Poplar Grove Winery — Attraction in Penticton

We tried not staring at the wedding couple as they strode by us on their journey to ritualized legal kinship. We were enjoying our meal when kilt-clad men and their respective glowing fairer companions approached the marriage commissioner on a distant hill. We were further shocked when they returned only five minutes later. That was it? A lifetime commitment over coffee. No reception, they borrowed a mound for a spell and left. It certainly was an interesting distraction, and I was left curious as to how ones goes about securing such a location. Their website lists many options but not a drop-in for five minutes rate. Perhaps it was dinner theater, or rather, in this case, lunch theater.

Poplar Grove’s greatest strength lies not with its winery but with The Vanilla Pod restaurant it sits beside. And that speaks volumes given how impressive the winery is. Generally, you’ll have to cut through the tasting room, potentially sampling wines to pair with your meal. For us, we stopped at Poplar Grove in the morning, returning later for lunch before traveling onto to Kelowna for the next leg of our wine journey (one week, 60 wineries, 120 bottles bought). To review the décor of The Vanilla Pod would be difficult given most of it sits outside. So, if rating it consequently, The Vanilla Pod would be one of the best-looking restaurants in the world. A massive canvas covers much of the serving area, though built in such a way as to not impede one’s view. While other places cheaply throw up a handful of umbrellas, this single canopy only requires four posts to cover nearly a dozen tables. Said sunshade is fringed with string lights for the evening service (which must look amazing). Cut grass spreads beyond the square of pavement the tables sit on until reaching the vineyards; past that, sporadic marks population and further fields until one takes sight of the lake. A view nearly unrivaled unless you visit Bench 1775 up the hill. Further away, near where the wedding party would eventually take perch, is another dining area without cover but avoiding any annoying intrusions from the rest of the winery. So yes, you can’t really get much better than this…unless it rains. Or it’s winter. Hell, I’d pay for a dish just to waste a half-hour staring at the view.

As for the food, offerings at lunch are limited and not on the inexpensive side. Even the most basic salad is $10. Not everyone wants to drop down $27 for lunch (not including drinks), but there are dishes that expensive. My girlfriend ordered the chickpea salad (which they oddly spelled “chick pea”), with tomatoes, red onion, spinach, cilantro, a white balsamic vinaigrette, and a heaping portion of chickpeas. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich, with peach BBQ sauce, pickled fennel and cabbage slaw, spicy mayo, which was complemented by a salad. I won’t make any claims that these two meals together warrant $30, but they were amazing. My girlfriend discovered a newfound appreciation for chickpeas. The dinner service can intimidate some, with prices starting at $29 for a main, but I can’t speak to that quality; the lunch was very satisfying. Add to that the picturesque view, and you can’t really go wrong dining at The Vanilla Pod…I just have one question: Why is it called The Vanilla Pod? There’s no mention of desserts being offered, and none of the dishes boast it as an ingrediant. I don’t see any orchids anywhere, and you certainly can’t grow them in the wild at this latitude. The winery is called Poplar Grove, which you can understand given how common poplar trees are, but do vanilla orchids grow around them? It’s all very confusing.

With that out of the way, I did enjoy the Vanilla Pod restaurant through the wine offered at Poplar Grove winery was nothing to write home about. The Naramata Bench thankfully boasts several above-average restaurants end to end, including Hillside and Lake Breeze, and The Vanilla Pod can be counted among them.

Food: 5/5 Service: 4/5 Presentation: 5/5 Value: ...

The entire Okanagan restaurant scene is on a roll. There are some top quality food and wine purveyors that are making waves in the food business way beyond the shores of Okanagan Lake. It hasn't always been this way thanks to a roller-coaster economy based on seasonal tourism, a fragile agricultural tradition, a frugal retirement community and a vanishing resource-extraction industry.

But with diversification and a surging wine/tourism sector, the restaurant business is now able to hold and attract the kind of talent that gets people talking all year round and not just when the celebrity chef shows up for a few months of the year.

