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Okanagablog: Tasting And Touring At Mission Hill

As noted in a mobile post yesterday, I’m up in the Okanagan staying at Mission Hill for a few days. I woke up this morning (following a near-debaucherous evening at Jamie Maw’s place), shook out the Syrah and Heineken cobwebs, and took my coffee up to the winery. Following a tour of the kitchen with Matt Batey, the new winery chef – replacing Michael Allemeier, more on that here – I wandered around the wintry grounds, listening to the bells chime and contemplating the seasonal extremes of the world’s deserts before the gates opened to the public. It was fortuitous timing, as I’d never had the place to myself before. Snaps below.

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I also had the good fortune of tasting Mission Hill’s new Perpetua and Quatrain labels (among a half dozen others) with Ingo Grady and resident sommelier Jesse Harnden (tasting notes by Rhys Pender). Two very charming chaps whose enthusiasms for their wines are infectious.

Tonight, Matt Batey and Michael Allemeier are cooking with Ned Bell at Cabana. I’m really looking forward to it, and will report back upon my return to Vancouver tomorrow (it’s unlikely I’ll be able to find my laptop under the table once this evening winds its way down, so you’ll have to bear with me – occupational hazards, et cetera). Late on Thursday or Friday I’ll put together a lengthy field trip film that will see plenty of shots and clips from every day that I’ve spent up here. So far so awesome…

“Locals” With Michael Allemeier

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Andrew Morrison is a west coast boy who studied history and classics at the Universities of Cape Town and Toronto after an adolescence spent riding skateboards and working in restaurants. He is the editor of Scout Magazine, the weekly food and restaurant columnist for the Westender newspaper, a contributor to Vancouver and Western Living magazines, and a proud board member of the Chef’s Table Society of BC. He lives and works by the beach in Vancouver.

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