Cowichan Wine & Culinary Festival

 

Cowichan Wines presents the 9th Annual Cowichan Wine and Culinary Festival

September  7 to 15, 2013

Cowichan’s Annual Wine and Culinary Festival is a weeklong celebration of what our beautiful region on Vancouver Island has to offer.   The festival is presented to you by volunteers from local wineries and food establishments and sponsors who recognize the importance of supporting the region upon where they live.  Explore the breathtaking landscape as the winding country roads take you on a journey to discover award winning wines, ciders, spirits and food.  The Festival takes you to the cellar doors and to the farms where the food and drink are created.  Enjoy a true authentic experience that is rich in taste and variety--something for everyone.

Here are a few events to wet your palate.  Start off the festival with the MNP Grape Stomp! on September 7 at the Cowichan Exhibition.  Enter a team and prepare to stomp away for good old-fashioned grape harvest adventure.  Enjoy the Island Chefs Collaborative Long table “Freedom to Farm”  swarea on September 8 featuring local wines and local foods paired together beautifully on white linen tablecloths at Dragonfly Farm.  “Meet Your Maker” on September 11 and mingle with the winery and culinary participants in the historic setting of Providence Farm while munching away on stone-oven roasted pizza.

During the week there are many activities happening around the area from the participants ranging from the “Champagne of Teas” to many winemakers dinner with world-class chefs, seminars, live entertainment, unique farm fresh delights and true “farm to table” experiences.  Many winery locations have also invited artists to their orchards and vineyards.  Savour the experience of life in this agriculturally rich area of Vancouver Island named Cowichan "warmland".

All the festival information is posted on www.wines.cowichan.net and updated with new events regularly.  Check out the website for a full list of events, places to stay and a detailed map to guide you along the way.  Come Visit!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vancouver Islanders love Lucky Lager

Image
If you were born on Vancouver Island you probably know of the beer Lucky Lager (perhaps more than others!). Here are some interesting (and SURPRISING) facts on Lucky Lager! It was originally made by General Brewing Company, located in San Francisco, California (in 1934) This company become the Lucky Lager Brewing Company in 1948. Historically, all the breweries for Lucky Lager have been in the U.S It is only available in selected areas. This includes most of Southern British Columbia It has an extremely dedicated following on Vancouver Island - notably, Ucluelet, Chemainus, Comox, Courtenay, Cumberland, Port Hardy, Port McNeill, Port Alberni and Sooke. (I can vouche for Ladysmith and Nanaimo being included in this list also) Cumberland B.C was named by Labatt Brewing Company the "Luckiest Town in Canada" in 2002 due to it's amazing consumption! You can read the entire Wiki article HERE
Read more

Prawning in Nanaimo

Image
Between Piper's Lagoon and Neck Point Park in Nanaimo   Since prawning is open year round (in most areas always check the BC Sport Fishing Guide to learn of possible closures in your area) my dad and I decided to brave the unpredictable winter weather and head out just off of Neck Point Park to drop some prawn traps.   There are actually 6 species of shrimp/prawns that thrive off the British Columbia coast, but we were after the largest of the species; the local spot prawn. Large females can exceed 23 cm in total length! You can tell a spot prawn by 3 distinct white horizontal bars on their head area and two white spots on their first and fifth abdominal segment. Prawns are male in their second and third year, then becomes female in the third or fourth year, eggs can be found on the underside of their abdomen Oct - March. For conservation purposes it is suggested that these egg bearing prawns be returned to the ocean.   the local spot prawn with it's distinct
Read more

Vancouver Island Hiking: Harewood Plains, Nanaimo

Image
The Harewood Plains in Nanaimo B.C is home to second growth forest and open meadows and highlights an amazing view of south Nanaimo. It is bordered by Harewood Mines Road, 10th St and McKeown in Chase River. It can be accessed via Harewood Mines road just past Rimrock Trail, or at the end of McKeown Way the first right off of Chase River road past the elementary school. MAP The Harewood Plains area is privately owned by stakeholders Island Timberlands and the BC Transmission Corporation (they maintain the transmission lines throughout this area). The area contains some rare plants, 10 rare plant species that are considered endangered or threatened. One extremely rare plant called the meadow bird's foot trefoil (Lotus pinnatus), is only found on the Harewood Plains and in a small area in Duncan. This area is unprotected and at risk for being destroyed by motorized vehicles and people walking off-trail. It is important to respect the land and stay on designated trails. We entered
Read more