Blog Post for Environment 911
Sustainability in B.C.'s Okanagan Wineries
Oct 19, 2020

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Sustainability in B.C.'s Okanagan Wineries
Drinking responsibly takes on a whole new meaning

Organic, natural, sustainable, biodynamic—many of these terms used to sound buzzy or were a rarity in wine production. But more and more wineries, especially in B.C.'s Okanagan region, are taking on the task of creating wine in an eco-friendly fashion.

I did a quick 36-hour trip to the Okanagan to have a peak (and of course a few sips) at some of the many places that boast great strides in sustainability. The height of the summer wine touring season may be over, but you can still get many of these wines at restaurants and wine retailers.

Hopefully this is a starting point for your next trip to wine country to sample, learn and pick up these more eco-friendly bottles...

1. Okanagan Crush Pad

Okanagan Crush Pad has a variety of labels under its umbrella: Haywire, Free Form, Narrative and the most recent edition, Bizou + Yukon.

Free Form was launched in 2018 to celebrate the winery becoming certified organic—and has some of my new favourite natural wines (I’m also partial to the labels with the design by Vancouver’s Scott Sueme and the paper being made of stone).

The vineyard has a modern design and the patio set-up, which is super-sized for COVID, allows you to sit and choose from set curated flights (much like a beer sampler) with all the information you could desire about what it is you’re drinking, and the science and technique behind how it's made.

After getting some bottles to go, I suggest you take the self-guided tour around the fields next to the winery. You’ll pass by the chickens and ducks hanging out in a pen complete with a coop made with wine barrels.

Click here for where to buy/drink and the wine shop. 

2. Echo Bay, Else Wines, and Rigour & Whimsey

It was recommended that I visit Echo Bay winery, as there were some awesome things in sustainability going on. At the helm of the family winery is head winemaker Kelsey Rufiange, whose goal is to create a biodiverse vineyard that is self-sustaining.

As a side project, she created Else Wines (as in something else) so she could be creative with her grapes and techniques (with delicious results).

We were able (and lucky enough) to sit out in the back field and sample some vino from both labels, and learn about the family and Kelsey’s history (check out the info on their site).

Also of note, another wine label produced and bottled on the property is Rigour & Whimsey, which fits right in with the organic philosophy of Echo Bay, centering around regenerative farming and responsible agriculture.

Some of the smaller batch wines (like those of Else) are going to be harder to find, but here are the links for stockists: Echo Bay, Else Wines and Rigour & Whimsey.
 

3. Covert Farms

One of the themes I discovered through our visits is that if a winery is leaning into sustainability, you’re likely to find some feathered and furry creatures around.

Covert Farms acreage is the ultimate experience when it comes to the farm-to-table mentality. On tours of the property, you'll see chickens and roosters, which you can feed, along with a new rescue pig named Delilah, llamas, farm dogs and cattle. Animals at sustainable wineries aren’t there just to look cute: they fertilize, help with pest management and are natural lawnmowers.

And when it’s time to sit and sample, the spread is much like Covert's philosophy—beautifully made wines, from newly released organic to grand reserve bottles, and a feast of locally or in-house made preserves, cheeses, meats, and fruits (pictured at top). The highlight for me was being guided through it all by the very passionate and knowledgeable staff, and hearing about exactly what goes into making their wine.

Click here to for the wine shop.

There were a lot more places we wished we could have visited on our little sustainable winery jaunt, like Summerhill in Kelowna, Orofino in the Similkameen Valley, Ursa Major and Anthony Buchanan in Oliver and Foxtrot in Naramata. The trip was short due to COVID restrictions and the smoke from the wildfires, which was a reminder why it's so important to consider wineries that pride themselves on their biodiversity and responsible practices.

