I don't' see it.
You're supposed to look out the window, across the highway to the distant hill, and see a lion there. Not a real one, that would be crazy; it's a geographical feature at one of the vineyards.
Nope, don't see it. I saw the right colors of that dress, but I can't make out a lion shape on a hillside.
I knew Monte Creek Ranch Winery previously from a bottle acquired from a friend. It was distinctive given it came with meat.
That wasn't a metaphor; it came with meat. I appreciated the gift, but I ended up staring bewildered at a bottle with a vacuum-sealing package a meat hanging off its neck.
Yes, I am being flippant; it was jerky. This was a ranch first, but that didn't change that for a long time, we just referred to Monte Creek as the "jerky wine."
My girlfriend and I were on our way back from Kelowna, taking a route through Kamloops when I glanced at my map and realized we were nearing two wineries. It was off a major highway so I was initially concerned how we would merge back to head west. They compensated for that, so all good. I convinced my girlfriend that after visiting 66 wineries since August 2016 we could stand to take in two more. It was in the afternoon, but given it was March, we didn't expect it to be busy. And it wasn't; we thought they were closed. Of course, the advantage is that we held the hosts' undivided attention. This also meant the restaurant was closed.
I still don't see it.
The most important aspect of Monte Creek Ranch...wait...can I just call it Monte? Oh my God, I can. Often, I condense long winded winery names to sound funny, but in this case, I can actually call this place Monte.
Monte's most important attribute may not be its wine selection as much as it's latitude, being the most northern winery still utilizing grapes in Canada. The only other wine I know about is the most northern winery period, Northern Lights in my home town. Monte does utilize fruit, but there are grape varietals that grow in this unique climate. Prospective regions are given a score indicating how successful they can grow grapes. Kamloops squeezes in, but the climate is changing, and the potential growing potential is expanding. How long will it be before grapes become sustainable at higher and higher latitudes? They're already growing in Norway. No joke, it's called Lerkekåsa. Climate change is reshaping the reach of viticulture, and I await when my local winery starts planting grapes. And when other wineries reach up to compete around Kamloops, Monte will be there, already ahead of the game.
And they sell meat.
It's weird, isn't it? I mean at the winery, they don't hang meat from their bottles, though it's offered at the store. The winery is shockingly impressive. I was expecting a corrugated steel siding on a barn, not a bell tower and glass walls. This place looks amazing, almost like a miniature Mission Hill. It was strangely ominous being the only vehicle there, walking along paths seeing not a soul. We expected a locked door. The tasting was successful--I was impressed with Monte's selection, with or without complimentary meat.
Okay, I'll put the joke to bed--it's a ranch; there are cows. Pure grass bred Angus beef, and the jerky is good. So is the wine, now that I think about it. When I told Doug Bell of Northern Lights that I had been to Monte Creek, he praised the quality of their Blueberry Wine, which so happens to be one of my acquired bottles. The bottle that came with the jerky was a 2015 Hands Up Red. The other two bottles we picked up the location were the 2014 Reserve Pinot Noir Icewine and the truly brilliant 2014 Frontenac Gris Late Harvest, a bottle they apparently no longer offer. The host was memorable, especially when she continually tried to help me spot that stupid lion on the hillside.
Still nothing.
The wine shop offers a lot of novelties, but I didn't feel Monte was trying to sell their brand more than their wine. I appreciate what Monte is doing; it's succeeding brilliantly. Along with Northern Lights, Monte is a trailblazer offering something unique in a province under threat of repetitiveness. Don't get me wrong, I love my Chardonnay and Riesling, but few are offering a Frontenac Gris, probably because they feel they don't need to. Well, they are missing out, and so are you if you don't visit.
Where is that lion? read more