Visiting Columbia Gardens Vineyard & Winery

I had a busy Saturday.

I started the day off Saturday morning trip the Peak Physique and a stroll around the Castlegar Market and then I came home to Trail for a quick bite to eat and a quick grocery trip to Ferraro Foods.  I felt a little inspired when I finished unpacking my groceries and made a trip up the hill to Columbia Gardens Vineyard  & Winery.

Our GOAT Account Executive Ray inspired me to make the trip. I am gathering together some of the Kootenay Boundary’s finest products for a gift basket and Ray suggested that rather than go with his suggestions for wines that I should go visit them and try them out myself.  I am a red girl so I already had that determined but I sampled three of the winery’s reds and enjoyed them all. In total I now have four bottles from Columbia Gardens for the basket, the Station Road Rose and three Red (DeJager’s Merlot, Foch Private Reserve and Kootenay Red).

Included in my three reds is Kootenay Red, a bold red wine with a story! If you visit Columbia Garden’s you need to ask about the story that inspired the bottle’s cartoon label. They had me at bear cub…

While at Columbia Gardens I had to ask Tersia De Jager about her accent and the story about moving to the Kootenay Boundary. Terisa tells the story best here:

Also, Terisa showed me around the Guest House that they are developing at the Vineyard and it is absolutely lovely. Here are a few sneak peak photos! I know the guesthouse is going to be the perfect place for wedding parties and functions in the future.

A sneak peak at a room in the guest house.

Terisa De Jager also showed me around one of the areas where weddings are hosted in the vineyard. So many happy memories will be made here!

To see Columbia Gardens Vineyard  & Winery’s full wine catalogue and all of their services click here.

I am so excited to have a fridge full of wine right now! I wish I had bought more from the “The Burl” at the Vineyard. You can do a wine tasting there and check out amazing homemade goods for your home. All of the gifts in the “The Burl” are handmade pieces and one of a kind!

As you can see the deck is the perfect place to look out over the vines and sip a glass of wine.

Rotary Club of Castlegar Sunrise 2000's 15th Annual Wine Festival

One of the most amazing things about living in British Columbia is the incredible selection of local wines that are available here.

Every year Mountain FM takes part in the Castlegar Sunrise 2000 Rotary Club’s Wine Festival and 2014 was no exception. This year was the 15^th Annual event and brought in wines from across B.C. for tasting.

I am so impressed at the turnout for this event! The entire room was buzzing and PACKED with some of the best wines in B.C. and their biggest fans. The booths were engaged with patrons the entire night. The Castlegar Rec. Centre was definitely the place to be last night!

With over thirty wineries onsite everyone was celebrating the diverse selection of wines produced right here in B.C. In passing I heard multiple people talking about their drives in from Spokane and other areas outside of town to come to the Wine Festival.

I am not the most knowledgeable person on the subject of wines. I prefer rose and reds to whites and choose sparking over still. With that being said I found quite a few new favorites I can’t wait to try again.

My overall favorite from the entire night was Heron Ridge Estates’ sparkling blueberry wine. Monster Vineyards’ riesling, Dirty Laundry Vineyards’ Hush and Quinta Ferreira Estate Winery’s unoaked chardonnay were among my other new favorites from the festival.

On top of all of the incredible wines to be tasted Bon Appetito Catering provided food that stopped all of the wine from going to our heads. The catering was tasty and the service was incredible. Shrimp, chicken skewers, artichoke dip baguettes and chocolate (milk and white) dipped strawberries were just some of the treats available. The big food winners were definitely the chocolate dipped strawberries; oh my damn they were good!

On top of treats for your taste buds there were also tons of chances to win. There were huge door prizes and a silent auction to check out as well.

One amazing thing about small towns is how everyone comes together to support events like the Wine Festival. Working in events and promotions I know how hard it can be to get people out to events (there are way too many good TV shows on these days)! It is so encouraging seeing young and old come out to events like this. Also the support from the Rotoract and the Interact Clubs was very impressive as well.

Kevin decided that he would be our designated driver so I tried to keep the night interesting for both of us by initiating a little game. Kevin is much more knowledgeable about wines than I am. His parent’s house has an incredible wine cellar and he grew up drinking wine; unlike me. The game was that he would find a wine without me looking and I would have to guess what vineyard and wine he had gotten me. This worked very well because he made me try things that I definitely would not have picked out for myself.

The Sunrise 2000 Rotary Club’s 15^th Annual Wine Festival was a great time! I can’t wait until the 16^th Annual event!