Page 30 - 2026-2027 Travel Guide to Canada

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ICE WINE FESTIVAL, NOTL • DESTINATION ONTARIO
Drink: A Toast
to Canada
BY MARGARET SWAINE
Craft breweries, artisanal distilleries and
cideries have also blossomed across the
nation. Spirits range from the unique
Birmingham’s Dill Pickle Vodka to the
sublime Royal Crown Northern Harvest Rye
Whisky, Canada’s first whisky to win the
World Whisky of the Year. That was a
decade ago, and boy has the spirits
landscape evolved.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
SUNNY WAYS AND SUNNY
VINEYARDS
Sunny Okanagan is the place many
Canadians think about moving to for their
retirement years. The Canadian version of a
riviera, it has glittering lakes as a backdrop
to ski hills, golf courses, cycling and hiking
routes, and wine trails. Okanagan Wine
Festivals produces three seasonal festivals
in the Okanagan Valley and produces and
runs the province’s most prestigious wine
competition, the Lieutenant Governor’s
Wine Awards (www.thewinefestivals.com).
Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country has some great
signature events including the Half Corked
Marathon in May, an approximate 24 km (12 mi.)
run through beautiful vineyards, and Pig Out
in September (www.oliverosoyoos.com).
Many of the wineries have excellent
restaurants and some have great accommo-
Canadians are sophisticated drinkers. This northern
country is home to licenced wineries stretched out
in select pockets of land from the Pacific to the
Atlantic Ocean, and is the world’s leading producer
of icewine. The cool climate viticulture also makes
for elegant, finely structured table wines with crisp
fruit flavours from European Vitis vinifera grapes
such as chardonnay, riesling, pinot noir, pinot blanc
and cabernet sauvignon.
dations. Mission Hill’s Terrace Restaurant,
open May to October, offers an unforgettable
alfresco dining experience overlooking the
vineyards and set against the spectacular
backdrop of Okanagan Lake (www.mission
hillwinery.com). Quails’ Gate offers flights
of wines and locavore meals in their Old
Vines Restaurant and patio overlooking the
same lake (www.quailsgate.com). Hester
Creek, one of the oldest wineries in the
region, has a great restaurant, Terrafina,
and unique accommodations (www.hester
creek.com). Nk’Mip Cellars was the first
Indigenous owned and operated winery in
North America. Here the Osoyoos Indian Band
People have created a wine and cultural
experience, bar none (www.nkmipcellars.com).
On Vancouver Island, visit wine, mead,
cider, and premium spirits producers. The
first commercial vineyard was established in
the Cowichan Valley in 1970 and the Island’s
first winery opened in 1992. Today, there are
around 30 wineries (www.winebc.com/wine-
regions/vancouver-island).
THE PRAIRIES
CRAFTY TIPPLES
While the Prairies are not known for their
wines—the climate just isn’t suitable—the
craft brewery business is booming and spirits
are on the rise.
Capital K Distillery, Manitoba’s first craft
distillery, started with Tall Grass Vodka and
has since added Tall Grass Gin, Tall Grass Oaked
Rhumb, Tall Grass Dill Pickle Vodka and others
to its lineup (www.capitalkdistillery.com).
Saskatoon, in Saskatchewan, has nine great
distilleries. Black Fox Farm and Distillery makes
truly fabulous gins, whiskies and liqueurs made
largely from local grains, fruits and botanicals
(www.blackfoxfarmanddistillery.com).
Alberta also has a flourishing craft beer
scene. Canadian Craft Tours offers a Calgary
Brewery Tour that explores three unique
breweries (www.canadiancrafttours.ca/
products/calgary-brewery-tour). Eau
Claire Distillery, a farm-to-glass operation
in Turner Valley, produces its spirits—
including the province’s first single malt
whisky—from local Alberta grain (www.eau
clairedistillery.ca).
ONTARIO
A CENTRE OF WINE FESTIVALS
AND ICEWINE
Ontario is the largest wine grape producing
province in Canada, with 7,081 ha (17,500
acres) of vines and more than 186 wineries.
The Niagara Peninsula is the largest Canadian
wine appellation, with 10 additional sub-
appellations, encompassing more than 100
wineries. The wine route starts less