A Wine, Foodie and Nature Surprise Package by Judy Waytiuk

Dinner with a view: Guests at select Okanagan wineries can watch the sunset while enjoying an array of organic foods and locally produced wines. ountry T ourism Penticton & Wine C ountry

hile the 2010 that’s a 3 percent rise from 2009 figures. remarkable shopping, Stanley Park and Winter Olympics More than 4 million of those were other the Vancouver Aquarium and, increas- held in Vancouver Canadians with another 1.5 million U.S. ingly, aboriginal culture. The Museum of and Whistler saw travelers thrown in. Anthropology at the University of British a bit of a global It seems Vancouver still qualifies Columbia and the Bill Reid Gallery of Wclimate-change challenge (who would as an off-the-beaten-track destination Northwest Coast Art are two introduc- have ever thought any place in Canada for many Americans, even though the tory points for native history and art could be sans snow in mid-winter?), the city was voted the best urban destina- here, said Monica Leeck, Tourism British spectacular world event certainly had tion in the Americas by Condé Nast Columbia’s market development man- its desired effect. The city of Vancouver Traveler in its 2010 Readers’ Choice ager for North America. saw more than 6.6 million tourists Awards. Vancouver earns its high marks Farther afield in the province, there from January through September 2010; by offering a diverse restaurant scene, also are many other marvels to discover.

www.NTAonline.com 49 eave, T ourism Whistler/ he A dventure Grou p R oland N eave, Wells Gray Provincial Park’s Helmcken Falls can be viewed from a 575- foot perch above the canyon floor. Visitors can experience Whistler’s spectacular winter wilderness on skiing packages and snowshoe tours.

HAIDA GWAII: MAGIC AND MYSTERY And true to his corporate name and are beginning to introduce groups to Kamloops-based Wells Gray Tours offers roots, Neave runs tours of Wells Gray these more remote parts of the prov- three departures every summer to Haida Provincial Park, a wilderness spot ince. “That’s what’s great about com- Gwaii, “and it always sells out,” said replete with rivers, waterfalls, lakes and panies like Wells Gray and Anderson Roland Neave, the company’s owner. “We forests that British Columbians love, but [Vacations], the Elderhostels of the do it as a land tour, spend six days tour- outsiders seldom discover. world, that are offering such a wide ing mainly Graham Island and go on a variety [of product] into the various Zodiac trip into Gwaii Haanas National UP THE COAST AND UP THE HILL areas,” Leeck said. Park from Moresby Camp and stop at the Small cities along mainland B.C.’s While summer is high season in abandoned village of Skedans.” Groups coastline that once relied on commer- B.C. by a long shot, winter attracts stay in Skidegate, where a massive cial shipping and fishing are turning outdoor adventurers looking to hit museum covering Haida history opened more to tourism, and that’s had a posi- the slopes. There are plenty of Nordic a couple of years ago. Neave said it takes tive effect for area receptive operators, ski trail opportunities as well as the about four hours to explore thoroughly. restaurants and hotels in places like PEAK 2 PEAK gondola that carries Wells Gray also does a 10-day Prince Rupert. The quaint port city, Alpine skiers from Whistler Mountain “Vancouver Island Toe to Tip” tour. “It which may well have the most bountiful to Blackcomb and back. And the Sea covers the things we don’t do a lot of the whale-watching on any North American to Sky Highway from Vancouver to time,” Neave said. “For example, Race coastline, also boasts aboriginal cultural Whistler received $500 million in Rocks, the actual southern tip, for some experiences, a perfectly preserved old improvements, making it not only sce- whale-watching, Cathedral Grove with its salmon cannery (now a museum) and nic, but now a much safer road. giant cedars and Nootka Sound, where bear-watching. While Whistler Blackcomb may be we charter a boat to go out to the sound.” Prince Rupert is situated on Kaien the ski resort with the highest profile in On the northernmost point of the Island, approximately 480 miles north the province, a dozen or more resorts in island, his groups stay at Cape Sutil. of Vancouver, just north of the mouth the series of mountain chains that cover They also spend time in Victoria and at of Skeena River. It’s a port of call for most of the B.C. interior offer everything Tsa-Kwa-Luten lodge on Quadra Island. some cruise lines and connects with from ski-in, ski-out, family-style skiing “It’s one of my all-time favorites—native- B.C. Ferries for transportation by water. to high-end digs for those seeking more built, designed like a gigantic long house FITs are beginning to discover that the grown-up runs. Most resorts now offer with a lobby four or five stories high all region offers genuine, unspoiled natu- Nordic skiing to lure boomers concerned built out of logs.” ral beauty, and a few tour operators about potential downhill broken bones.

50 Courier | February 2011 FOOD AND WINE, SO FINE one overnight in Kamloops to two in for a while and then head to the barn Two of the biggest reasons for B.C.’s Kelowna for winery explorations. for a hearty harvester’s lunch at Noble burgeoning popularity are wine and The central and southern Okanagan Ridge Vineyard & Winery. Also thanks food. New wineries popping up in the Valley, where small estate tasting rooms to wine, culinary and golf (40 courses, Lower Mainland area—50 alone in the and restaurants dot side roads within including glitzy new Predator Ridge), top- Fraser Valley—have added to well over a few hundred yards of each other, is notch hotels have opened along the valley, 140 wineries in the Okanagan Valley a wine-touring hot spot. Thanks to the noted Ellen Walker-Matthews, Thompson and some 40 wineries and cideries in the wine, fine chefs and foodies have descend- Okanagan Tourism Association’s market Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. ed on once-rustic towns like Penticton, development specialist for North America. Some tour operators use the wineries as blossoming them into utterly charming Offerings include the all-suite Watermark glammed-up, top-notch lunch stops, oth- little cities. At Bogner’s of Penticton res- Beach Resort and Spirit Ridge Vineyard ers as learning experiences to discover taurant, the chef grows his own herbs and Resort & Spa in Osoyoos (attached to the the pleasures of good wine, Leeck said. some veggies on site. And spots like eclec- Nk’Mip aboriginal-owned winery), the “As baby boomers’ tastes become more tic, hole-in-the-wall Burger 55 (custom stunning five-star Sparkling Hill Resort refined, wine and culinary are a part of gourmet burgers with dozens of toppings in Vernon (seven saunas and North most vacations these days,” she added, and sauces) and the Book Shop—the larg- America’s first super-sub-zero cryo-spa), and B.C. tourism product routinely est used bookstore west of Toronto—flesh the Summerland Waterfront Resort & Spa offers both. Edible British Columbia on out the busy little downtown. in Summerland near Penticton, and Alpine Vancouver’s Granville Island, for example, During the fall Okanagan Wine Festival, Meadows Resort near Hallamore Lake in offers everything from gourmet kayaking visitors can hit the vineyards, pick grapes the north Thompson area. C to private gourmet din- ners on Vancouver’s busy farmers’ market/boutique shops/restaurants hub, Granville Island. The world-renowned Rocky Mountaineer train, which travels from Vancouver to Banff, Calgary and Jasper, now offers an optional two- day stopover in Kelowna for a concentrated wine- touring or golf package. And NTA-receptive Brewster Travel Canada has changed one of its tour packages from

Clockwise from top left: Local vendors sell a variety of homemade goods, seafood, and fresh fruit and vegetables at Granville Island Farmers Market. Whistler Mountaineer offers afternoon tea service on its Glacier Dome Expe- rience package. Victoria’s Fairmont Empress Hotel is ountaineer, B randon Godfrey/Wikimedia C ommons ancouver, Whistler M ountaineer, just steps away from the Inner Harbor, shops and

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