Preview of Cowichan Wineries

Alderlea is among Vancouver Island’s oldest and most respected wineries, situated in the picturesque Cowichan Valley near Duncan, British Columbia.  Since 2017, it has been owned and operated by Zac and Julie Brown, who continue the vineyard legacy established in 1998 by the Dosmans, combining passion, sustainability, and commitment to regional terroir

Alderlea pursues environmentally responsible winemaking, embracing vegan wines, pesticide-free farming, composting, beneficial insects instead of chemical pest control, biodiesel use, water recycling, and grass/clover ground cover to support soil health 100% Canadian, Cowichan Grown

All grapes are grown locally in the Cowichan Valley with minimal external inputs—no U.S. sourced content—reinforcing a fully Canadian product from vineyard to bottle.100% Cowichan Valley–grown grapes; fully Canadian production  Vineyard and winery operations focused on ecological stewardship—from composting and ground cover to biodiesel tractors. A range of well-rated wines mixing traditional cool-climate styles with innovative blends. With Zac’s scientific background and wine making training abroad, paired with Julie’s hospitality it’s sure to be an enlightening experience. 

Maximum 12 people  This is a standup tasting.

Established in 2001 Averill Creek is in north Duncan, high upon the side of Mount Prevost with sweeping vistas of the Cowichan Valley and looks out onto the Strait of Juan De Fuca.

Those on the MyGo Cheers Tour Bus love to take photos with the amazing view in the background. Selfies anyone?

Set outdoors with beautiful landscaping, Averill Creek Winery is a great first stop.

Averill Creek offers a five wine tasting, a mix of red and whites. The wines are brought to your table in 5 separate decanters from which you choose which wine you would like first. It’s a “play as you go” kind of thing. A description of each wine is provided for all the wines you will be tasting.

Averill Creek used to allow picnics on site. This is no longer allowed. They do provide their own snacks like Apple Cheese Fondue, Mussels Escabeche, and more.

A perfect start to the wine tour day.

Time 45 mins – 1 hour

Absolutely one of the busiest wineries on Vancouver Island, Blue Grouse Winery has an amazing view of the Cowichan Valley and the Blue Grouse Vineyard. Stunning is the best word to describe Blue Grouse. When talking to prospective tour clients, most request a visit to Blue Grouse.

With friendly, knowledgeable staff who pride themselves on excellent service, Blue Grouse is classy, sustainable conscious, opulent, and well….. you best let us make a reservation for you as soon as possible or you may be disappointed that there is no space.

Your server will serve 5 tastings with a combination of red and white wines. If it is knowledge of wines you are looking for, your server will discuss in detail the creation of each wine and answer any and all questions.

Blue Grouse has the capacity to serve indoors and outdoors. Weather will not stop Blue Grouse from sharing their wonderful wines. They are open all year with perhaps a brief vacation time for everyone in January.

Guests are welcome to bring in food. Charcuterie plates and other snacks are served.

A quote from Blue Grouse website:

“As stewards of the land, our aim is to leave a better place than the one we found.” 

Time: Usually 1 hour

One can’t help but be enchanted with Xaviera and Maria Clara, owners of Cherry Point Estate Wines. Talk about passion!

Cherry Point is located in Cobble Hill just south of Duncan.

A Cherry Point wine tasting is a stand up tasting located at their beautiful counter in their tasting room. The tasting includes red, white, and dessert wines. Extremely creative and friendly, the owners love to share their knowledge of their wines, the soil, their creativity, and the love they have for the earth. Any questions? They are more than willing to answer.

During the warmer weather Cherry Point has a bistro that serves west coast delicacies.

A must do stop on any wine tour

This is a stand up tasting.

Time 45 min – 1 hour

Located in Cobble Hill, across from Arbutus Golf Course, they cultivate the cool climate grape varietals we adore with precision and finesse to produce exceptional wines for your glass. Each sip is a celebration of innovation, adventure, and the serendipitous journey that brought their vision to life.

Tricia the new propietor, looks forward to sharing their wines and their picturesque farm, stating, “I really do love hosting people.“

 Enjoy tastings and full service bottles of thier wine,

Time: Approx. 45 minutes

Located in Mill Bay, Enrico winery is known as “the fun winery”. Outdoor picnic tables and indoor barrel tables all add to the ambience of this beautiful winery. With easy going and wonderfully attentive, smiling servers, they even have live music on weekends. Amazing!

