Winery Tours in Victoria - Cowichan Valley

[IECalCruiser]

We will be arriving in Victoria on the Sapphire Princess on Friday May 13 and are interested in taking a winery tour. Will be in port from 8:00 a.m. to midnight. Can anyone recommend one or several companies to consider?

[Rickey 88]

We will be arriving in Victoria on the Sapphire Princess on Friday May 13 and are interested in taking a winery tour. Will be in port from 8:00 a.m. to midnight. Can anyone recommend one or several companies to consider?

 

Start your search here: HelloBC.com/VictoriaWineries

[IECalCruiser]

Start your search here: HelloBC.com/VictoriaWineries

I have already identified several tour companies including the following:

 

Grand Wine Tours

Vancouver Island Wine Tours

ITT Wilson's Tours

 

I was wonder if anyone had recommendations or experiences with any of these firms or others? Thanks in advance for any information.

[porsena]

I live in Victoria but don't know where these tours go. If you'll be travelling primarily to taste the wines, just a small subset of the wineries on the Saanich Peninsula and in the Cobble Hill/ Cowichan Valley area are worth the effort. If the countryside will be as attractive to you as the wines then it probably won't matter.

[scottbee]

I live in Victoria but don't know where these tours go. If you'll be travelling primarily to taste the wines, just a small subset of the wineries on the Saanich Peninsula and in the Cobble Hill/ Cowichan Valley area are worth the effort. If the countryside will be as attractive to you as the wines then it probably won't matter.

 

The majority (90%) of the winery business in Western Canada is located in the Okanagan valley, 4 hours easy of Vancouver. What there is on Vancouver Island is mostly located in the Cowichan valley, just under an hour north of Victoria.

 

This map will show you some more details.

 

http://www.hellobc.com/en-CA/SearchResultsListings/BritishColumbia.htm?CATID=227&LOCID=17&KWDS=&NBY=False&FLID=17&FL2ID=227&PN=1

 

While it does show a few dots near Victoria; if you've got the time, you really should visit the Okanagan valley.

[cruiseryyc]

Unfortunately Scottbee the OP is arriving in Victoria on a cruise ship and only has the day to spend touring wineries, so the Okanagan is out of the question. Whichever tour you choose, be sure they have you back in Victoria in plenty of time to be back on board before sailing.

[scottbee]

Unfortunately Scottbee the OP is arriving in Victoria on a cruise ship and only has the day to spend touring wineries, so the Okanagan is out of the question. Whichever tour you choose, be sure they have you back in Victoria in plenty of time to be back on board before sailing.

 

I realize that, Victoria is not a wine city. A beer city yes, with some fine microbreweries (probably Canada's BEST beer city).

 

However, If they're in the Northwest for any length of time, and are interested in wine, they really should make a proper trip to the Okanagan, and not a winery tour on a cruise line in Victoria.

[porsena]

Not a wine city, Scott, but a couple of the wineries on the Saanich Peninsula hold their own against the Okanagan because they get most of their grapes from Sonoma or the Naramata Bench (the latter being the 'best' area of the Okanagan). I probably can't mention them here.

 

The OP is looking at companies that provide one-day wine-oriented tours. The spring and fall West coast wine cruises are an opportunity for those of us who like to sample wines to combine two of our favourite activities. I agree they're a less satisfactory way of experiencing regional wines than a land-based visit but that isn't the whole point.

[IECalCruiser]

Not a wine city, Scott, but a couple of the wineries on the Saanich Peninsula hold their own against the Okanagan because they get most of their grapes from Sonoma or the Naramata Bench (the latter being the 'best' area of the Okanagan). I probably can't mention them here.

 

The OP is looking at companies that provide one-day wine-oriented tours. The spring and fall West coast wine cruises are an opportunity for those of us who like to sample wines to combine two of our favourite activities. I agree they're a less satisfactory way of experiencing regional wines than a land-based visit but that isn't the whole point.

Porsena, you are right. This coastal cruise was shown as a wine country cruise but due to late arrivals or early departures it has been difficult to arrange a winery tour in Santa Barbara, San Francisco or Seattle (I know most of the wineries are to the east but the are several good ones in the Woodinville area). We will be in Victoria until midnight so the length of the trip is not an issue. Have used CC to get recommendations in other areas and I was hoping that someone had experience with any of the operators out of Victoria. Not expecting a lot but we should have the chance to see some nice scenery and perhaps sample a few good wines. I don't want to go on a winery tour at each port but I would like to explore at least one new area.

 

Also like beer. Is there a good website for info on microbreweries in Victoria?

[Urban trekker]

Is there a good website for info on microbreweries in Victoria

 

Scott can probably give you a good first hand account of many of those breweries as he lived in Victoria for a number of years.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[scottbee]

Porsena, you are right. This coastal cruise was shown as a wine country cruise but due to late arrivals or early departures it has been difficult to arrange a winery tour in Santa Barbara, San Francisco or Seattle (I know most of the wineries are to the east but the are several good ones in the Woodinville area). We will be in Victoria until midnight so the length of the trip is not an issue. Have used CC to get recommendations in other areas and I was hoping that someone had experience with any of the operators out of Victoria. Not expecting a lot but we should have the chance to see some nice scenery and perhaps sample a few good wines. I don't want to go on a winery tour at each port but I would like to explore at least one new area.

