Wine Music and Fun

producers are the focus of this week's column: Tinhorn Creek and Mission Hill are each planning to entertain visitors with more than wine this summer if they make the trek to the Okanagan.

Tinhorn Creek Estate Winery, the yellow ochre winery that sits atop vine-covered Golden Mile bench, just south of Oliver, has been entertaining its visitors since the day it opened.

Tinhorn's self-guided winery and vineyard tour is one of the best in the valley and the tasting room complete with its incredible south facing vista is a fabulous place to spend an hour sipping, tasting and talking wine.

Once again the winery will mix music and wine, thanks to an ambitious series of Saturday night concerts at the Tinhorn Amphitheatre.

The Golden Mile Concert Club Performances premiered last weekend. The next performance is on June 28 with Carolyn Mark and her RoomMates offering up a diverse collection of country and western pop.

On July 26, the winery does classic rock with The Blackbirds. August 23, O'Kannagan returns to fuse its Celtic beat to other musical styles and on September 27 the series wraps up with An Intimate Evening with Barney Bentall and special guest Babe Gurr.

All performances start at 7 p.m. and tickets are only $15 if you call the winery in advance. For reservations phone 250-498-3743 or 1-888-484-6467.

North of the Coquihalla highway at Westbank, Mission Hill Family Estate welcomes Vancouver's acclaimed Shakespearean company, Bard on the Beach for an August-long performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The play runs Tuesday through Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m. from July 31st to August 31st in the winery's outdoor amphitheatre overlooking Lake Okanagan.

Tickets are $30 per person and can be ordered in the greater Vancouver area by dialling 604-739-0559. The toll-free number is 1-877-739-0559. Advance booking is recommended.

The venue offers festival seating, so early arrival is recommended. Your best bet may be to take advantage of a dinner-theatre package designed by the winery's culinary team that promise to get you to your seat on time.

The three-course $79 dinner begins at 5 p.m. and includes your theatre ticket, gratuities, taxes and two glasses of wine per person. Now to today's picks.

The Mission Hill Sauvignon Blanc 2002 should have wide appeal with its ripe melon and canned grapefruit aromas. It's much softer and rounder than previous additions with less grass and pepper and more ripe fruit. This is a clean, fresh B.C. white made for summer sipping and West Coast oysters.

Mission Hill's ode to the Italian pinot grigio is the most exciting $14 white wine made in B.C. and could easily hold its own against any imported white selling at a similar price. The Mission Hill Pinot Grigio 2002 has a fresh lively demeanour with citrus/pear and tropical fruit aromas and flavours followed by a medium-dry, piecrust flavoured finish. All it needs is a screwcap to take on the world. Buy this one by the case.

Mission Hill Pinot Blanc 2002 maintains its consistency. Like the '01 there is a fair bit of peachy/tangerine fruit aromas and flavours. The entry is soft and round with creamy textures and a soft, lime/butter finish. It's ready to drink as a stand-alone aperitif or with food. A warm seafood salad could be the perfect match.

Shifting south to Oliver our first red is the Tinhorn Creek Pinot Noir 2000. The colour is typically light red with a tinge of orange at the edge. There is a pronounced strawberry, spicy dill compost character on the nose. It's light textured in the mouth with round, soft, fruity flavours mixed with streaks of leafy, Worcester sauce in the finish. A ready-to-drink, solid pinot available at a fair price.

The Tinhorn Creek Cabernet Franc 2000 is a pleasant mix of black cherry, cigar, barnyard and pepper aromas with a touch of olive. It has a soft, round elegant style with light tannins. Its pleasing palate is awash in spicy, cranberry, smoky, vanilla fruit with a touch of orange peel, olive and cigar on the finish. Drinkable now but should improve over the next three years. Good value.

The signature red at Tinhorn is merlot. Expect a pale colour from the Tinhorn Creek Merlot 2000, but plenty of cherry jam and spicy vanilla aromas mark the nose and the flavours with some minty coconut in the background. The entry is round and supple with fine intensity of flavours but the finish is dry and slightly astringent. Barbecued flank steak would be the fare to help smooth out the young dry tannins in the finish.

These Mission Hill wines aren't on the shelves yet, but will be introduced to stores over the next three weeks.

TINHORN CREEK ESTATE WINERY AND MISSION HILL FAMILY ESTATE OKANAGAN VALLEY, B.C.

Wine: Mission Hill Sauvignon Blanc 2002
Price: $13.95
UPC: 776545995278
Score: 13.5/20
Comments: Clean, fresh B.C. white made for summer sipping.

Wine: Mission Hill Pinot Grigio 2002
Price: $13.95
UPC: 776545995322
Score: 16/20
Comments: B.C.'s most exciting white under $14.

Wine: Mission Hill Pinot Blanc 2002
Price: $13.95
UPC: 77654599500
Score: 14.5/20
Comments: Creamy textures with lime/butter finish.

Wine: Tinhorn Creek Pinot Noir 2000
Price: $15.99
UPC: 62480297104
Score: 13.5/20
Comments: Strawberry, spicy dill, leafy red.

Wine: Tinhorn Creek Cabernet Franc 2000
Price: $15.95
UPC: 62480297106
Score: 15.5/20
Comments: Pleasing spicy, cranberry, smoky, vanilla flavours.

Wine: Tinhorn Creek Merlot 2000
Price: $15.95
UPC: 624802971056
Score: 14.5/20
Comments: Cherry jam, spice, vanilla ,a touch of coconut.