Covert Farms - Oliver, BC
Grape Harvest in the Okanagan
September 24, 2020

Covert Farms - Oliver, BC
Images from Environment 911 Blog - Sustainability in the Okanagan Winery Circuit
September 24, 2020

Echo Bay Vineyard, Else Wines, Rigour + Whimsey - Okanagan Falls, BC
Images from Environment 911 Blog - Sustainability in the Okanagan Winery Circuit
September 23, 2020

Okanagan Crush Pad - Summerland, BC
Images from Environment 911 Blog - Sustainability in the Okanagan Winery Circuit
September 23, 2020

I wrote a few recipes for BC Living from when I went camping on the August long weekend (at Twenty Mile Bay) - Gourmet Camping Recipes for Your Next Camping Trip.

Some of them are long, so I figured I’d break each of them down into their own posts (means extra photos too!) - the first being Jackfruit Tacos (click for recipe), followed by breakfast with a Chickpea & Potato Breakfast Hash (recipe for that here), and finally we have Green Curry.

You can 100% make this at home (any of them really), but a lot of the tips are for how to prep before you leave, and minimize effort at the campsite.

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“Skip the roasted weenies and indulge in these easy-to-make camping recipes! These dishes might look fancy, but much of the prep work can be done at home (and then frozen), and all of them can be done on a camp stove if there's a fire ban. Oh, and they can also all be made vegan!

So make your grocery list, get shopping and start prepping these delicious and nutritious camping meals...”

Green Curry with Ginger Rice (paired with The Hatch 2019 B. Yanco)

While this may sound way too fancy for a camping meal, it’s essentially a one-pot production that you barely have to monitor. The second pot comes into play if you want to make your rice fresh at the site, but you could make it ahead of time at home and just mix it right into the curry.

Another good thing about this dish is that if there is leftover veg from breakfast (think onion, peppers, potatoes, etc.), you can toss them right in here. No waste and you can chop everything in the morning, meaning more time on the beach.
Once again, this can be made vegan by eliminating the chicken (which I diced and froze ahead of time so by night two it was ready to go and I didn’t have to handle raw chicken on site), or substituting in some tofu, as the rest of it is just veggies!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 can coconut milk

• ⅔ cup water (approx.)

• 1 vegetable bouillon cube

• 2 chicken breasts, diced

• 1 small onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tbsp (possibly more to taste) green curry paste

• About 200 g of mushrooms (your choice, but I went with shimeji and shiitake)

• ½ red pepper, cut into strips

• 1 or 2 baby bok choy, roughly chopped (spinach works too)

• About 20 snap peas, ends trimmed

• Thumb of ginger (optional), sliced

• 1 cup jasmine rice

• Basil, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook the rice in a pot to the specifications on the package (adding in some optional ginger for flavour, removing after rice is finished) and set aside.

2. In a pan, heat the olive oil on medium and then add the onion, sautéing for a few minutes, before adding the garlic and the green curry paste.

3. Add in the chicken if you are using it and cook until just no longer pink.

4. Add the coconut milk into the pan and stir until the paste has been dissolved. Then add in the mushrooms and red pepper. You may need to thin the sauce out more here, depending how you like your curry. If so, dissolve the bouillon cube in the two-thirds cup of water, and then add it to the pan. (You can transfer to a large pot if your pan doesn’t fit this.)

5. Bring to a boil and then turn to low and let it simmer. You can taste and see if you need more curry paste (if so it may be easiest to dissolve it in a small bowl with a bit of the curry broth, and then add it in).

6. After the liquid has reduced a bit, and you have the spices where you like, add in the bok choy and the snap peas and cook for a few minutes until just tender (you want a bit of crunch to them still).

7. Turn off the heat, plate the rice (with the ginger discarded) and then scoop the curry mix on to it. Tear the basil and add on top (optional) and enjoy the view.

8. Drinks: There’s not much you can’t pair with a spicy curry, but a cold, dry, white wine is a sure bet. I tried The Hatch Winery’s B. Yanco a few months back from the Stable House Bistro takeout window, and fell in love. I’ve paired it with so many meals since, and on the beach as the sun went down sipped on between bites of this dish was another success.