We are frequent visitors of Oliver and Osoyoos and have been watching this winery get built for a long time. Phantom Creek Estates finally opened this year, and we got the chance to check out the tasting room and wine. It is in a great location overlooking Black Sage Road, with views of Osoyoos Lake. We opted to just do a wine tasting instead of a tour or check out the restaurant since we weren’t sure how much they would be enforcing COVID safety protocols.
Phantom Creek Estates tastings are by reservations only. We saw on Instagram that they had opened up for tastings, and promptly booked our visit. There is a tasting fee of $20 and you get it back if you join the wine club.
The indoor tasting room is gorgeous and modern. I forgot to snap a picture but got a few as we sat outside. Our whites and roses were already served and waiting for us at our table. The ambassador came by and gave us a background of the winery and of each wine. As it was described to us, I got the impression that Phantom Creek Estates was a very expensive passion project, and so I was a little suspect of the wine. Fortunately, all of the wine was really good! We enjoyed all of them and bought a bunch to bring home. Their whites are Alsace-style. The reds were also quite good, with one of their flagship wines being a light Bourdeaux-style red.
Phantom Creek Estates has invested a lot of money in their buildings, as well as their winemaking team. The winemakers are world-sourced, and they also leverage wine consultants. It will be nice to check out the restaurant whenever that opens (and we feel safe dining out again), as well as check out the “wine cave” tours.
Overall, our experience at Phantom Creek Estates made us feel like we were wine tasting out in Napa. It’s different from most Okanagan wine tastings and brings an element of luxury. It should be interesting to see how their presence in the local wine scene changes things around here. That and COVID safety protocols. It would be OK if we moved away from tastings at the bar, and had to book sit-down wine tasting experiences.
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