JULY 2004 Tour Salt Spring Island

In July, Barbara, her sister Valerie and I slipped away for the weekend to the largest of the Gulf Islands Salt Spring Island. Home to two wineries and soon a third. Both active wineries are located in the same area of the Island over looking Fulton Valley. Both began operations in 2002

Salt Spring Vineyards owned by Bill Harkley and Janice (Shpak) Harkley was our first stop.
We were in for a wonderful time a beautiful vineyard ,great wines friendly staff and friendly hospitable owners.

A well designed pathway wound its way from the parking lot through the beautiful gardens to a large Gazebo with a magnificent view of the vineyards, valley and the ocean before leading off to the wine shop.

 

There is nothing more enjoyable than tasting wines at the vineyard. Salt Spring Island was no exception we were about to taste some fine wines.

Above the wine shop is one room of the Wineries B&B. Yes you can stay over night ( or longer ) in the vineyard.

 

A warm greeting along with knowledge staff made the wine tasting extremely enjoy. Our hostess Colleen Bowen took pride in he work,displaying a passion for her wines as she guided us through the tasting.

Leon Millot proved to be my favorite in this tasting I also had the pleasure of tasting direct from the tank a Port made from Blackberries, which grow abundantly on Salt Spring,
absolutely delicious.

We had the honor of meeting the Vineyards owners. Janice invited us in for tea.
We chat for a well before receiving a tour of their B&B Facilities.

We also were told the story of how Eartha", the earth goddess was chosen to be their label.

The romance of the vineyard - it does exist, and it is elevated when it is shared Thank you
Salt Spring Vineyard

Our next stop was Garry Oak Winery located just down road at 1880 Fulford-Ganges Road

The vineyard is located on awell-drained, south-facing, sandy-gravelly-loam slopes at the base of Mt. Maxwell, overlooking Burgoyne Valley.

The winery is owned by Marcel Mercier and Elaine Kozak

The wine shop was quite busy when we entered. It would appear like a new and larger tasting room is required for this up and coming winery.

We tasted the wines including Labyrinth, Fetish and the award winning Piont Gris

The Fetish is a Bordeaux style wine made from
a blend of Cabernet and Merlot grapes.
Since i had not seen the Fetish in our local stores I quickly purchased a couple of bottles.

 

 

Salt Spring Island can only be reached by boat or plane. The BC Ferry System offers daily sailings from Victoria and Vancouver to the Island. Reservations are must. The island is also know for the numerous artist that live here. Artist studios are located throughout the Island.

See our tourism page