 

Also like beer. Is there a good website for info on microbreweries in Victoria?

 

Given their cruise is LA to Vancouver, and if they're wine people they really should take the extra time to visit the Okanagan valley. (and perhaps fly home YLW/Kelowna-SEA-LAX)

 

Wow, for beer in Victoria you have so many choices. Spinnaker's Brewpub, Swan's Brewpub and maybe the Canoe club too are good choices all close to downtown, along with Phillip's Brewery; Vancouver Island Brewery. Most bars/restaurants will have a good selection of locally crafted beer. Also check with the local chapter of CAMRA and look for more info on the "Great Canadian Beer Festival"

 

 

Damn I miss good beer living in Vancouver, it just doesn't have the beer culture that Victoria does.

[porsena]

Porsena, you are right. This coastal cruise was shown as a wine country cruise but due to late arrivals or early departures it has been difficult to arrange a winery tour in Santa Barbara, San Francisco or Seattle (I know most of the wineries are to the east but the are several good ones in the Woodinville area). We will be in Victoria until midnight so the length of the trip is not an issue.

We're booked on a 10-day wine cruise on Millennium (May 3 out of San Diego), which has ample time for tours in San Francisco (two days there), as well as day stops in Astoria, Seattle and Victoria. Just a thought, maybe for next time.

[vista03]

I have already identified several tour companies including the following:

 

Grand Wine Tours

Vancouver Island Wine Tours

ITT Wilson's Tours

 

I was wonder if anyone had recommendations or experiences with any of these firms or others? Thanks in advance for any information.

 

Though this information is too late for your cruise, thought it might help some others.

 

I recently took the Cowichan Valley Wine tour with Leslie Goodall of Vancouver Island Wine Tours.

 

I contacted Leslie by both phone and email. She promptly answered all of my questions. We had four of us on this full day tour and were able to chose what wineries we visited and where we had lunch. Leslie gave us a choice of four different wineries for lunch. We looked at the menus online and ended up selecting one of the lunch options highly recommended by Leslie. We picked the wineries we wanted to visit using the same method.

 

Leslie arrived at the appointed pick up spot about 7 minutes early. She has a very clean late model air conditioned van with separate climate control for the passengers. She provided ice cold bottled water for the trip.

 

Leslie took us into the vineyard on our first stop and explained the growing process and answered all of our questions. She was flexible in changing the order of the itinerary when the group decided to have lunch after visiting our first winery. We had a fantastic yummy lunch at Glenterra Vineyards overlooking the grape field. I will definitely be back there for lunch!

 

We had chosen 4 wineries for tastings, however since we were running ahead of schedule we stopped at a 5th winery :D. We tasted some amazing wines and everyone found a wine that they really enjoyed. We got back to Victoria ahead of schedule.

 

Leslie was very personable and a safety conscious driver. We had an extremely enjoyable day. I would highly recommend Vancouver Island Wine Tours!!! :)

[Brownies52]

Vista03, Which wineries did you end up visiting? Were they worth the visit, or would you skip any if you did it again? How long did the trip take? Sounds interesting.

Thanks!

[vista03]

Brownies52, The wineries that we visited were: Venturi-Schulze, Blue Grouse, Rocky Creek, Glenterra and Silverside.

 

Wine is such personal taste experience. The four of us had different opinions on each winery. For the same bottle of wine, some of us liked it and others did not. My personal favourite winery was Venturi-Schulze. Not only did they have nice wine for you to try but the best balsamic vinegar that we had ever tasted ($50 for a small bottle). Plus we got to taste a wonderful sorbet made out of their Verjus. Silverside was my least favourite winery, but another in our group liked it the most.

 

The full day tour was just over 5.5 hours.

[Brownies52]

Thanks for your reply. I do understand that wine preferences are individual. I personally am not a fan. Just thought I could start with a few names for DH and DB to investigate. Sounded like a nice tour you had.

Thanks Again

[vista03]

You are very welcome Brownies52.

 

Cherry Point was another winery that some friends have recommended. Averill Creek was one that was highly recommended by friends. However, there would have been an extra charge on the tour to visit Averill Creek since it is further north than the wineries that we visited. The charge was minimal, but the group decided to skip Averill Creek.

 

There is an annual Cowichan Wine and Culinary Festival in September. This year it is September 14 to 18. They have a good map that you can download showing the location of the different wineries.

Unfortunately their website is down right now: http://www.wines.cowichan.net. :(

[porsena]

Vista 03's advice that people's wine preferences differ is spot-on. This is such a hard area to offer advice on. Nevertheless, I'd like to offer a possible consolation that her decision to skip Averill Creek was well-founded. I'm not a fan of Averill Creek because they charge a tasting fee (fair enough) but won't credit it against the purchase of a bottle of wine, the latter being pretty much standard practice in BC where tasting fees are charged. The unspoken message is a lack of confidence in their product that I think is justified. It's a good visit, though. The winery and tasting room is up on the side of a hill with a great view out to Saltspring Island, and you might be lucky enough to see a falcon that they use to drive other birds away from the grapes.