If there’s one thing I’d suggest to anyone visiting British Columbia, it’s this – make sure you arrive thirsty. I ate everything from deep-fried cheese curds to blowtorched salmon sushi when I was there, but what caught me by surprise was the sheer amount of locally made beers, wines and spirits on offer. Rather than being tucked away in specialist shops or only appearing at the more expensive end of a restaurant wine list, they were available everywhere we went, championed by people who really believed in them. And everything I tasted, from the potato-corn vodka and blueberry wine to spruce tip-infused beer, proved that this isn’t only a place full of artisan producers – it’s where some of the best booze in the world is made.
The second thing I’d suggest to anyone visiting British Columbia is to leave plenty of space to bring some of this booze back home, because it can be pretty hard to track down outside the country (or even the province). This is especially true for the wines made from grapes grown in the Okanagan Valley, which enjoys the same climate as California’s famous Napa Valley. Canadians know their wine is one of their best-kept secrets, and tend to keep the vast majority for themselves.
While touring B.C. I visited three drinks producers, each of which had different goals, philosophies and products, but they all had one thing in common – the drive to make something unique to their local area that tastes as good as it possibly can. Here are their stories.