The Vanilla Pod has been one of the vanguard of this sea change, Established in Summerland in 2006 by Sheila and Paul Jones, the Pod has been a food innovator and leader in using locally-sourced ingredients to craft thoughtful and playful versions of old favourites and bringing some genuinely original plates to the foodists that pass through their door. Last year, the Pod made the move from Summerland to the new Poplar Grove Winery on the shoulder of Munson mountain in Penticton. I could write an entire review on the view alone; it's a magnificent accompaniment to every meal. The move was positive in so many ways: more tables, more floor space, a bigger kitchen, and the opportunity to have a space that reflects what I think is more attuned to the Pod philosophy of food preparation and presentation. It's an essential space. It's a room beautifully understated with clean lines that celebrate and enhance the natural wonder outside those floor-to-ceiling windows. Free from unnecessary kitsch and clutter. In a way, a lot like the plates that parade from the kitchen. We visited in late November on a Friday evening. We knew it wasn't going to be busy but we always make a reservation. The earlier they can prepare, the better for all.

The harsh realities of British Columbia's grotesque liquor licensing regulations meant there would be no martinis for us. So we chose some sparkling wine from old favourite Blue Mountain. Even though the Vanilla Pod is wholly within Poplar Grove winery, you can still order a few wines from other BC producers chosen with Paul's excellent guidance. It does remain, however, an great opportunity to run through a raft of Poplar's best wines and some from their Monster brand as well.

As we have done many times in the past, we simply close the menu and surrender our appetites to the staff to feed us what they want, all paired with different wines as each course arrives. This is what long-time chef Bruno Terroso excels at; he brings a sense of adventure and flare while using whatever is freshest and newest to give each course that 'wow' factor.

Everything was excellent: here are a few of the highlights. A first course of seared scallops on a sheath of citrus fennel with pea shoots. Beautiful with the bubble in our glasses, The next course was a neat twist, presented like a sushi but cooked and warm, Large shrimp, pan seared on rice timpani with a mild red-orange curry. That was followed by salmon topped with a melange of sauteed mushrooms a small, delicious little pyramid of bread I can not recall the name of. The 'big' dish was a couple pork chops 'tomahawk' style, draped in apple sauce and resting on a raft of potato pancake. And there was dessert. A combo of apple tart with ice cream and a creme brulee with classic lavender shortbread cookies.

To say we were blissed out would be an understatement. The Vanilla Pod should be a must for anyone visiting Penticton and the Okanagan and who believes food is much more...

My friends and I visited Poplar Grove this week, excited for what we hoped would be a memorable tasting. It was the one winery that made all five of our must-visit lists — a place we were genuinely looking forward to. Unfortunately, what we experienced was far from the warm, welcoming atmosphere we had anticipated.

When we arrived, the winery was nearly empty, aside from a couple of groups in the “Legacy Room.” We stood at the entrance for several minutes, completely ignored, while the staff continued to serve and interact with those in the Legacy Room. No one acknowledged us until much later, and even then, we were casually directed to the counter, only to wait again. Meanwhile, another customer — a wine club member there for a pickup — was addressed almost immediately. It was so noticeably dismissive that even he offered to let us go ahead, recognizing we had been waiting far longer.

We requested three tastings instead of five because some of us were driving and wanted to be responsible. The staff member serving us seemed visibly uninterested after that. There was little to no explanation of the wines, no context about the winery, and the pours were the smallest we received at any tasting during our trip. Another group of two sat beside us, and while their service was slightly more attentive, it was still minimal — despite the room being otherwise empty. Meanwhile, the staff remained engaged, cheerful, and attentive with the guests in the Legacy Room.

The experience felt dismissive, disorganized, and frankly, rude. There was no effort to make us feel welcome, no apology, no acknowledgment of the poor service, and certainly no passion shared for the wines. We had considered dining there that evening to celebrate a birthday but quickly abandoned the idea after our visit.

If Poplar Grove is transitioning into a members-only experience, that should be made clear. But to present as a welcoming winery to the public and then treat guests as though they’re an afterthought is unacceptable.

There are so many exceptional wineries in the region — places that are not only proud to share their wines but also their stories, enthusiasm, and hospitality. Sadly, Poplar Grove did not meet that standard. We won’t be back, and we certainly won’t be recommending...