Averill Creek Vineyard

Averill Creek Vineyard spreads across roughly 30 acres on the southeast-facing flank of Mount Prevost, just outside Duncan in the Cowichan Valley of Vancouver Island and only about a dozen kilometres from the coastline. The winery was founded by Andy Johnston, a physician who left his medical career in Edmonton after searching out an ideal site for the grape that drives this estate: Pinot Noir. That variety remains the calling card, and the vineyard's moderate slope, maritime air and long, mild island growing season have helped make Averill Creek one of the most recognized names in the Cowichan Valley sub-appellation, with a range that now extends across more than a dozen red and white wines.

The visitor experience matches the setting. A modern tasting room opens onto a flower-lined patio with views over the vines and the valley below, and guests can order wine flights, wines by the glass and an assortment of seasonal snacks rather than a rushed stand-up tasting. It is the kind of place where visitors settle in for an hour with a glass of Pinot Noir and watch the light move across the vineyard. Located on North Road a short drive from Duncan, the winery slots easily into a Cowichan Valley touring day alongside the area's other wineries, cideries and farm-to-table restaurants, and it is a regular stop for wine tours running up-island from Victoria. For anyone wanting to understand why the Cowichan Valley is talked about as Canada's emerging coastal wine region, an afternoon on the Averill Creek patio makes a persuasive argument.