Okanagan Wine Country - Design is All Around Us

I just got back from an amazing tour of several wineries in the Okanagan, all near Kelowna. Ok, seven wineries in two days, but hey, who’s counting!

One of our first stops on our trip was the amazing Mission Hill winery. The buildings at Mission Hill are designed by Seattle architect, Tom Kundig. Kundig’s vision was to create a building that would blend in with the natural beauty of its surrounds and not compete. There is a peacefulness and feeling of serenity about these buildings, and the sounds of the bells ringing, transports you to some far away hill top in Tuscany.

What a treat it was to go below ground and view the cellar where the wine is aging in its barrels. The smell of red wine perfumed the air, and the sounds of condensation dribbling down the volcanic rock walls was lovely and refreshing (outside it was nearing 30 degrees celsius!).

After our tour, we were led to a small tasting room, where we sampled some of Mission Hill’s wines. This winery boasts many awards, thanks to the vision of its proprietor, Anthony von Mandl, a Vancouverite of Austrian descent.

Following the wine tasting, we happily wandered through the gift shop and this is where I started to think about home staging. Ha! You knew I couldn’t resist a link, didn’t you? I was very impressed with the displays of gift wares – how they were artistically arranged to catch your eye.

The colours and textures really drew you in, and made you want to purchase an Eiffel tower or a ceramic hen, even though I already own a million Eiffel towers (hmmm, I don’t have any hens yet…). This is exactly what we do when we stage a home. We merchandise the home to make it seem more appealing to buyers. We draw buyers in using colours and textures, and creating stories that will be memorable to home buyers.

Curb appeal is also important, and wow, does this place have curb appeal! The vineyards are just beautiful, with grape vines running all the way down the hill to the lake. Roses are planted at the beginning of each row of vines. This is so that bugs will infect the roses first, before carrying on into the vines. It’s a warning sign of infestation, but it is also very beautiful to see the shot of colour at the beginning of each row. Yes, here I am, standing amongst the vines.

The grapes are a little behind, since the summer started out a little cool, but they should be bursting forth in no time.

If you get a chance, definitely go to the Okanagan and do some wine touring and tasting. Soak in the wonderful examples of great design and sample the wine. Next year, I’m hoping to visit a different area, maybe Naramata, where different grapes are grown. Until then, cheers!