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How was Rainbird’s Wine Tour?… Glad You asked!
How was Rainbird’s Wine Tour?… Glad You asked!
Last Saturday Rainbird conducted a wine tour. It was really meant for locals. But, of course, anyone could participate. It went really well! The weather was spectacular! Being able to dress in shorts and sandals on late September day on Vancouver Island is exceptional.
Everyone met at the office/house at 10 AM. I let everyone know that there was plenty of bottled water, and a couple of wooden wine crates for their purchases. And off we went to the Zanatta Estate Winery.
Our route took us past the “Goats” in Coombs. It is a funky grocery store/ restaurant/hippie shop. Wonderful to browse in for unique sauces, wicker baskets, or imported patio lanterns. In the back there is a stroll where you can find stores featuring local artisans and other imported goods from around the world.
The drive to the first winery was just under 2 hours. We arrived just before noon and just in time for the first wine tasting of the day at Zanatta Winery. The tasting shop and restaurant is in an old farm house surrounded by rolling hills, fields, forest and vineyards south-west of Duncan. During the wine-tasting I ducked out for a few minutes as I wasn’t participating in the tasting. I had the chance to chat with the chef who was taking a break just before the lunch crowd made him busy. He said that arriving on this weekend was a good idea, because next weekend was the local wine festival and they would be having 2000 people going through their business. Wow! That’s a crowd! After our wine tasting, we had lunch in a sunny corner of the verandah that surrounds the house. The meals were exquisite with wonderful presentation values as well.
The Godfrey-Brownell Estate Winery is just down the road from Zanatta. It is younger and less established. We drove in the gate and down a long road through the vineyard to the house where the tastings are held. A unique feature of this winery is that the tastings are done outdoors under the shade of the verandah. There is a lovely patio with an enormous Douglas fir tree providing shade in the middle of it. By mid afternoon this place was busy with other guests arriving by van car and bicycle.
Around 3 PM we climbed back into the van for the trip back to the Alberni Valley. By the time we arrived at the Chase & Warren Winery, we were a little behind schedule. It was 5:15PM. However our hosts didn’t seem to mind. The winery is located about 10 minutes North of town at the end of Drinkwater Road. Chase & Warren is the newest of the wineries we visited. They have only been selling wine since 2003. However the wine is right up at the quality people on Vancouver Island have come to expect from their wineries. The owner, Vaughn Chase, took some time to talk with us. He is a very busy man. He still teaches school while he manages the winery, and develops new vineyards! He said that being away from the concentration of wineries that are around the Cowichan and Gulf Islands is one of the biggest challenges to continuing his success. He would love to see 2 or three more wineries in the valley!
We finally said goodbye, and I returned everyone to their vehicles. But, for some,there was still more wine on the agenda! The Rotary Club was holding a wine tasting festival that evening. Busy, busy, busy!