Driving across the highways of western Canada, which afford majestic views of sea and sky, the same phrase appears again and again on the region’s blue-and-white license plates: “Beautiful British Columbia.” It’s an apt description.
Covering nearly 365,000 square miles of old-growth temperate rainforests, storm-smashed seaboards and desert grasslands that stretch between the Pacific Ocean and the Canadian Rockies, the dramatic landscapes of Canada’s westernmost province are a headlining draw.
But for lovers of wine, craft spirits and craft beer, British Columbia holds another appeal entirely. An underappreciated destination for drinkers, the province offers terroir that, in recent years, has translated to a heady craft drinks scene.
Thanks to the adoption of a 2013 government policy, small-batch producers need to use province-grown agricultural products like grapes, barley and wheat to qualify as “craft.” This translates to drinks that are direct expressions of B.C. land, including complex old-vine wines; beers brewed with golden B.C. grain and local spirits infused with forest and ocean botanicals.
So, how best to sip your way through three of British Columbia’s best drinks-producing regions? We queried local experts and drinks industry professionals for their ideas. Pro tip: Many small-production B.C. drinks products are hard to find outside the province, so leave room in your suitcase to bring some home.
Image Courtesy of Victoria Distillers
Vancouver
This bustling, glittering city is the gateway to B.C. It’s known for many things: close proximity to world-class skiing and hiking, a Michelin-recognized culinary scene and, most critically for the purposes of this guide, top-notch drinking that has a deep sense of place.
“B.C.’s accessibility to some amazing ingredients makes it really unique,” says local spirits expert and award-winning bartender Alex Black. Strict B.C. liquor laws—which stipulate 50,000-liter production limits and high markups for distillers interested in placing products on government-run liquor store shelves—have created a collaborative, community-driven distilling and brewing scene.
“I like to say the only thing crazier than opening a restaurant is opening a distillery,” says Black. “There are so many barriers to profitability, so the people who do it do it out of passion.”
Beer and Cider
For a taste of that passion, Black recommends diving into the city’s craft brewing landscape, which comprises more than 40 different establishments.
“We got the Pacific Northwest beer boom as well,” he says.
He suggests beginning at Strange Fellows in East Vancouver (affectionately known as Yeast Vancouver for its notable suds) and snapping up a pint of its lauded Talisman Pale Ale. From there, check out Faculty Brewing Co., an under-the-radar spot near the Science World Museum. For a wide range of constantly-rotating local beers on tap in one place, head to Alibi Room. You also can’t go wrong walking around the centrally-located Brewery Creek area, a historic urban brewery district.
Along with beer, cider has a solid foothold in Vancouver. “I love everything that comes out of Windfall Cider,” Black says of the urban cidery located in North Vancouver, where B.C. apples meet Old World technique. One interesting offering is the Lost & Found cider, made from fallen apples found in orchards and backyards around the city.
Spirits and Cocktails
For spirits, take a day trip to nearby Bowen Island to visit Copper Spirit Distillery, which offers vodka, gin and Canadian rye whiskey. “I really love what they’re doing with local B.C. grains,” says Black.
Going hand-in-hand with the growing distilling scene, Vancouver is a craft cocktail town, with numerous bars featured on best-of national and international lists. Saunter up to the bar for cocktails developed by Black himself at Laowai and Bagheera, two elegant cocktail bars designed as secretive speakeasies and lounges. Other must-trys are the Italian-inspired Uva Wine & Cocktails Bar, the apothecary-themed Keefer Bar and BOTANIST, where cocktails like the Treebeard use fir gin and birch sap to evoke B.C.’s great outdoors.
Where to Stay in Vancouver
Modern design meets nature at The DOUGLAS, ideally located close to downtown. Urbanites will love the retro, motor inn aesthetic of the stylish Burrard Hotel, and the Gastown-adjacent Skwachàys Lodge showcases Indigenous art.
Image Courtesy of Martin Tessler / The Burrard
Okanagan Valley
“Some of the best wines I’ve ever had have been from the Okanagan,” Black says of B.C.’s premier wine region. It’s just a 45-minute flight or five-hour drive east of Vancouver, so you won’t have to go far. (If you’re driving, leave time for a quick stop-over in the nearby city of Port Moody to visit its six-taproom Brewers Row.)
Centered around a series of spindly lakes stretching north to south—the most notable being the 84-mile-long Okanagan Lake—the valley’s rocky cliffs and undulating hills convey rolling waves of vineyards, orchards and fields down to lakefront towns. With over 180 wineries, the Okanagan is home to 86% of B.C.’s vineyard acreage.
Along the valley’s 155-mile length, eleven official sub-regions make use of distinct sediments, soil types and microclimates, as well as glorious days of sunshine and cool nights. A wide range of grapes are grown here—more than 80 different varietals, from heavy hitters like Chardonnay to rare specimens like Leon Millot.
“There is no one superstar grape here,” says Emily Walker, the wine director of Naramata Inn, which specializes in hyper-local, seasonal cuisine. Although winemaking in the area goes back to the 1850s, the modern winemaking scene is still emerging. Today, it’s grounded in organic, low-intervention and biodynamic production. “We’re so young and there are so many exciting things happening.”
Wine
Start a visit to one of the valley’s best-known wineries, Mission Hill Family Estate. In stately, ultra-modern buildings of Indiana limestone, perched high on a hilltop, guests can sip wines sourced from vineyards across the valley at Canada’s only five-time WineAlign National Wine Awards Winery of the Year winner.
From there, try some of Walker’s favorites like Echo Bay Vineyard in Okanagan Falls for “really pure, beautiful” Bordeaux blends; single-vineyard Riesling from vines planted in 1927 at Tantalus near Kelowna; and Fox and Archer on the scenic Naramata Bench for Pinot Noir and Malbec. Situated close to the Naramata Inn, the Bench is one of the best spots for a day of wine tasting, with a hop-on, hop-off wine trolley.
