An Okanagan odyssey

Join Kali Love as she tours the Okanagan region and hits up the best places to golf, wine and dine

Everyone goes to the Okanagan for different reasons. Some go for the recreational opportunities that the region offers; others go for the plethora of wineries. Yet, the most common response that I hear is that people go to the Okanagan for the climate and to golf.

This May I had the opportunity to go to Kelowna and tour some of the finest golf courses in the area: The Harvest Golf Club, Tower Ranch Golf Course and the Quail Course at the Okanagan Golf Club. Now, I am not an experienced golfer so the idea of 18 hole of golf three days in a row was a little daunting—but my worries proved to be pointless and I actually got the hang of it pretty quickly and had a blast.

Living the high life

Tourism Kelowna organized the whole trip for me and various other travel golf writers from across the continent; there were people from Calgary, Toronto and San Diego. When I arrived, I checked into the Delta Grand Lakeside Resort, which is right on the shoreline of Okanagan Lake. The suite I had was amazing; I had a private patio that overlooked the lake and boardwalk, a master bedroom, a full kitchen and living room with a fireplace and a Jacuzzi tub. Oh, and did I forget to mention the rooftop infinity pool with lounge chairs and indoor and outdoor hot tubs? I felt like a rock star.

True Kelowna style

The next morning, the crew of golf writers met at the Harvest Golf Club for 18 holes of golf and lunch with Giles Dufort, the general manager of the Harvest Golf Club. This course, at 7,109 yards, is the classiest and best kept course I have had the privilege of playing. The course was designed by Graham Cooke, a renowned golf course architect, and it boasts manicured bent-grass fairways, fantastic views and strategically placed tee boxes and holes. The Harvest Golf Club is also hailed as one of the most beautiful courses in the region. An interesting feature is that 54 acres of the Harvest are used as a working orchard that produces Spartan, Macintosh, Royal Gala, Granny Smith and Fuji apples; an additional five acres is devoted to Ehrenfelser, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, which are used by Calona Wines to make delicious Okanagan wines.

We had a tight schedule, so shortly after golfing the Harvest course, we sped off to tour wineries—I know, the life of a writer is sometimes so taxing. Our first stop was  The View Winery, where we got to meet Bernhard Schirrmeister, The View's winemaker. We sampled a Pinotage, a Gewurztraminer, a Riesling and a sparkling wine called Distraction Frizzante. The sparkling wine was my personal favourite; it had hints of honey, strawberries and pomegranate.

Our next stop was SpierHead Winery, a quaint establishment that opened in July 2010, to meet with Brian Sprout, one of the owners. SpierHead Winery has an underground barrel cellar; its red wines are aged for 18 months in French oak barrels. And the wines are delicious. The group sampled a white Riesling and Chardonnay, as well as a red Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Vanguard. I would choose the Merlot as my top pick of the bunch—its fruity aroma alone was superb.

Dinner on the high seas

For dinner, the group was escorted on board the Lake Lounge—Kelowna’s newest lake cruise charter boat. The talent of the two chefs on board, combined with the gorgeous view, made this one of the most relaxing and enjoyable evenings of the tour. For dinner, Anne Henderson and Chef Jeff Kreklau from Cabana Catering made us baby back ribs, chicken breast in a delicious fig sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, fresh asparagus and caesar and spinach salad. For dessert, I had a brownie with French vanilla creme ganache and peanut butter icing. I gained weight on this trip but it was totally worth it.

A tough yet satisfying course

The next morning, we went to Tower Ranch to play another 18 holes and meet the general manager, Brian Reilly. One of the more difficult courses in the Kelowna area, Tower Ranch is a Thomas McBroom-designed golf course that features a dramatic, undulating landscape and is surrounded by jagged hills. Don't let this scare you off though. I actually had the best game of my life at Tower Ranch and had a lot of fun aiming my golf ball over the various hazards strategically placed along the course. Located 15 minutes from downtown Kelowna, Tower Ranch affords amazing views of Okanagan Lake and the whole city.

After searching for my golf ball atop many hills, I was ready for food—and what a treat it was to go to Bouchons Bistro. This French cuisine restaurant is in the heart of Kelowna's cultural district and has won numerous awards, including one of the top 100 restaurants to dine at in Canada and one of the 10 best new restaurants in Canada in 2004 by enRoute magazine. The meal that I selected was a culinary masterpiece that included milk-fed tenderloin and prawns with lobster coulis. It came with Belgian french fries and fresh Swiss bread that was so good I could have just eaten that for dinner. For dessert, I had the profiteroles—or flaky pastry filled with vanilla bean ice cream and topped with warm chocolate and almonds.

Our last day in Kelowna started bright and early with 18 holes at the Okanagan Golf Club. Here, the Quail Course and the Bear Course combine to make up 36 holes of golf. My group played the Quail, a par 72, 18-hole championship golf course. Les Furber designed the Quail Course; it features dogleg left and right turns, waste bunkers and 6,891 yards of multi-tiered fairways that twist around luxury homes and lovely tree-lined fairways.

One particular aspect of the Quail Course that I enjoyed was that every hole has four tee boxes; this provides challenge for the lowest handicapper while still being enjoyable for the recreational golfer—in other words, me.

The cherry on the already delicious cake

The trip wouldn't have been complete without a little rest and relaxation after my three days of golf, so I visited Ousia Day Spa, located directly on the Quail Golf Resort. Here, Sarah Failer, the owner of Ousia Day Spa, and Pascale Lemay pampered me from my head down to my toes. First, Lemay soaked my feet in a warm foot bath and rubbed away the knots and tightness in my feet and calves. She then put my feet in a warm liquid wax for about 10 minutes. Once the wax had cooled and hardened around my feet, the bag and wax were removed to reveal my soft, soothed feet. I was also treated to a champagne facial and face massage. Champagne, an active ingredient in this treatment, makes your skin tingle as moisture soaks into your pores. This treatment is suitable for all skin types and my face glowed for days afterwards. And lastly, just for fun, I decided to try the sinch loss treatment because Lemay said this was the spa's most popular treatment. The sinch loss primarily targets fat and cellulite, and after the first session, one is guaranteed to lose four to nine inches. Although this treatment wasn't as relaxing as my facial and pedicure, it was nice to be able to lie down and think to myself that I was 'working out.'

All and all, this trip was amazing and Kelowna truly is a premier destination for golfing, wining and dining. Those wanting to book a holiday, including golf packages to the best courses in the region, can simply go to the Golf Kelowna website. Catherine Frechette, the media relations manager for Tourism Kelowna, summed up the whole Okanagan experience best.

"As a tourism destination, Kelowna has an enormous amount going for it," said Frechette. "The city has one of the highest concentrations of golf courses of any single city in Canada—18 courses tucked all around Kelowna. On top of that, there are five distinct wine trails in Kelowna, so you can follow up your golf rounds with a bit of tasting and touring to over 20 wineries. Add to this the dining, which can only be described as superb. Whether people look to dine at golf courses, wineries, downtown restaurants, even on houseboats, the dining scene is amazing and chefs are proud to feature locally grown produce and farmers."