Salt Spring Vineyards

A beautiful vineyard to sit and relax at. The complimentary tastings are small but they sell wine by the glass so you can enjoy it while sitting on their picnic benches or deck. They also offer a limited selection of other locally made food to snack on. I enjoy the peace and beauty of the grounds here so I’d come solely for that. The wines are just a bonus!

I went here based on a groupon and then discovered that the groupon I had paid for was actually a wine tasting offered for free by the winery. I felt (and still feel) cheated by this tactic… You can’t trick a customer and think they’re going to return. I also bought a bottle of wine there and then left it unopened on the patio. When we went back for it, it was gone and no one seemed to be able to help us. The wine might be good, But I’m unable to remember that because there is a sour taste in my mouth left by their business practices.

Though the wine types weren’t my favorite, being a «dry white/​sauvignon blanc» kinda person, I still really enjoyed the visit to Salt Spring Vineyards. On a gorgeous hillside overlooking the young vines, lovely flowers and picnic benches, we sipped a nice variety of very drinkable wines, particularly the rose, and the dessert wine. There’s a small selection of cheese and crackers if you want to linger; and pet ducks who are rather persistent in begging for crumbs. If you’re cruising Salt Spring Island, a visit here will get you off the beaten track, and encourage you to «sit and smell the roses!»

Wine wise I find the selection and crop alright. What stood out was the «apple pie» dessert wine which was lovely but too sweet for my taste. I am not a fan of their wines in general (personal preference, no hard feelings) but in terms of the experience, no doubt it’s a solid 4.
This place is cute. It feels like you are walking into someone’s backyard, into the yard’s barn, for wine tasting. Outside the barn, you will see a small pond with two pet ducks. I first thought they were geese because as ducks, they have rather unusual long necks. (I was later confirmed by the lady who helped us out with the wine tasting). The ducks even have their little wooden home! How cute. Also, if you’re lucky on a beautiful sunny day, you may just happen to be greeted by two super friendly furry felines. They would come, sniff you, if they like you, they’d let you pet them.
What’s exceptionally unusual about this winery is that they do small food pairing like cheese and cheese with crackers in between sips. And what’s more amazing is that the tastings are complementary. The cheese comes from Moonstruck Cheese produced and sold on Salt Spring Island. The lady looked surprised when I tipped. So people, make her day, tip.

Our first ‘drinking’ stop being on the island, we came here, due to the help of a map, when it says ‘winery’ and me and my partner have time, we shall visit. It was early, like 10 minutes before opening, and we arrived at this little charming place. Located off the main road, after you park your car, you walk down a small path and you see a pond beside the vineyard, and a small barn where the tastings would be happening. The first thing we noticed while getting here was the view, it was beautiful, just sitting on one of their benches, we just took everything in, from the covered (shielded) grapes, the skyline view was magnificent, and also noticing two ducks chilling out at the pond was a cute thing. They kinda looked like geese, but they were confirmed by the person working there, they are ducks, with their small wooden house near the pond, enjoying a calm morning.
While they were opening up the tasting room another pair of animals came out, this time to greet us. Two female black cats, very friendly, came right by us, the first one, sniffing us out and allowing us to pet her, the other one, slowly decided to jump on my dear’s lap, practically giving the message of: «your going to pet me, and make me feel good!». We had a good time with these two cats, who definitely made us feel welcome, and made me wonder about the cat my dear has at home? (that’s a whole other story!). We eventually made our way away from the felines and into the tasting room where we were greeted with a free tasting of their wines, and also some food from the local area. From their vast selection, we were able to try their ‘Evolution White’, Pinot Gris, Merlot, Apple Pie (dessert wine), and Blackberry ‘Port’. Each wine is crisp, and the grapes definitely show what the area has to offer, for those who are not used to wines like this, be warned that this is a colder region of the world to raise grapes, so the wines take on a different characteristic.
There is also a bed and breakfast here as well, just for your knowledge, in the shop they sell wines, and while your drinking, you can have a picnic by the pond with some cheeses they have from local farms. This place is great to just kick back and enjoy the scenery and the animals that live on this property!