For a story in our current issue about the wines of the Okanagan Valley, in British Columbia, I've been trying to get bottles from my favorite wineries down to our office in Menlo Park, CA. I wanted to taste them with our wine editor, Sara Schneider, and add our recommendations to the article.

Fiendishly difficult. Thanks to U.S. Customs, Canadian wineries face such a thick, thorny barricade of regulations that it's almost impossible for them to send their products to the U.S.  Each winery is required to have, in America, an importer, a distributor, and a retail outlet. Little wineries just can't afford that kind of investment. Plus, you—the Okanagan tourist—can't even send wines to yourself while in the Okanagan. This is, crazily enough, considered importing, even if it's just a couple of cases. 

U.S. Customs does allow tourists to load wine into their cars and physically take it across the border (for a small fee, something like a quarter per bottle) or haul it onto the plane home.

So on my first visit, two years ago, I tried driving a few cases back from Canada. 

Disaster. By the time I reached California three days later, and despite every attempt to keep the wines cool along the way, the whites had all oxidized and the reds weren't in great shape either. What a waste.

However...I learned afterward that sometimes trade "samples" are allowed across. So I called 14 wineries and ask them to try.

A grand total of three made it through: Mission Hill (a very large winery with export capabilities), Cedar Creek, and Joie Farm (Joie is tiny, but it's wines are now being poured at Chez Panisse so it has a toehold in the U.S.). Read more here about some of the good wineries not represented on the list below.

It was a lopsided tasting (most of the 21 wines were Mission Hill's). Still, Sara and I felt that we could make some suggestions for anyone headed to the Okanagan (or to Chez Panisse!), and so here we go.

Our Top 10 Border-Busting Okanagan Wines

1) Mission Hill Family Estate Select Lot Collection Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon 2006 (about $25 U.S.)
The classic white Bordeaux blend. Candied pear and pineapple on the nose. Round and mouth-filling, but with great acidity.

2) JoieFarm A Noble Blend 2008 (about $25 U.S.)
An Alsatian-style blend of Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Kerner, Pinot Gris and Ehrenfelser. Also a hint of candy on the nose, but in this case it's like a creamy lemon chew, giving way to ripe white nectarine. Slightly spritzy in the mouth. "Pretty!" exclaimed Sara as she sipped. "Like a peach tart without too much sugar, and a bit of orange zest, too."

3) Cedar Creek Ehrenfelser 2008 (about $16 U.S.)
I'm a sucker for this very floral grape. Cedar Creek's well-made example is the color of pale straw, and fills the glass with the scents of gardenia and citrus. On the palate, it's all about lychee and a hint of lemongrass. Tons of fruit but plenty of acidity to go along with it.

4) Mission Hill Family Estate Select Lot Collection Chardonnay 2006 (about $24 U.S.)
Vanilla and spice on the nose, along with a bit of golden delicious apple and crème brûlée. Take a sip, and it's buttered popcorn and honeysuckle. Despite our descriptors, this isn't an over-the-top wine; it has lively fruit along with the oak. "Lots of control," said Sara.

5) JoieFarm Rosé 2008 (about $22 U.S.).
Another of my favorites, and I'm so pleased to hear it's now at Chez Panisse. (Like Alice Waters, I have a soft spot for good rosé.) It's made with Gamay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, with about 10% Pinot Gris—and is a brilliant, clear, true rose color. Cherry and strawberry on the nose, intensely, and then spritzy red plums on the palate, with a fascinating briary edge. As it fades it leaves you with flavors of red raspberries. A fireworks rosé.

6) Mission Hill Family Estate Reserve Pinot Noir 2006 (about $20 U.S.)
"Thanksgiving spices," murmured Sara, upon plunging her nose into the glass. "Cinnamon, clove, cranberries, vanilla." Then, a rush of red berries and rhubarb in the mouth. With its grippy tannins, this isn't a silky, sophisticated pinot, but an enjoyably rustic one.

7) Mission Hill Family Estate Select Lot Collection Syrah 2006 (the '06 is not currently listed, but the '04 is about $34 U.S.)
Peppery nose and then grilled plum on the palate. Smooth as silk at the beginning of the sip, and then powerful tannins take over. Juicy and with good acidity. "Probably great with barbecue," mused Sara.

8) Mission Hill Quatrain 2005 (about $44 U.S.)
The smoothest of the reds in the Mission Hill collection sent to us (the Oculus, a flagship red, was, unfortunately, corked--I remembered loving it while at the winery). Tantalizing aromas of cherries, bacon, and wild herbs, then mouth-filling cherries and berries layered with herbs, spices, tobacco, and--wrapped in all these other flavors--a hint of espresso.

9) Mission Hill Family Estate Reserve Vidal Icewine 2006 ('06 no longer available, but the '05 is about $46 U.S.; 365 ml.)
Made from the hybrid Vidal grape, which has a long history in the Okanagan Valley. The wine is a deep clear golden-brown, like bourbon. Luxurious honeyed-peach flavors and a long finish.

10) Mission Hill Family Estate Reserve Riesling Icewine 2007 (about $55 U.S.; 375 ml)
A clear pale gold, and golden is how it tastes, too--but lively with stone fruit. Intense flavor of honeyed apricots and guava, with corresponding intense acidity. This wine would be wonderful with a good creamy blue cheese.


The best way to enjoy an Okanagan wine? In the Okanagan itself--with no barriers between you and a valley full of choices.