On May 3, Cherie Oke of Cowichan Valley Photos was privileged, on behalf of the Cowichan Wine & Culinary Festival, to be the guest of Rocky Creek Winery at their Press Conference. What a treat that was! First, the tastings and appropriate canapés from Amuse Bistro to accompany them. With the crisp, fruity dry Ortega –a flavourful bruschetta; with the gold medal winning Pinot Gris a luscious layered camembert and chevre from the Cowichan’s own Hilary’s Cheese. Robin’s Rose paired with a carrot dip and thin slices of artisan bread

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Blue Grouse Estate Vineyards, which started out as a hobby for Hans and Evangeline Klitz, is located approximately 28 miles north of Victoria on Vancouver Island in the Cowichan Valley. Hans and Evangeline along with their two children, Richard and Sandrina, pay attention to every little detail that goes into making their wines from hand-pruning and harvesting their grapes to marketing their winery. They take great pride in the fact that their vineyard is one of the founding Estate wineries of Vancouver Island.

The wines available at Blue Grouse Estate Vineyards

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Glenterra Vineyards which opened in 2000, is home to organically grown grapes. Thistles Cafe is also available for you’re dining pleasure. Thistles offers a dinner for two special each Friday night beginning in April. There is a 10% discount on wine when purchasing this dinner for two.

The wines available at Glenterra Vineyards include: 2009 Vivace, 2009 Gerurztraminer, 2007 Brio, 2007 Merlot, 2007 Pinot Gris, and 2007 Pinot Noir. Their wines can be found at many fine wine and liquor stores on Vancouver Island.

The winery is open April 2nd through September 30th, Thursday through Monday

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Venturi-Schulze Vineyards, Cobble Hill, Cowichan Valley

The vineyard, which is

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Zanatta Winery and Vineyards, located in Glenora, is four minutes southwest of Duncan in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. Glenora comes from Scottish origin meaning “golden valley”, which perfectly describes the Cowichan Valley. The winery, which opened in 1990, is part of a 120 acre farm with thirty acres being dedicated to the vineyard and the remaining 90 acres consisting of hay fields, pasture, forest and old orchard trees.

Loretta Zanatta, Italian educated winemaker, and her husband, Jim Moody, also own Vinoteca on the Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar

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At Echo Valley Vineyards, tucked away in the breathtaking forests on Vancouver Island, the grapes are organically grown and irrigated from their own clear mountain water wells. This is truly the most virgin land in Cowichan Valley. The winery currently buys grapes from other Cowichan Valley winerys and uses their own technique to produce their wine. In the near future, as the plants mature, they will be harvesting their own grapes.

The award winning Eurpoean style wines available at Echo Valley Vineyards are: Chardonnay, Beaujolais Blanc, Gamay Noir, Beaujolais Rouge and Nouveau Gamay. They

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Merridale Estate Cidery is located on the southeast coast of Vancouver Island, about 40 minutes north of Victoria, and one hour and 20 minutes south of Nanaimo. Merridale has truly been an ongoing project for the owners, Janet Docherty and Rick Pipes. Since their purchase of the property in March, 2000, they have continued to renovate the estate with a tremendous focus on quality control. As they would renovate one part of the cidery, they would outgrow another and have had to continually update and upgrade.

In the summer of 2005,

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Godfrey-Brownell Vineyard is located about a hour north of Victoria in the heart of Cowichan Valley. It is owned and operated by Dave and Ellen Godfrey. The Godfrey’s did not get into the wine making business until they were approaching their sixties. After buying the land the vineyard sits on and doing some research Dave found out that the land used to be owned by a cousin of his Grandmother Brownell, hence the name Godfrey-Brownell.

The wines available at Godfrey-Brownell include: White – 2005 Chardonnay and 2006 Bacchus; Red – 2003 Pinot Noir Reserve, 2002/2003

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Cherry Point Vineyard sits on thirty-four acres of what used to be a mink ranch approximately one hour outside of Victoria on Vancouver Island. In 1994 the vineyard became one of the first licensed wineries on the island.

Cherry Point also has a bistro on site open May to September with many delightful menu selections. The bistro features an indoor garden pavilion with a fireplace perfect for sitting by with a glass wine during the autumn months. The bistro is also available to book for weddings or family events.

The winery is open year around

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Rockey Creek Winery, located in the heart of Cowichan Bay, is a small boutique winery owned and operated by Linda and Mark Holford since July 2008. Mark is a third generation winemaker and has included his entire family in the planting, harvesting and making of the wine. They actually own two separate vineyards. One is located at the winery and open to the public; however, the original vineyard is 20 minutes away and is not open to the public.

The Holfords designed their vineyard around the existing ecosystem and space their rows much

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