Venturi Schulze
Italian-born Giordano Venturi speaks with as much enthusiasm about vinegar as wine. A native of the balsamic capital of Modena, he grew up too poor to afford a taste of authentic balsamic, which is aged for years in small barrels and can sell for $50 or more (versus $5 to $10 for ersatz supermarket varieties). With the attention to detail of a fine violin maker, Mr. Venturi has been crafting his own from grapes harvested on the property since 1990. It’s a lightly sweet, syrupy nectar ($49.90 for a small bottle) designed for use as a condiment rather than salad dressing. With his wife, Marilyn, a microbiologist, and her daughter, Michelle Schulze, he also makes a top-notch bubbly as well as several still wines. They were the first to tent vines with plastic on Vancouver Island. A newly finished tasting room, complete with a gorgeous bar top hewn from several local hardwoods, and the picnic patio are fine venues to sip. 250-743-5630, www.venturischulze.com.
Muse Winery
Formerly called Chalet Estate, this charmingly situated winery on the Saanich Peninsula sits across the road from the chi-chi Deep Cove Chalet restaurant, the latter with its gorgeous view of the water. Peter Ellman, a former marketing executive with a Napa Valley winery, and his wife, Jane, a former manager with the Marriott hotel chain, took over the property three years ago. Keen to establish Muse as a tourist draw, they run a bistro, banquet hall and open-air theatre. “This is just a show winery; we don’t want to work too hard,” says Mr. Ellman, who purchases much of his fruit from estates in the Okanagan Valley and ages it in fine, hand-me-down oak barrels secured from such top Napa estates as Opus One and Pahlmeyer. The Merlot and Grande Dame Rouge are excellent. 250-656-255, www.musewinery.ca.
Church & State Wines
On the outskirts of Victoria near Butchart Gardens lies Vancouver Island’s showplace winery. The imposing chalet-style building, with a wraparound porch, large tasting bar and cavernous restaurant, makes some of the island’s top-ranked wines, though most are based on Okanagan fruit from the mainland. The style tends to be oaky and vaguely sweet, reminiscent of many 1990s California fruit bombs, but the pinot gris, made from fruit grown on the property, is an island standout. 250-652-2671, www.churchandstatewines.com.
Sea Cider
No, it’s not a winery. But a sip of cold, hard cider (the stuff with alcohol) makes for a refreshing detour for those who love the stuff, and I do. Sit at long tables in the large, barn-like tasting room in Saanichton and choose a “flight” of several varieties, ranging from bone-dry to sweet. The dry Flagship, made from empire winter and banana apples, tastes like apple pie washed down with good sparkling wine. 250-544-4824, www.seacider.ca.
Victoria Spirits
Tucked away on a tree-lined rural road near Victoria on the Saanich Peninsula, this rustic building can at first seem like the front for a bootlegging operation. But the gleaming, German-crafted copper still, with its bulbous form, looks more like the Tik-Tok mechanical man of Return To Oz than a makeshift moonshine contraption. Peter Hunt, the Hollywood-handsome distiller of this small, family-run operation, who also boasts a master’s degree in molecular biology, makes superb hooch. In addition to the acclaimed Victoria Gin, he crafts fine eau de vies, aromatic bitters and a new offering called Left Coast Hemp Vodka, distilled from locally grown organic hemp seed. How’s that for an authentic Vancouver Island tipple? 250-544-8217, www.victoriaspirits.com.
Other highlights
Blue Grouse Estate Winery (for the black muscat); de Vine Vineyards (for The Vixen pinot noir); Saturna Island Family Estate Winery (for the rosé); Starling Lane Winery (for the pinot noir and historic old farm property once owned by “Hanging Judge” Matthew Baillie Begbie, B.C.’s first chief justice); and Vigneti Zanatta Winery and Vineyards (for the bubbly).
