Island Wine & Food - Saanich Peninsula
The Saanich Peninsula exemplifies the harmonious mixture of rural and urban lifestyles. Cows, chicken, corn – check. Shopping, spas, Starbucks – check. Wineries, cideries, distilleries – check mate! The Saanich Peninsula has attracted attention of late as one of BC’s up-and-coming boutique beverage producing regions.
Extending north from Victoria toward Sidney, and flanked by the Saanich Inlet on the west and Georgia Straight on the east, the rolling interior of the peninsula offers rich farmlands and fertile valleys. Our temperate climate allows producers a long, stable growing season – and – perhaps as important – a consistent stream of visitors. If you’re en route from the ferries, just landed at the airport or visiting Butchart Gardens you’re already in the thick of the Saan Pen wine region. So budget yourself a few hours for a terroir tasting – here’s a few of my top picks.
Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse
Several years ago, in an abandoned orchard on Shuswap Lake, Kristen and Bruce Jordan began to dream of making cider. Wanting to bring their fruit dream to fruition, they knew they needed a strong start and so enlisted the help of a British cider master to complement their own careful study of organic orcharding and cidermaking. The Jordans began by planting 1000 organic apple trees on the Saanich Peninsula and by painstakingly building a beautiful ciderhouse, with a full view of both the Pacific and their orchard. They are now a culinary tourism powerhouse, tireless community supporters and cider spokespeople. Introduce the family to the entire cidermaking process – from growing to milling, pressing, fermenting and bottling.
Treve’s pick - Rumrunner is dark gold in hue, coloured through aging in rum barrels. Hints of quince, brown sugar and exotic spice, and a fuller body are hallmarks of this complex, semi-dry sparkling cider.
Starling Lane Winery
Very good things happen in threes. Three couples - Ken and Sue Houston, John and Jackie Wrinch, and Jerry and Sherry Mussio - each established their vineyards on the Saanich Peninsula in the early 1990s. By 2004 they banded together, establishing Starling Lane Winery. All the partners share the same passion for high quality without compromise. As winemaker John Wrinch puts it, “if it’s not up to standard, we simply won’t sell it”. A strong belief in local product has quickly earned the winery many fans – evident by the prompt sell out of their wines each vintage. In fact, if you’re not on a waiting list, chances are you won’t be toasting with their coveted Célébration Brut. This fantastic traditional-method sparkling is gone nearly as soon as it is released. Their small lots of handcrafted wines rank this winery right up there with the best in BC. Certainly worth a visit – and not just for the wines. The winery is on “Hanging” Judge Begbie’s old property, who acquired this parcel of land in 1859.
Treve’s pick – Célébration Brut. Strong portfolio across the board, but hats off to anyone who can make such a balanced bubbly. Fresh lemon and strawberry aromas and bright grapefruit, lime and floral flavours.
Muse Winery
With a motto like ‘Love what you do. Laugh often. Work hard. Make great wine. Have fun doing it’, it’s apparent that the fun folks at Muse embrace life to the fullest. From their striking labels, to their playful personification, these wines are full of personality. Take, for example, their 2009 Bacchus - Noon Someplace: “A playful little fräulein nymph, her joie de vie is intoxicating and contagious. Myth surrounds her, as she has been known to consort with the gods. Just being in her presence brings ecstasy and a hint of craziness. Fond of picnics on the Rhine, she spreads her blanket upon riverbank grasses and tempts the palate with offering of tart apples, key line and mango popsicles. To spend a leisurely afternoon in her company is to overindulge on raw oysters and grilled prawns, play hooky and screw the consequences.”
Ha! Wine shouldn’t be snobby. Thanks to owners Jane and Peter Ellmann’s organically farmed boutique winery in Deep Cove for reminding us of that. Also the site of Bistro Muse – a sliver of a dining patio – for that wine country lunch.
Treve’s pick - Ortega is the main white of the Islands, and Muse shows why – bright, crisp grapefruit and delicate floral perfume entice and refresh.
Victoria Spirits
Victoria Spirits’ claim to fame can’t even be covered by ‘huge’. Perhaps ‘monumental’ would be more apropos. Their Victoria Gin is a true local success story, awarded, recognized and revered across North America. The gin was quickly picked up and heralded by a few key voices (Jim Murray of the Whisky Bible, Fairmont Empress) and word quickly spread. The spirit blends 11 botanicals (one of which is a closely guarded and hotly coveted secret) into an aromatic, smooth and complex spirit. This classic is rightly known as Canada’s first premium Gin. After a year or so of scrambling to keep up with demand, they have started once again to investigate new products. Their biggest focus recently has been for a completely local single-malt whisky (preliminarily named Craigdarroch Whisky). I sense another landmark success…
Treve’s pick – Though Vic Spirits has also been making eaux de vies, grappa and bitters, their Victoria Gin does stand alone. And that’s just how I like it – straight, on the rocks, and often.
Published June 1, 2010
By: Treve Ring eats, drinks & writes from VIctoria, BC. More about Treve.....
