Viva la Grape! - Island wine tours

Wine touring is a great way to blend a love of wine, great food and spectacular scenery. See for yourself why Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands have helped B.C. gain its reputation as the “Napa Valley of the North”.

Long winding country roads traverse the landscape of the Saanich Peninsula and the Cowichan Valley, each one leading to another edible bounty or award-winning winery on Vancouver Island. Named “The Warm Land” by its First Nations peoples, the lush farmland of the Cowichan Valley is bursting with wineries, cideries, organic produce and intrepid farmers raising everything from olives to water buffalo. Wineries concentrated in these areas boast a Mediterranean-like climate and mineral-rich soil producing highly aromatic grape varieties that include Auxerrois, Bacchus, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Noir.

With over 20 wineries on the Island, and nine on the Gulf Islands, wine tour operators offer tourists and locals alike a taste of terroir expertly matched with breathtaking scenery and gourmet fare. Come and celebrate.

“Wine is best enjoyed with good food,” says culinary and wine tour pioneer, Kathy McAree, of Travel with Taste Tours. Developed through years of hospitality experience, world travel and a spirited love of good food and wine, her tours access the best of southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. While enjoying the local grape varietals, you can meet firsthand the area’s producers, growers, chefs and vintners. Visit an artisan cheese-maker, enjoy a gourmet picnic in a beautiful garden, discover wine made from bees, take a cooking class—or simply sit back and enjoy the ride! McAree is comfortable with groups both Garry Oaks Winery on Saltspring Island
(Tourism BC/Adrian Dorst)large and small, and can custom design tours for a day or up to a week. Group tours start at $100 pp + GST. Individual tours: $190 pp + GST. 250.385.1527, www.travelwithtaste.com

Victoria-based Crush Wine Tours offers budding oenophiles educational and fun excursions into the Cowichan Valley. With 13 years in the food and beverage industry, and spearheading wine programs at two of Victoria’s hottest restaurants, owner Marlisa Hollands offers day trips for groups of four to six: taste wines, meet the winemakers and ask questions about grapes, tannins or wine pairing. Trips include lunch at the picturesque Merridale Cidery or the 120-acre Zanatta Winery’s Vinoteca restaurant. Prices start at $79 pp + GST. 250.888.5748, www.crushwinetours.com

For a taste of swanky decadence, Grand Wine Tours whisks you from Victoria to the Cowichan Valley in a limousine. Visit four different wineries and enjoy a wine-paired three-course lunch overlooking scenic Cowichan Bay, from the Oceanfront Grand Resort’s “The Grand” Penthouse Restaurant. Prices start at $99 pp + GST. 250.881.1000, TF: 1.888.546.6736, www.grandwinetours.com

Taste wine in style
(Grand Wine Tours)For those with an adventurous spirit, self-directed tours are easy with the Taste the Wine Islands guide. This lightweight booklet—available free at all tourist info centres, wine stores and online—has 10 easy-to-follow maps and covers 25 wineries on Vancouver Island and the Gulf islands. Included are lists of farmers’ markets, farm stops for artisanal cheeses, restaurants, amazing scenery and accommodations. www.wineislands.ca

*Please note: all wine tour companies leave from Victoria unless otherwise arranged.