Local Wine Goes Straight to Victoria, BC’s Crown
Take a wine-tasting trip to majestic Victoria, BC and get ready to take in Victoria’s devotion to local vineyards, and to take home a few cases.
Greater Victoria is BC’s youngest wine-producing region, and like the city’s namesake Queen Victoria, coming into power as a youth has nothing to do with great leadership, especially when the people know it rules.
And they certainly do. Throughout the island, an allegiance to local food and wine can be felt. The ethics of Slow Food are common in many of Victoria’s top chefs, who not only prefer locally-grown ingredients, but also encourage patrons to pair their dishes with local wines. The restaurant industry is like a town crier for a culinary and viniferous sovereign – promoting the honour of the island’s producers and wine-makers.
As swiftly as Victorian wine flows from bottle to glass, so does word of the island’s greatness over the Salish Sea waters to the mainland and beyond. Greater Victoria’s Cowichan Valley and the Saanich Peninsula, are both producing internationally-recognized wines and are leading the way for Vancouver Island to join the world’s royal family of wine regions.
The Cowichan Valley otherwise known as “The Warm Land” is sheltered by a ridge of high mountains to the west and is warmed by the Strait of Georgia to the east, allowing the valley to boast the highest average temperatures in Canada. The warm climate, coupled with rich soil, give way to elegant and aromatic wines, most notably Pinot Gris, Ortega and Pinot Noir.
A few minutes north of Victoria is the Saanich Peninsula, nestled between a sun-warmed inlet and the island dotted Strait of Georgia, the peninsula’s mild and temperate nature is preserved. Wines produced here range from fruit-forward Bacchus and Ortega to light-to-medium-bodied reds like Pinot Noir and Marechal Foche.
Unlike Queen Victoria, there’s no need to curtsey to a great Victorian wine-maker – just show your adoration with a corkscrew. After speaking to top vinters from the island, it’s clear that humility grows the best grape. Even the most elevated of wines are sold out the backdoor, or to local restaurants, by mom and pop themselves. And although space to plant vineyards is limited, and there are less bottles to sell, Victoria’s wine is fit for a queen.
Starling Lane Winery, a small but mighty winery in the Saanich Peninsula, is a superb example of this. Visit the website and see photos of the winemakers posing on tractors – there is very little pomp and pageantry with most island vinters. But take one sip and you’ll see the blue blood running through their vines. With grapes grown from just three petite estates, Starling Lane manages to place annually in wine competitions such as the Northwest Wine Summit, All Canadian Wine Championships and Canada Wine Awards, be featured on one of Canada’s best restaurant’s wine lists – the Sooke Harbour House, and of course, to sell out of all their wines every year.
“The winery is a partnership of three couples. What drew us together was our passion to produce high quality wines from our small family vineyards, where we grow cool-climate vines that thrive in our region,” said Jerry Mussio, winemaker for Starling Lane Winery. “Our approach to wine making is very simple: use a gentle wine-making process to retain the natural flavours of our local vineyards.”
The natural flavours of Vancouver Island soil are best expressed in a few grape varietals – perhaps the most notable being Marechal Foch, Ortega and fruit wines. The wine-makers who bottle these are those who put this year’s jewels in Victoria’s crown.
Marechal Foch
Muse Winery, Marechal Foch 2008, 2010 Gold Medal All-Canadian Wine Championships
Starling Lane, Marechal Foch 2008, 2010 Gold Medal All-Canadian Wine Championships
Averrill Creek, Prevost 2007, 85% Marchal Foche, 2010 Silver Medal All-Canadian Wine Championships
Beaufort Vineyard and Estate Winery, “Foreplay” Marechal Foch blend, 2010 Bronze Medal Northwest Wine Summit
Ortega
Beaufort Vineyard and Estate Winery, Ortega 2009, 2010 Gold Medal All-Canadian Wine Championships
Starling Lane, Ortega 2009, 2010 Gold Medal All-Canadian Wine Championships
Muse Winery, Ortega “Poetic Justic” 2009, 2010 Gold Medal All-Canadian Wine Championships, Silver Medal 2010 NorthWest Wine Summit
Fruit Wines
Averill Creek, 2009 “Black Cowichan” dessert wine, 2010 Silver Medal All-Canadian Wine Championships
MooBerry Winery, Raspberry and Gooseberry wines, 2010 Silver Medal All-Canadian Wine Championships
Silverside Farm, Blueberry dessert wine, 2010 Silver Medal All-Canadian Wine Championships
Rocky Creek, 2008 Wild Blackberry wine, 2010 Silver Medal All-Canadian Wine
Championships
Beaufort Vineyard and Estate Winery, “Black Solera” dessert wine, 2010 Silver Medal Northwest Wine Summit
Sea Cider Farm and Ciderhouse, “Pomona” cider dessert wine, 2010 Silver Medal Northwest Wine Summit
A history lesson on monarchy teaches us that sometimes the potential and promise of a new leader is not realized until a few successful years in. In 1837, when a 17 year old Victoria took the throne, do you think the English people knew a great era was upon them? Probably not, and the wine world is not so different. Every region can produce a great vintage, but it takes consistency over years and a certain uniqueness of taste to really enthrone a leader.
But word is getting out; from Victorian vintners to Vancouver Island locals, to BC drinkers to Canadian connoisseurs, it would seem the dawn of a new Victorian era is upon us.
You can hear it through the grapevine, all hail the Queen.