A Guide to Wine, Food & the Good Life

RICHEBOURG IN THE ROCKIES

Cary Feibleman • 9/17/11        Print This Post Print This PostComment Bookmark and Share

For many of us the Rocky Mountains begin and end in Colorado.  This great mountain range under assorted other names actually extends north through Wyoming, Idaho and Montana into Alberta, Canada where it could be argued it reaches its pinnacle of glory.  We recently spent a week in the region and were overwhelmed by its mountains’ rugged grandeur and its glacial lakes’ serene beauty.  What we were not expecting was excellent cooking and a world class wine list, but then we knew nothing of the Canadian national culinary treasure, the Post House in Lake Louise.

“Would you like Caribou with your Richebourg or Banyuls with the bear?”  All this is possible at the Post House (www.posthotel.com), a Relais & Chateaux jewel a few miles from the shores of Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada.  Bear is not currently on the menu but not too many miles from where grizzlies prowl, the restaurant turns out Michelin star quality food. To view the menu please click here.  There is also one of the world’s greatest restaurant wine collections comprised of over 25,000 bottles.  Every major region producing great wines is represented with some of the broadest horizontal and vertical depth you will ever see.  Looking through the list, it is easy to do a double take and think you are sitting in Taillevent or La Tour d’Argent.  And when you glance through page after page of the best Italy has to offer, you could easily be seated at Enoteca Pincchiorri, the famous Florentine restaurant. To view the wine list please click here. Seeing it, it is hard not to pick up the phone and immediately book your flight to Calgary.  It’s a two hour drive from the airport.

Mountain Lake scene

If wining and dining in Relais & Chateaux luxury at 1500 meters in the Rockies were not enough of a draw, within one hour of the restaurant you have the Banff and Lake Louise National Parks.  Lake Louise is one of the most stunningly beautiful sites we have ever seen.  The Fairmont Chateau Hotel sits at its shoreline and the views from its hotel windows are stunning. Hiking trails with breathtaking views cut through the surrounding mountains and two uniquely British Empire treats, tea houses, await hikes of 2 ½ and 5 miles.  There are no roads, so once a year a helicopter brings in a whole season’s supplies of tea, flour, sugar and natural gas to supply these outposts for all the summer’s hiking tourists.  The cooks and servers have to hike in and out everyday and bring in additional supplies on their backs!

The Fairmont offers a formal afternoon tea and its halls are filled with pictures from the 1920s of famous Swiss mountain climbers brought over to lead treks into the mountains.  The Fairmont Lake Louise and Banff hotels were built about a century ago by the Canadian Pacific Railway Co. to encourage people to visit the beautiful interior of Canada.  Each of these sites became a National Park, and an even larger park, Jasper, is several hours north.  For someone who has not seen the terrain it is hard to imagine the size and numbers of the mountains that go on for hundreds of miles along the continental divide.  If one can imagine The Grand Tetons on steroids, you get a rough idea.  The Winter Olympics were held in this region during the 1980s and the site of ice skaters on frozen Lake Louise is a picture worth a Currier and Ives print.

Streams fed by glacier snow form wild rivers coursing through these rugged mountains.  One day we joined Wild Water Adventures (www.wildwater.com), for a 3-4 hour category IV white river rafting trip down the Kicking Horse River, quite aptly named I might add.  The Wild Water crew is one of the most experienced running trips down this river and, while it is thrilling, their licensed guides are very experienced and you feel quite safe in the company provided wet suits, helmets, fleece and thermal boots and gloves.  The water temperature is in the 40s and if it is not a hot day, the thermal protection is welcomed.  The company has been running the river for over 20 years so they are quite experienced and one of only two licensed to operate in this region of the river.  After paddling for 2-3 hours, the BBQ lunch back at the company’s headquarters is a delicious treat and the spread is exceptional considering its rustic location.  There are several gourmet salads and your burger choice includes a freshly grilled slab of wild Canadian salmon, a tasty reward!

The town of Banff is a large glacial valley surrounded by mountains.  It too has a grand hotel with a famous, 100 year old golf course whose holes each have a name and a brief story about them.  One hole, The Devil’s Cauldron, needs no description!  The Banff Springs hotel is another Fairmont property and has several good restaurants.  The hotel’s halls feature water color illustrations of Roaring Twenties circa gentry coming for the summer to play golf and enjoy nature. The view from its deck looking out at the golf course below with 6,000 ft. peaks descending down to the edges of the course is awe inspiring.

canada rockies good

For those who don’t golf or play tennis, there is an outdoor pool, horseback riding and hiking.  For shoppers, the Banff town of 5,000 people supports some nice shopping and several good restaurants like The Maple Leaf.  The town has the feel of Steamboat Springs, Colorado and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  Plan a visit.  You will not be disappointed.

Post a Comment

6 comments for “RICHEBOURG IN THE ROCKIES”

  • wyprogramowanie adblue says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    fantastic put up, very informative. I ponder why the opposite experts of this sector do not realize this. You should proceed your writing. I’m confident, you’ve a great readers’ base already!
  • Slottica Casino says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    A formidable share, I simply given this onto a colleague who was doing somewhat analysis on this. And he in actual fact purchased me breakfast as a result of I discovered it for him.. smile. So let me reword that: Thnx for the treat! However yeah Thnkx for spending the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love reading extra on this topic. If doable, as you grow to be experience, would you mind updating your weblog with extra particulars? It is highly useful for me. Massive thumb up for this blog put up!
  • christian christmas wall art says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    There are certainly loads of particulars like that to take into consideration. That is a nice point to carry up. I provide the ideas above as common inspiration but clearly there are questions like the one you deliver up the place a very powerful thing shall be working in honest good faith. I don?t know if greatest practices have emerged round issues like that, but I’m positive that your job is clearly recognized as a fair game. Each boys and girls really feel the influence of just a second?s pleasure, for the rest of their lives.
  • medartix.com says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    This is one awesome blog post.Thanks Again. Really Great.
  • Seattle Neon Art Signs says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    I just added this website to my google reader, excellent stuff. Can not get enough!
  • smortergiremal says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    Pretty! This was a really wonderful post. Thank you for your provided information.
  • smorter giremal says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    I’ve been surfing on-line more than three hours today, but I never found any fascinating article like yours. It is pretty value sufficient for me. Personally, if all web owners and bloggers made excellent content as you did, the web will be much more helpful than ever before.
  • Aaron says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    You get the horny live chat for websites next door. No fake nails and no silicone tits, just pure natural horniness. Just come to my chat and we will live out our hottest secret fantasies.
  • Michelle says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    If you feel like getting to know my wild and crazy side, don’t let me stop you, give me a call and visit me on hot cam show right away. Can you imagine even more? Just let me know and you can add me to your favorites, then I will inform you regularly what’s new with me… But I don’t want to over-text you, so now it’s up to you
  • Mia Green says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    why should I be shy to show what wasnt ashamed to create?
  • Post a Comment

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published.