Cranbrook - Creston 2026

 Cranbrook - Creston 2026

Creston Winery Tour

June 18, 2026

Today was the day we were going to do the winery tour.  The Wynnwood winery out in Wynndel which we visited last year has closed so that left us with three wineries to visit,  Red Bird, Baillie-Grohman, and Skimerhorn.  

The wineries did not open until  11:00 am so it was a lazy morning but we put our time to good use and went to the main street bakery for coffee and pastries.  My cinnamon bun was about 6" square and was absolutely fantastic. Shopping for supper groceries followed so that left the rest of the day free.

It was only about 3 kms up the road to Red Bird.  It is owned by Sharron and Remi Cardinal (I guess that is where the name came from).  Sharron was hosting the wine tasting and she was an excellent hostess.  Her knowledge of the wines which they produce was great.  They have also started a line of ciders but the wine was really the star.  They had three whites, a rose, and one red.  They were all excellent.

Only a few kms down the road was Baillie-Grohman.  It is a much bigger operation and the tasting was a lot more business like.  They had three white wines and a red.  The wines were all good but none of them stood out.  But I am not a wine tasting specialist and with this cold my taste is really off.  

Skimerhorn was the last place and it was right next to Baillie-Grohman.  They have an absolutely beautiful deck which over looks the Kootenay valley.  They have a good menu of food so we ordered a couple of plates of treats.  They had three whites, a rose and a red.  I thought their Pinot was very good.  The red was a Foch and was really heavy.  It would be good with big rare steak.  Sitting on the patio enjoying the view was a piece of heaven.

Having completed the wine tasting we wobbled back to the campsite.  A short ride day at only 10 kms but a really memorable day.   

In my totally humble opinion Red Bird was the absolute stand out best of the three.  Best over all tasting experience, and by far the best wine.   Their Atelier Red was a total knock out.  

Terry