Lang Vineyards — Attraction in Area E (Naramata/Greyback)

With a name like Lang, you just know there’s some guy at the winery with that last name. There must be, or rather there better be, some guy named Lang that started this whole operation. First or last, doesn’t matter—it would be awesome if it were both, like the founding dude was Lang Lang. That’s even better than Duran Duran.

In actuality, there were two Langs—the founder selling it to a descendant. The website is unspecific as to the relation—if a coincidence, that would be…weird.

My girlfriend and I were on vacation through Okanagan wine country. Over six days, we visited sixty wineries. That’s sixty wineries, not an exaggeration. We ended the trip with 120 bottles acquired. Of those, one was a towering crimson monolith emblazoned with the symbol of Canadian patriotism…it’s a maple leaf, not a beaver, you philistines. It claimed to be the original Canadian Maplewine (the bottle, not the beaver). I couldn’t be happier with the purchase. Many places would be content to sell you maple syrup or even maple icewine syrup (don’t believe me? Every Canadian tourist shop sells both of those), but nothing with actual alcoholic content. This is a thing a beauty. I know I should discuss the winery, but this is why you go to a winery. Well, that and the view, which is amazing—they were even offering tours that day, one of the few places that did so. I acquired the red bottle, a blend of Merlot and Canadian Maple Syrup. They claim hints of light sherry and port. It’s astounding; at least the tasting was. My bottle remains unopened. I know, holding back, probably for that special occasion, harkening back that quote from Sideways. To open a red Canadian Maplewine—that’s the special occasion. Alas, I slipped it back into its box and continued writing this review.

The actual winery is higher up on the bench, boasting one of the best views in the region. It’s a far better sight that day than the insane tasting room. Lang must draw crowds as, given this time of day and month, the tasting toom was packed. And with kids. Kids! Obviously, the crowd won’t affect my review, but who brings kids on a wine tour? Dogs, sure, I see dogs everywhere. I think they’re mandatory. Kids bounce off the wall demanding stimulation while ignorant parents sip wine. The actual tasting room was slightly bland, so we didn’t linger. However, the wines more than made up for it.

The red maplewine was not the only bottle purchased, the other being a 2014 Marechal Foch, a rare varietal for the region. It also remains unopened by this writing. Lang claims to possess the oldest Foch grapes in the region. Really old Fochs.

Old Fochs.

Lang is a recommendation and worth the detour off Naramata road. It’s just up from Mocojo, another great recommendation. Ignore the lackluster name and snap a few shots of the view. Just go early to...

We went there this noon but it was not a pleasant experience for us. We were interested to see this winery because the history and its reputation sounded impressive. So when we arrived there, there were no other people outside but my husband and I. We followed the protocol of staying in a designated spot under the umbrella and even sanitized our hands and waited for a staff member to meet us outside. While waiting, there was this white couple who arrived and they stood at the main entrance to wait too. After a few minutes, a guy just emerged and greeted the white couple and asked them if they were waiting for a chance to be accommodated and they said yes.The guy gladly asked if he could offer them glasses of wine while waiting and immediately left after their short conversation. The guy did not even bother to talk to us considering that we were standing on the right spot and we were there first. Whether it was intentional on his part or not to not to talk to us, he made us feel that we were not worthy of his attention. And since we felt discriminated against, we didn't think twice and instantly walked out and left the premises. It's a good thing that there were other good, perhaps, even better wineries that were around, and we were given a warm accomodation by its employees and owners. I'm a wine lover and I'm taking this wine tour seriously because I plan to write something about the wines of Naramata Bench because I'm really proud of the B. C. wines. It's too bad that we had to skip this winery because of discrimination, but leaving the place was the right thing to do. We may not be a significant client but still, we deserved a nice and civil treatment. That guy may not represent all the people who work in this vineyard, but I would not recommend any people of color to visit this place if this is the kind of person that they would have...

The tasting room host was friendly, knowledgeable and very patient with a somewhat rude young lady who interrupted our tasting with questions, negative product comments etc. The hostess answered her questions and tried to set a few of her misperceptions to rest. During all of that distraction she was attentive to us, continued our tasting and greeted several new walk-ins looking for a tasting. Her professional manner, friendly repartee and passion for the product convinced us we wanted to become members of the wine club. The young lady was not charged for her tasting which was generous given her negative vibe and attitude. The hostess made sure the young woman left with nothing tangible to complain about. We enjoyed the various original paintings on the tasting room walls. They were mostly wine country themed and reasonably priced. There was no restaurant on site to dilute the 'wine experience' which was fine with us, just people passionate about their wine. All in all a lovely experience. As new members we will certainly be back but even without membership we would have returned. It was...