Virtual Okanagan wine tour, Part 1, Westbank

Suburban Westbank, looking south from Mission Hill toward Peachland on the west side, and Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park on the east.

I love maps. I've been a Google Maps addict for many years, and for the past 18 months I've been utterly, irretrievably addicted to Google Street View.

On Friday I was thrilled to discover that Google Street View now covers nearly all the roads in the UK -- including back country lanes, remote sheep grazing countryside, and obscure little pieces of heaven.

Now, I am never, ever going to visit the Inn at Whitewell, Lancashire. But it doesn't matter, because I've already been there in Googlevision. Been there, and been up and down the local roads too! And just like these people, I can enjoy the view down Monsal Dale from Monsal Head.

360 degree panoramic, scrolling view of nearly everywhere, including the middle of nowhere. I can practially smell the air.

Then it occurred to me to find out how many BC wineries can be visited virtually via Street View. Let's see, shall we?

Virtual Okanagan wine tour, Part 1, Westbank

We'll start in suburban Westbank, across the lake from the city of Kelowna -- just because this is area is home to some of my favourite wineries, and because it's a suburban area, it's most likely to have street view coverage.


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This is where we're headed, west across Okanagan Lake from downtown Kelowna along the new bridge (a recent, long awaited replacement for the old, overloaded three-lane floating bridge). Because this is a wide angle view, the hills look much flatter than they are in reality. Mount Boucherie is straight ahead -- it's the decayed remains of an old volcano on the shores of the lake. All of the wineries we're visiting are in its vicinity, on Boucherie Road. The volcanic soils give their character to the grapes grown here, though most of the Westbank wineries also have extensive vineyards in the South Okanagan and Similkameen.

Stop 1: Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery

This is perhaps my all time favourite winery (here's a few of my posts about them). Their Syrah taught me to appreciate BC reds. Mt. Boucherie grows most of their grapes in the Similkameen, but their winery and cosy cabin tasting room is here, in Westbank.


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Stop 2: Little Straw Winery

A small family-run winery that does quite amazing work. I did a short post on them after a visit in 2007. I haven't investigated them since, and that's a wrong that must be righted.


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Stop 3: Quail's Gate

Ah! The first Street View gap! The Quail's Gate portion of Boucherie Road isn't covered. What a shame. It's a big, lovely winery with a super gourmet restaurant and a billion dollar lake views. The wine's super too! Their Chenin Blanc is an all time favourite of mine.

Well, here's a view from above, looking down at Quail's Gate between the houses. It gives you an idea of that killer lake view.


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Stop 4: Mission Hill Winery

Unfortunately on Street View, spectacular Mission Hill is the Queen Victoria of Westbank wineries. You just can't get close to her. But fortunately, I have a few posts on the loveliness of Her Majesty and her delicious wine. Here's a view of the gate:


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And here's a view of the clock tower, looking at it from the surburban lanes to the west, with the hill between us and the lake.


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We'll end our day's tour at Bliss Bakery in Peachland, just another 10 minutes south along the lake. Peachland isn't covered by Street View, but we can see the setting from the highway. Here's the turnoff to the bakery, with Okanagan Lake in the background.


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And here are a few photos of the wonderful lakeside bakery coffee shop: