost getting lost in a room with 1200 barrels of wine. Fern and I were like kids in a candy shop as Howard kept on opening barrels and giving us little tastes of the upcoming years releases. Howard also showed us the crushing room where they crush all the grapes and we got to taste a couple of different strains.

Howard looking for a special barrel of syrah that we were going to sample. Unfortunately the barrel was lost amidst the sea of wine.

Howard and Fern in the bottling plant of the vineyard. I was amazed at all the different products that were bottled here. Not just Calona, Sandhill and Peller Estates wine. 

After running around for over three hours, Howard brought us back to the tasting room of the wine shop and bid us adieu. But not before we tasted a couple more of his award winners.

We would just like to thank Howard Soon again for all the hospitality he showed us, as well as, Dale Saunders from Andrew Peller Ltd for arranging our afternoon visit, and finally, Calona/Sandhill/Peller Estates wineries. This was an experience that we will never forget!

Chris

Visit Calona Wines at      http://www.calonavineyards.ca

Visit Sandhill Wines at     http://www.sandhillwines.ca

Visit Peller Estates at     http://www.peller.com

After six years of using old paper gift certificates, Inferno's has gotten with the times and jumped on the Gift Card band wagon.  Our new stylish gift cards are available for any amount  you'd like. They are non-refundable and may be used only at Inferno's. Any balance left after the purchase will remain on the card for futur visit to the bistro. We also gave the option of refilling the gift cards if desired.

As we are coming into the holiday season and you can't think of any gifts for your loved ones. Nothing is better than a gift card from Inferno's Bistro.

Infernosbistro.com is new and improved! Full of Menus, News and events. Poke around our new site and vote for your favorite dishes or sign up to hear about new and upcoming events.