High above sits Lions Head mountain that some believe guards the valley and its citizens. For friendly travellers however, the Lion poses no threat; the Thompson Valley welcomes visitors with old fashioned warm hospitality and the winery is no exception.

Cowboy country

The Monte Creek Ranch winery is located high above the Thompson river on its south side across from the Lions Head bluff and was built to resemble a late 19th century cow town. 

The winery is situated on century old ranch grounds which is deep in cowboy country and, in case you were in any doubt, a large wooden arch featuring a metal silhouette of three cowboys on horseback above the Monte Creek Ranch sign welcomes you as you enter the winery off Highway 1.

Campanile for gathering

The winery, which includes a tasting room with terrace dining, is barn shaped, reflecting the site’s rural and utilitarian past. Imagine horse stalls, gathering spaces for farm folk, andstorage for the harvest and you’ve got a pretty good idea of the architectural touchstones of the space.

In one corner of the main winery building stands a modern take on a Campanile or bell tower – perhaps a nod to the famous Campanile of St Mark’s Square in Venice? 

While the inspiration for the property is rooted in the past, the primary building materials are weathered zinc, concrete, glass, and steel, putting this example of “barn architecture” firmly in the modern era.

Two vineyards

Monte Creek Ranch winery has two vineyards which can be viewed from their tasting room inside of which, a large aluminum chandelier, inspired by swirling lassos, incorporates the design theme of the ranch into the interiors.

Twenty acres of the 300-acre Lions Head vineyard, on the north side of the Thompson River, are planted with varieties of Riesling, Frontenac Gris, Frontenac Blanc, Chardonnay and Marquette. Lion’s Head buff faces the rear of the property above the vineyard and reflects heat onto the grapes, making for some lovely grapes and some excellent wines.

Working ranch

The winery itself is located on a 900-acre ranch property, with 55 acres planted with grapes, plus land dedicated to haskap berries, beehives, grass fed cattle, and hay. Wander this vineyard and you will discover varieties such as Marquette, Foch, Pinot, Noir, Riesling, Chardonnay, and La Crescent.

The Monte Creek ranch winery opened to the public in 2015 and their winemaking philosophy is all about the fruit, using subtle oak in reds, and allowing natural acidity in the whites.

Al fresco patio dining

After my wine tasting, I reserved a table at the Terrace restaurant for a light lunch. The menu offers up soups and salads, sharable local meat and cheese boards, and a variety of mains, including turkey club panini, tuna poke, and steak salad.

If you wish to dine in a less formal setting, there is the option of sitting at outdoor picnic tables under the big trees or laying out your picnic blanket on the grassy areas around the winery; some people sat with their dogs, enjoying the food, the wine, and presumably, their four-legged company.

Spectacular setting

At Monte Creek Ranch winery, the delightful fruit flavoured wines speak for themselves but the setting provides the perfect backdrop against which to enjoy them. 

The quality of the wine shines through with every sip and the location, nestled in the beautiful Thompson Valley just east of Kamloops is hard to beat. 

For discriminating travellers, it’s well worth a visit; just don’t disturb the Lions Head! 

Related Story: 50th Parallel Estate Winery

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Aside from its wild and adrenaline-fueled surfing excursions and intimate lover’s strolls along deserted white sand beaches, you can now add exceptional dining and outstanding lodgings to your list of reasons to visit Tofino. For those desiring a more luxurious experience after a day exploring this vast outdoor playground, Tofino is coming into its own.

Read my travel story at The Bahamas Weekly.

Photo: The Pointe Restaurant at the Wickaninnish Inn, Tofino BC Canada

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Upon boarding, guests are greeted by their gracious Captain Ned Tutton. As she measures only 440 ft long – only slightly longer than a soccer field – Tutton and his crew refer to the Star Legend as a yacht and not as a cruise ship normally associated with the industry.

The Star Legend’s spacious suites, all with ocean views or private decks, make you feel as though you are aboard your own private yacht. The fine dining, welcoming lounges, tranquil spa, first rate casino and outdoor pool all help to create an atmosphere of intimacy and extravagance.

Combining the amenities of a four-star luxury hotel with the relatively small size of a yacht, the Star Legend allows you to visit the tiny harbours beyond the reach of the larger cruise ships and to enjoy the hospitality and culture of the local inhabitants.

