Black Hills Estate Winery — Attraction in Area C (Inkaneep/Willowbrook)

We have been visiting the Oliver area wineries for years and are members of 2. We always include a visit to this winery as well. In the past we have enjoyed every interaction and bought more than a couple of bottles. Not this time. We had been looking at real estate to invest in all day and wanted a break so went to this winery to relax and have an enhanced tasting. As we were coming off house visits we were not dressed to the nines but defiantly appropriately for the weather and a winery visit.. (In fact Phantom Creek complimented my partner later on.) In past visits when my partner has visiting with me and her wine club she would normally be in a sun dress but this day was cold and windy. At checkin we said (as we have done for years) that we would like an enhanced tasting and are members of another winery that has a relationship with Black Hills for sharing tastings. She the greeter was a middle aged women with shoulder length strawberry blond hair and wore glasses at times. She said the outside was closed due to bad weather and seated us inside. At the time of seating there were 2 tables occupied inside and 2 outside with couples. Normally in a few minutes they would present a small glass of bubbly and some water before getting into the presentation. That was not done. So when the same woman came over to act as our server we asked if the bubbly was not offered anymore and was quickly told there were too busy for that. (Remember I said at seating there were only 4 tables out of 25 occupied). No water was offered, I had to get it myself. So she went ahead with the tasting in a very quick and business like fashion...no personal interaction. As she was going back to get the next tasting bottles 2 other tables were seated around us, They both got a friendly greeting and some bubbly and water. When she came back we asked why the bubbly was not served to us and was now told a different story. Now it was because we were not members. We countered with that was never done before and we were here as always because of an affiliation with another winery. Her reply was nope. By now we were wondering what the deal was. We were having a discussion about what to do about this when magically she reappeared with the bubbly (no water). I have no idea what she served us as she then immediately proceeded with the rest of the tasting experience, again with no social interaction. Needless to say this destroyed our experience. When it came time to pay we were in line with some gentlemen ahead off us and my partner (who runs a wine club and has bought more than a few bottles at Black Hills) had a nice conversation about different wine offerings at Black Hills and actually got one of them to change one bottle out on her recommendation. I then paid and an apology was offered at that time. At that point I had a conversation with her around her conduct. I said that she had profiled us. Her reply was I don't understand. I then laid out her demeaner and changing story on the bubbly at our table vs all other tables. At that point she apologized again for the bubbly only. I stated that my partner has been here numerous times in the past and even brought her wine club here where she was treated royally by the staff and manager and bought more than a few bottles of their wines. At that point her reply was then she should be in the system. That was simply her basically saying she didn't believe us...and completely exposes her as profiling us. In the past at checkin they normally do a quick check of their system when come in under an affiliate visitation which makes perfect sense. You can imagine the look on her face when my partners name and history showed up.

Wineries succeed a lot based on word of mouth. While I agree that one bad apple does not spoil the barrel...if left unchecked it will.

None of this story would have happened if that server had just said in reference to the bubbly concern "I'm so sorry...let me get if for you right away."

Black Hills in the past has been a goto spot for us. They need...

BLACK HILLS WINERY My girlfriend and I were on vacation through Okanagan wine country. Over six days, we visited sixty wineries. You can follow our various locations with this disclaimer. That’s sixty wineries, not an exaggeration. What’s the biggest lesson to take back from it? For one, don’t feel pressured to buy wine from every winery, because you end up trying to squeeze almost a hundred bottles into a tiny Nissan versa note. Once you include the boxes we had shipped, it ended up being 120 bottles. Now that the Wines of BC department of Save On is found basically across the province, there is no reason to purchase outside of those unique bottles found only at the wineries. We don’t regret our purchases; they just made transportation rather difficult. Less than two kilometers from Burrowing Owl, two minutes away (okay, more like thirty seconds the way I drive), is Black Hills Estate winery, and no two wineries could be more different. Where Burrowing Owl tries to replicate the village from Three Amigos, Black Hills is modern, though in no way plain or less interesting. It’s what I like about this region of Okanagan wine country, every location is different, every one a surprise. The tasting room is picturesque with wall-to-wall glass revealing not the dystopian panorama of a Phillip K Dickian urban sprawl, but rather romanticized and obviously hyperbolized endless rolling hills draped in vines. The Blade Runner metaphor apropos given Black Hills’ brutalist yet diminutive concrete walls and sharp edges broken up by simplistic black signs. Past the tasting area is a modest dining balcony outfitted with water spritzers to cool the patrons. Past that the sapphire pool (which they arbitrarily call a water feature, probably because they don’t let people swim) and fringing dark gazebos (or cabanas if you thought I was talking about gazelles) where the girlfriend and I found ourselves. Yes, we opted for the most expensive wine pairing, the VIP, and it was barely an hour past noon. An educated and shadow-shrouded man (we’re low, he’s high, and there’s sun) walked us through six generous portions of wine, three reds and three whites. Very generous portions. He explained the desert-like conditions of the region and the various techniques used in the making of the wines we sampled, all while the two us sunk deeper into incoherence, more the girlfriend than me, explaining why she opted out of the next two wineries. The wine was memorable, though in the end, we ended up picking up only four bottles, all white, two known as Alias while the others chardonnays. No reds, very astute—we just weren’t feeling them at Black Hills. I love the simplistic yet effective décor, and their whites are worth investigating, but the reds just didn’t win us over. Despite obviously less than Burrowing Owl, Black Hills is still a must-see location...

Chardonnay was quite nice (a blend if I recall correctly but not entirely sure). I typically do not like an oaked one but it surprised. What really stood out though about this particular winery was the cold and pretentious service. Whether it was that they ask you immediately upon arriving if you have a reservation (it was at less than half capacity and there were no booked events on the day), or they have you state your intentions on which of their $10 or $20 tasting fees you will be trying, it certainly was cold. The building is "modern" and comes across like a brand that is late to the party on the exposed concrete, wood beam, steel architecture that was so prevalent circa 2005-10. The view is fantastic from the pool deck but when asking one of the employees if the pool is ever used, we receive a strict "no." The server we ended up with was also quite rude. When our group of 6 asked if there was a possibility of subbing out 1 of the 3 wines on the $10 tasting menu due to personal preference he said "no, just don't drink it if you like it."

The Okanagan is rife with wineries as is well known. Some have a great view, some have great staff, others have a fun atmosphere, while others "educate" you on the wine, while almost all have a decent to great product. Let's put it this way...if you are planning on spending almost $1k on wine, as our group of six did on the weekend, save it for a place that doesn't charge a ridiculous fee (which can not be toward a purchase), has a warm and friendly staff and most importantly, has a great tasting wine. Heck! Platinum Bench was right next door with their fresh baked bread, great wine pairings and a quaint deck to sip and savour with a very lovely group of people who weren't pushy and cold. Going to Black Hills first made us truly appreciate Platinum and the other great places...