While there is plenty of fun to be had, one should not overlook the seriousness of Enrico Winery and their staff who create award winning wines. Over 30 awards and counting!

Have a walk in their vineyard; walk out on the dock overlooking the pond; pose in the gazebo. There are so many photo opportunities here.

In operation since 2010, Enrico’s serves a 6 pour of various wines including red and white and sparkling. Knowledgable staff will speak to you in layman’s terms explaining about the grapes they harvest and the wines they make.

Along with the regular wines, order their version of Sangria. Another favourite is the Mango Slushie. Yup, a mango Slushie.

Want to have some extra fun at Enrico?  Get your tour guide to set you up with a surprise. Not giving it away.

We usually visit Enrico’s as a final stop on the tour. Tour guests are usually ready to sing their way home after visiting Enrico’s.

Time 1 – 1.5 hours, sometimes longer

The  winemaking at Tell Tale Winery emphasizes a minimalist and natural approach. They use no enzymes during the crush phase and often rely on indigenous yeasts to ferment the wines. To ensure that the wines make it to their customers in prime condition, they use only minimal and controlled amount of sulphites. Their wines contain no animal-based fining products and are vegan friendly.

These protocols produce wines with vibrant character, that are expressive of their terroir.

Behind every great wine is a skilled artisan, and Tell Tale is no exception. Meet John Kelly, whose decades of experience and unwavering dedication to crafting wines shines through in every bottle. Believing in minimal intervention winemaking, John allows the grapes to speak for themselves, resulting in wines that are pure, expressive, and true to their origins.

Located in Mill Bay, Unsworth is just a hop, skip, and a jump from Merridale Cidery.

Unsworth is a beautiful facility, wonderfully designed, always friendly and inviting. Sitting outside on the terrace with a waterfall pond in the background is the perfect setting for taking time out for a 5 wine tasting.

Brought to your table individually, each wine will be presented to you with knowledge and expertise informing you of  the Unsworth brand, one vine, one bottle, one blend at a time.

You might want to visit the Unsworth Restaurant only 30 steps away (no counting). A perfect place for lunch. The delicous meals served are well known throughout the Cowichan Valley and Victoria.

MyGo Cheers makes all reservations for lunch and wine tastings, ensuring your wine tasting tour goes off without a hitch.

October 2024, Bruce has listed his property for sale. The business may or may not have future tastings.

Located just north of Duncan near the Cowichan Exhibition, Valley Cider is the new kid on the block.

Valley ciders are fermented and handcrafted in individual batches and aged for a minimum of one year. They use apples from their own orchards, from a BC family farm, and are some foraged locally.

Their botanicals and fruits are organic and sourced locally where possible, including many from the forests and pastures of their own farm.

Bruce, the owner, has named some of his ciders ” Soda Love Potion” (be careful who you put the spell on), “Attack of the Fuzzy Peach”, and “Bloo”. You simply have to taste these ciders. Bruce usually leads the tasting as he is a wealth of knowledge, passionate about his craft, and loves to share his passion with all who will listen.

This is a stand up tasting and will last as long as you keep asking Bruce questions!

The MyGo Cheers bus is usually full of boxed Valley Cider after the visit.

Located just west of Duncan near Glenora Hall is the cutest, oldest winery on Vancouver Island. This is where it all started.

The wine tasting portion of the Vineyard is located in the old farmhouse. It’s certainly a pleasure to sit out on the farmhouse porch and enjoy a 5 wine tasting.

This is mostly an outdoor wine tasting venue but the porch is covered providing either shade for those hot days or protection from a rainy day.

On those perfect days you can sit out on their terrace looking out to the rolling hills in the distance.

Zanatta is home to wedding events and more. Feel free to walk in their orchard or maybe bump into one of the cats and say hi. Zanatta is a dog free zone. No dogs please because the kitties are scared to death of them.

An excellent wine tasting stop for those who want to slow down, avoid the more opulent wineries and just sit back, chat and enjoy the quiet countryside.