Church and State

Sometimes we dawdle.

Monday afternoon - Labour Day - we took our leave of Kendall and headed out to the ferry, intending to make our 3:00 sailing reservation. Typically, though, we'd allowed ourselves a generous amount of time. Also typical of us, we decided to meander and wander and take our time on the way.

Although the Okanagan is better-known for its wine, there are pockets of wineries elsewhere in the province, and the often sunny, mild climes of the Saanich Peninsula apparently suits production. We'd seen signs on the highway indicating that wineries were nearby, and when we caught sight of one familiar name - Church and State - we decided to take a little time and go see it. Our thinking, of course, was that we'd dash in, taste one or two wines, then dash out. Ah, such dreamers are we.

We drove past vines and up to a large, modern building that turned out to house a restaurant as well. Inside, we wandered past the wines for sale and bellied up (we eat a lot on vacation) to the bar, so to speak. Tastings. Not free, but we were willing. An encouraging sign was the presence of other couples and small groups, tasting and talking.

Ultimately, Conrad and I each tasted four of the wines (and shared what we tasted with each other). I often find that BC reds are thin, not as good as I want them to be (with happy exceptions of course), but Conrad and I agreed that the Merlot was the best of the lot. Delicious wine, and we bought a bottle for us and a bottle for a friend. Second place? The rose. Surprise! No, we enjoy roses, and why not? A bottle for us of that as well. After that, we were divided. I liked the Pinot Noir more than Conrad did, which is unusual for us, and the rest were nice enough but not so much that we wanted to buy more.


By the time we were leaving, we were chatting with a man seated nearby, Hugh, whom I mistook for the winemaker. It seems, however, that he is the sommelier (I hope I have that correct) for Sooke Harbour House, arguably the finest restaurant in the country and the scene of our greatest meal ever, back in 2003. Nice to chat with, and my social nature took over, of course. So it's not surprising, then, that between the wine tasting and the conversation, we missed out reservation. Heck, we missed the entire sailing. A little later than intended getting back to Vancouver (we were on the 4:00), but aren't diversions like that kind of the point of vacation?