35
brews there are the BC Ale Trails with over
200 craft breweries (www.bcaletrail.ca).
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.capitalk
distillery.com).
Saskatoon, in Saskatchewan, has two
great distilleries. Black Fox Farm and
Distillery makes truly fabulous gins,
whiskies and liqueurs made largely from
local grains, fruits and botanicals. Their
Cucumber Gin won Gold and the Haskap Gin
won Masters at the 2020 Gin Masters Awards
in London, England (www.blackfoxfarmand
distillery.com).
Lucky Bastard Distillers makes whisky in
very small batches—often single barrels
yielding only about 300 bottles of whisky—
from local ingredients along with some
unusual-flavoured vodkas such as Horilka, a
Ukrainian honey pepper vodka, and
Birmingham's Dill Pickle Vodka
(www.luckybastard.ca).
Alberta also has a flourishing craft beer
scene. Canadian Craft Tours offers a Calgary
Brewery Tour that takes in three from
Eighty-Eight Brewing, Paddy's BBQ &
Brewery, Bitter Sisters Brewing Co., Bow
River Brewing and Common Crown
Brewing, among others (www.canadian
crafttours.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.eauclairedistillery.ca).
ONTARIO
A CENTRE OF WINE FESTIVALS
AND ICEWINE
Ontario is the largest wine grape producing
province in Canada, with over 6,880 ha
(17,000 acres) of vines and more than 180
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 than an hour from downtown
Toronto (www.winecountryontario.ca). In
Niagara-on-the-Lake, signature events which
take place on weekends include Days of Wine,
Chocolate & Cheese in March, Dig Our Roots in
April and Sip and Sizzle in May (www.wineries
ofniagaraonthelake.com).
Canada's largest wine festival, the annual
Niagara Grape and Wine, takes place in
September at wineries and other locations
throughout Niagara. The Niagara Homegrown
Wine Festival, in June, celebrates the growers,
winemakers, culinary partners, and the
lifestyle that goes along with Canada's largest
wine region (www.niagarawinefestival.com).
Icewine, made from frozen-on-the-vine
grapes, is an iconic Canadian wine often
touted as Canada's greatest liquid luxury.
Niagara's Icewine Festival offers wine lovers,
cocktail fans and foodies fabulous winter
experiences. Held over three weekends in
January, there are gala dinners, music, ice
sculptures, icewine tasting menus, fireside
samplings and lots of icewine poured at
the outdoor street festival in the town of
Niagara-on-the-Lake (www.niagarawine
festival.com/events).
Wayne Gretzky Estates is part of a small
but burgeoning distillery scene that also
includes Niagara Falls Craft Distillers,
Dillon's Small Batch Distillers in Beamsville
and Forty Creek Whisky in Grimsby. In winter
visitors can skate on The Great One's
Backyard Rink at WG Estates (www.gretzky
estateswines.com/visit).
Prince Edward County, Ontario's newest
wine appellation, has been touted as one of
Canada's top tourist destinations. The area's
allure in the past had been its giant sand
dunes, quaint towns and nature trails. It has
grown into an important wine region with
about 35 wineries; some, such as Huff Estate,
with excellent accommodation and dining
(www.princeedwardcountywine.ca).
A visit to Essex Pelee Island Coast (EPIC)
Wine Country could mean meandering along
the shoreline to sample the wares of a dozen
or so wineries, lunch or dinner at a winery and
an overnight stay in a unique B&B (www.epic
wineries.com). Take a Wine Trail Ride for
both exercise and cool sipping (www.wind
soreats.com/places/wine-trail-ride).
BLASTED CHURCH VINEYARDS, BC • DESTINATION CANADA
