[trip style = wine tasting + weekend getaway + sun + luxury]
{Editor’s note: This month we’re doing a four-part feature on the Pacific Northwest’s off-the-beaten-track destinations. See below for this month’s earlier selections that sit in the shadow of bigger, fancier or legacy locales. This week we're going to a summer town that works hard year-round.}
Last week I found a place that layers trip styles with the same attention to detail a winemaker uses when creating a 90-point blended white. You just don't expect to see, taste and feel such depth in a town of 5,000, but Osoyoos' roots dig deep to produce a time-tested getaway and wine region with international acclaim.
Maybe it's Osoyoos' depth that enhances its height. Ten years ago, it wasn't easy to find the high life in the Okanagan. With lakefront RV parks, motels and condos flooding the vacation market, if you wanted a luxurious summer vacation or tasting trip, you needed to fly south to California.
Then a few trailblazers, one of whom has roots that stretch back to BC's beginnings, had a vision to draw vacationers back from below the 49th with the promise of award-winning wines, sunset vistas and rolling hills painted with vines. The aboriginal-owned Nk'Mip resort area and Cellars occupies a large plot of land overlooking lake Osoyoos and the town below. This trailblazer was my home base.
The resort area's signature property, aside from the Cellars, is aptly named Spirit Ridge. True to its name, it sits higher than most properties in the area providing a retreat from the summer frenzy below. I arrive in the late afternoon and open my door to a waft of lavender-infused heat flooding my air-conditioned vehicle. This scent did not come from the spa; the purple bushes are planted throughout the resort.
After sitting in a car for four hours, I have one goal in mind: get to the pool! En route I'm distracted, again by my nose. This time, the scent is more savory---like fresh-baked, herb-dusted focaccia. Dry and pale green sage and rosemary bushes are everywhere, not just planted strategically, but scattered throughout the surrounding desert ridge. Vegas' resorts spritz signature scents into their properties, but in Osoyoos this is a naturally occurring phenomenon.
If you want to get back to civilization, walking down to Osoyoos Lake or the main road below only takes 10 minutes with your choice of route: stroll through vineyards and along an orchard-lined street or along a dry, crunchy, well-maintained desert path with signs that warm against rattlesnakes. What? Don't worry, there are few sightings and protective fences keep most of these heat-loving, tail-rattling desert dwellers out. I walked the trails multiples times without a hint of rattle.
After a morning walk and sun-therapy beside the pool, I'm ready for more of the high life sipping fine wines in an area known as "Napa of the North." But forget California, hundreds of award-winning wineries await your palate. Just don't forget the baguette and brie picnic, which is an essential in wine country fashion and function.
[trip style = weekend getaway + active & adventure + wine tasting]
