How to Sip and Savor Victoria’s Fall Flavors

Wine. Beer. Cider. Tea. When it comes to delicious, thirst-quenching beverages, Victoria has all the bases covered. Try one, try them all. Whatever the case maybe, you’ll always find a glass (or mug) of the good stuff.

Explore Cowichan Valley’s Wine Trail

Sheltered by mountains to the west and the Salish Sea to the east, Cowichan Valley’s sun-drenched vineyards produce some of British Columbia’s finest wines. This pocket of nineteen wineries, most of which are within only 30 minutes of each of other, makes it easy to spend a day sampling award-winning vintages.

Pick up a Wine & Culinary Guide at the nearest visitor center and create a self-guided tour through the region. Keep an eye out for the Wine Route road signs (a little insider hint – stop at Averill Creek Vineyard, Venturi- Schultze Vineyards and Blue Grouse Estate Winery) that guide you where to go. A second option is to skip having to draw straws over who will be the designated driver and hop on the guided Cowichan Wine Country Tour.

Journey through the less traveled backroads past hillsides in a blaze of harvest yellows, reds and golds as vineyards full of grapes ripen in the sun. Tour the area, chat with the winemakers and sip on a flight of Pinot Gris, Ortega and Gewurztraminer on a sunny porch by the sea. Whatever you do, be sure not to miss the unique, port-style blackberry wine, a Cowichan Valley staple.

Drink in the Bounty of the Harvest

If you would rather down a pint of fresh-hopped craft beer or crisp, sweet cider, there are endless ways to celebrate the finest of the harvest season. Start your flavor odyssey with a trip to the pastoral farmlands of the Saanich Peninsula. Stop by the family-owned, Sea Cider orchard and cider house and partake in the annual Apple Day celebration.

Watch crisp, just-picked apples being squeezed into delicious cider during an apple pressing demonstration. Listen to music play as you stroll through the orchards and, of course, sample cider by the glassful. Be sure to sample the newly released Witch’s Broom cider. With flavors of cinnamon, orange, nutmeg and ginger, this sweet and tangy cider tastes like autumn in a bottle.

Back in downtown Victoria, craft brewers whip up a lineup of fresh suds created with harvest-related ingredients such as fresh hops and more than a dozen pumpkin brews to satisfy the pumpkin loving hordes. Piney, citrusy and resinous, The Devil’s Dream IPA from Hoyne Brewing Co. packs a serious punch.

Spinnakers’ Spiced Pumpkin Ale offers lighter take on the traditional pumpkin brews and combines locally grown Kabocha squash with a generous smattering of fall spices for good measure. For something a bit different, stop by Category 12 craft brewery to sample the Zombie Repellant Ale. A hoppy, Belgian red ale with hints of orange and licorice, it certainly standouts from all the other seasonal ales.

Cuddle Up with a Warm Cuppa Tea

A day spent exploring the quaint streets of Victoria can cause you to build up quite an appetite. Relax, warm up and indulge in the quintessential Victorian tradition – afternoon tea at the Fairmont Empress. Settle into a chair or cozy up on a couch in the sophisticated, reinvented tea lobby and peruse a menu of 21 of the finest loose leaf teas. With so many options, ranging from hand-rolled oolongs to spice-filled herbal blends, it is tough to choose just one. But after some advice from our expert tea server, we settle on the rare, sweetly-smoky, Tong Mu Phoenix Lapsang Souchong blend.

As the tea steeps, soak in the exceptional views of the Inner Harbour, while sailboats, tug boats and ferries glide through the glittering waters as they go about their daily business. Once the elixir is steeped to perfection, dive in the array of savory sandwiches, warm scones and decadent desserts immaculately arranged atop a three-tiered platter. If these freshly prepared treats don’t make your mouth melt, we don’t know what will.

With Halloween coming up, the space will undergo another magical transformation that will transport you into the world of witches, wizards and warlocks. A large “sorting hat” greets you at the entrance of the stately building, and after softly alighting atop your head, whispers the perfect table for you to your host. Before you settle in, make your way to the smoking punchbowls to ladle in some eyeball-filled (whole lychees stuffed with bar cherries) punch into your mug.

Nosh on Halloween-themed treats such as eyeball white chocolate mousse, chocolate cauldron cakes, demon marshmallow scones, ham and cheese coffins and more. If you are feeling particularly brave, sample the small plate of Bertie Bott’s unusually flavored jellybeans and hope you are lucky enough to bite into a sweet candyfloss or green apple flavored bean instead of a spicy black pepper or tart grass flavored variety.

For a treat that is a little more hands-on, wander four streets over to the bright, modern Silk Road Tea in Victoria’s historic Chinatown. Nibble and sip your way through the Halloween edition of their popular chocolate and tea pairing and discover the secrets of combining these two delicious treats. Or, if you feel like mixing up your own brew, stop by the bewitching Spooktacular Tea Cocktails and Mocktails Class and blend Silk Road’s Blood Orange tea with a few secret ingredients to create your own Goblin’s Brew or the Vampire’s Kiss.

With more than four tasty brews to choose from, Vancouver Island has us spoiled with options. Pick your preference and toast the coming fall with one of these delicious liquid refreshments.