The Star Legend is equipped with six large zodiacs which are stowed at the stern and launched by craning off and on. With a capacity of only six passengers each, these zodiacs are able to navigate up close to untouched wilderness. Aboard these zodiacs, you can experience narrow fjords surrounded by mountains higher than any others in North America, ancient first nation villages, Russian cathedrals or half-century old blue glacier ice field bays that descend into the vast Pacific Ocean.

Windstar Cruises recognizes that luxury cruising is about memorable and enriching travel experiences which they effortlessly facilitate with longer port visits, overnight and late-night – 10 pm or later – departures that allow their passengers more time to explore. Nightlife can be very different than daytime diversions, for some cities simply come alive with music and dancing when the sun sets. In addition, the smaller size of Windstar’s yachts allows them to dock in the heart of the cities they visit, resulting in less time spent disembarking and boarding and more time for you to enjoy your vacation.

The Star Legend’s 11-day Alaska cruise departs from Vancouver, takes you north through the Inside Passage with visits to Ketchikan, Misty Fjords, Wrangell, Skita, Tracy Arm / Endicott Arm, Haines, Juneau, Kenai Fjords National Park and concludes in Seward / Anchorage.

For more information about Windstar’s Alaska cruise departure dates in 2018 and 2019, visit Windstar cruises.

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One of my most cherished childhood memories was when my mother gave me a platinum necklace with a small translucent reddish-brown jade carving of a sword that she had purchased from a small jewelry shop in Hong Kong. For over 9,000 years Jade has been a symbol of the Chinese Imperial families, representing both the heavenly and earthly realms. It is believed that the stone can mystically protect wearers from illness and evil spirits. Like most Asian Mothers, mine believed that if I were in an accident, the jade, not my precious little body, would break. I was under the strictest instructions never, ever to take the necklace off.

As an important jade centre, the small northern Fraser Valley town of Lillooet has a significant cultural connection with the 1.35 billion plus inhabitants of modern China who continue to value jade highly for its beauty and its symbolic meaning. Jade, British Columbia’s official gemstone, is deeply embedded in the history of Lillooet.

Lillooet Jade Walk

Located 250 kilometers north of Vancouver, Lillooet is a community with a rich mining history, dating back to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush of 1858 when it was the largest town west of Chicago and north of San Francisco. Home of British Columbia’s first jade mine, the discovery of this priceless gemstone in the region is now commemorated with a fascinating and unique Jade Walk.

Cool to the Touch

Beginning at the Lillooet Museum and Visitors Centre on Main Street, the first stop on the Jade Walk is Jadehenge, an outdoor display of four jade boulders one of which measures nearly 3 meters tall and weighs over 7 tonnes. These four boulders, which range in size from that of a compact hotel room fridge to an enormous one meter wide, give you a sense of the stone’s density and hardness. Jade is harder than steel and requires many hours and a special saw to cut. It is also, uniquely, cool to the touch.

These four jade monuments also reveal the variations that can be found in the stone. A gem quality stone requires a rich deep green color, translucency and lack of fractures. On display at Jadehenge is a portion of a 20-ton boulder in which you can actually see a natural progression from serpentine – green material – to gem quality stone in the cross section.

The history of jade in the region is long. For centuries, local First Nations residents have been using tools for hunting and skinning salmon all carved from BC jade. From the late 1960’s and into the 70’s, Lillooet mined and exported more nephrite jade than any other place in the world. Green nephrite jade is also found in New Zealand and Russia while China is home to a white nephrite jade, which ranges in colour from reddish-brown to clear. Today, however, British Columbia is believed to have the largest deposits of nephrite on the planet.

The Jade Walk is the realization of the vision of prospector and hunting guide George Vanderwolf who has lived in Lillooet for over 63 years and who actually discovered the first jade mine in the region back in October 1964 while guiding American hunters in search of mountain sheep.

When the first jade rock was placed on display at the Visitor’s Centre in 2004, it looked pretty lonesome. So Vanderwolf and a band of community volunteers began adding more pieces and by 2010 there were 31 jade monuments situated throughout the town and at the cemetery all acquired from the various mines in BC. These can all be seen and enjoyed on the Jade Walk.

My mother’s beliefs notwithstanding, jade is beautiful stone and its significance both to Chinese culture and BC’s history cannot be understated. During your next visit to the Fraser Valley, take in the Jade Walk and learn all about BC’s official stone.

Tour maps are available at the Lillooet Museum and Visitor’s Centre and at KC Health & Gifts.

If you go: Lillooet Museum & Visitor Centre790 Main St., Lillooet BC

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