spaswinefood: Quails' Gate Estate Winery & Old Vines Restaurant

The Okanagan Valley, British Columbia gets thousands of visitors seeking the best in cuisine and wine. Why is this so? Spaswinefood took a visit there to find out why.

Quails' Gate Vineyard © Spaswinefood

Visitors come to the Okanagan Valley because this region has so many award winning winery restaurants and wineries. The Okanagan Valley has attracted winemakers from the great wine regions of the world. These winemakers have put their expertise and passion into making today's Okanagan wines great. As the Okanagan wine industry grew, the area also attracted some of the best Canadian chefs.

Quails' Gate © Spaswinefood

One perfect example of the Okanagan's success is the Quails' Gate Estate Winery and Old Vines Restaurant, 3303 Boucherie Road, Kelowna. Spaswinefood visited this award winning winery and restaurant during the 2011 Okanagan Valley Spring Wine Festival.

Old Vines Restaurant at Quails'Gate Estate Winery

The Old Vines Restaurant, Quails' Gate Estate Winery has received recognition for its great cuisine. Its culinary team is under the direction of Chef Roger Sleiman. The restaurant's menu's offers cuisine prepared from locally sourced ingredients. Its menu is consistent with Ocean Wise and greentable emphasis on sustainability.

The 2010 Vancouver Magazine's competition in the Winery Restaurant Category resulted in the silver going to Chef Roger Sleiman at Old Vines Restaurant, Quails' Gate Estate Winery, Kelowna. Also the Okanagan Valley Life 2011 Readers' Choice Award for the Central Okanagan Best Winery Restaurant went to the following:

1. Old Vine's Restaurant (Quails' Gate Estate Winery)

2. Grapevine Restaurant (Gray Monk Estate)

3. Sunset Organic Bistro (Summerhill Pyramid Winery)

Found Locally lists the top five Okanagan winery restaurants as Old Vines Restaurant (Quails' Gate Estate Winery), Mahdinas Restaurant ( Lake Breeze Vineyard), Sunset Organic Bistro and Veranda Restaurant (Summerhill Pyramid Winery), Terrace Restaurant (Mission Hill Family Estates) and Grapevine Restaurant ( Gray Monk Estate Winery).

Quails' Gate Old Vines Restaurant © Spaswinefood

Wine Bar at the Old Vines Restaurant, Quails' Gate © Spaswinefood

When Spaswinefood dropped by for lunch we ordered two different wines, Old Vines Foch 2008 and Pinot Noir 2008.

Time for wine at Quails' Gate © Spaswinefood

Quails' Gate Old Vines Foch 2008 © Spaswinefood

Quails' Gate Merlot 2008 © Spaswinefood

For appetizers we selected:

Goat Cheese and Leek Tart, Old Vines Restaurant © Spaswinefood

Mussels, Old Vines Restaurant © Spaswinefood

Our entrées were:

Old Vines Restaurant © Spaswinefood

Butternut Squash Pasta with Goat Cheese and Mushrooms, Old Vines Restaurant © Spaswinefood

Braised Beef, Old Vines Restaurant © Spaswinefood

Our choice for dessert was Cremé Brulee:

Cremé Brulee Trio of Pistachio, Chocolate and Citrus, Old Vines Restaurant © Spaswinefood

Patio at Old Vines Restaurant © Spaswinefood

Old Vines Restaurant gets great reviews on OpenTable, Tripadvisor and Yelp. After a wonderful lunch we headed to the tasting room to sample more of Quails' Gate wines.

Quails'Gate Estate Wine

Quails' Gate tasting room has a beautiful view of the lake and vineyards.

Quails' Gate Estate Winery © Spaswinefood

Quails' Gate Vineyard © Spaswinefood

From its wines Spaswinefood tasted the 2007 Chenin Blanc, 2007 Merlot, 2008 Stewart Family Reserve Pinot Noir and 2008 Old Vines Foch Reserve. The Old Vines Foch is made from an inter-specific French hybrid red grape varietal called Maréchal Fosh. We especially liked this wine.

Quails' Gate Estate Winery Tasting Room © Spaswinefood

Quails' Gate Estate Winery Merlot © Spaswinefood

Prince of Pinot has written a great article on this winery. Snooth and Winediva's has reviewed Quails' Gate wines. See Dustonthebottle's review of Old Vines Foch Reserve 2003 and 2008, Natalie Mclean's review of 2008 Chardonnay, Epicureandtravel's review of 2008 Chardonnay Reserve and Vinivino's review of 2008 Chenin Blanc. A list of awards are posted on the winery's website. It certainly makes some great wines!

Spaswinefood had a wonderful visit to Quails' Gate Estate Winery and Old Vines Restaurant. The Old Vines Restaurant is one of the Okanagan's culinary gems.