{"id":8340,"date":"2026-02-15T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8340\/relax-a-beginners-guide-to-okanagan-wine-tasting\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T17:09:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T01:09:50","slug":"relax-a-beginners-guide-to-okanagan-wine-tasting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8340\/relax-a-beginners-guide-to-okanagan-wine-tasting\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Relax\u2019: A beginner\u2019s guide to Okanagan wine tasting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Saying something like \u201ca fruit-forward, crisp and unctuous blend\u201d when you gargle and spit a sip of wine into a bucket, isn\u2019t actually the point of going to a wine tasting in the Okanagan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrea Jittler used to be a chef in Italy for several years before becoming the manager at Tightrope Winery near Penticton. She told iNFOnews.ca learning about wine and going on a tasting can be intimidating, but it\u2019s more important to be open-minded and curious rather than trying to employ some expertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBe open to trying something new. Pace yourself, and relax,\u201d she said. “People think you need to have lots of knowledge when it really just comes down to what you enjoy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said being patient with a new wine is important since it takes a little while for the flavour to actually set in on your tastebuds, especially if you\u2019ve eaten something tasty or spicy before trying the wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"|\"
Andrea Jittler is the manager at Tight Rope Winery. INSTAGRAM\/Tight Rope Winery<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s always good to like, disregard the first sip. And then the second sip is sort of going to get you a little bit there, but not quite. But the third sip is really allowing yourself to experience the wine,\u201d Jittler said. \u201cYou’re not going to get the gist of it by having a tiny sip and saying that you don’t like it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Booking a whole day of winery tours and tasting is a good time, but by the end of the day not only is the alcohol having an effect, but your palette is going to be skewed by the wine you tried throughout the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy the fourth winery you think everything tastes great,\u201d she said. \u201cYou gotta pace yourself and hydrate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than getting bogged down by an attempt at objectivity by looking at the legs or the flavour notes it\u2019s better to try to find something you like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou really don’t need to know any of that. You just have to enjoy the wine,\u201d Jittler said. \u201cIt’s not about what you know, it’s about what you enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For tourists coming to the Okanagan to check out wine country, asking questions is the best way to have a good experience, including asking wineries about other wineries to try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat are you known for? Each winery is known for something different… asking about the stories, because that will tell you more about the wine that you’re drinking in the glass,\u201d she said. \u201cAsk the winery, where do you recommend? Always ask for the recommends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some regional differences to vineyards within the Okanagan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jittler said wineries further south will generally be able to make more red wines and as you travel further north you\u2019ll get more white wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to wine pairings Jittler said some easy rules to follow are matching up the flavours in the wine with the flavours in the food, or using food to ease the flavours in a strong wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you have a very dry wine, that’s very lemony and very dry. If you have something that has a little bit of citrus or lemon in it, like chicken souvlaki with lemon,\u201d she said. \u201cSame as with the Chardonnay, like it’s slightly oaked. It has a little bit of butteriness. You pair that with a roasted chicken that has a little bit of fattiness to it… it’ll be like a little marriage made in heaven, because it just softens that wine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People dedicate their careers to learning about wine so there is always more to learn, so she thinks anyone interested in wine should just start exploring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGo off the beaten track. There’s a lot of tiny wineries out there and a lot of people pick the big ones, and then they miss the little ones… there’s some hidden gems out there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt’s not about what you know, it’s about what you enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":547,"featured_media":8341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"guid":"","source":"","byline":"","published":"","updated":"","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1810,706,704],"tags":[],"region":[547,548,549,550],"class_list":["post-8340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-local","category-topnews","region-kamloops","region-kelowna","region-penticton","region-vernon"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8340\/relax-a-beginners-guide-to-okanagan-wine-tasting\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"\u2018Relax\u2019: A beginner\u2019s guide to Okanagan wine tasting","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8340\/relax-a-beginners-guide-to-okanagan-wine-tasting\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/news\/8340\/relax-a-beginners-guide-to-okanagan-wine-tasting\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/inwine-564609036_1400358268767274_6062038538743060005_n.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/inwine-564609036_1400358268767274_6062038538743060005_n.jpg"},"articleSection":"Featured","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jesse Tomas"}],"creator":["Jesse Tomas"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwine","logo":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/06\/logo-inwine.png"},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-02-16T02:00:00Z","datePublished":"2026-02-16T02:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-02-16T02:00:00Z"},"rendered":"