Mobile Menu

  • Destinations
    • Canada
      • British Columbia
      • Alberta
      • Yukon
    • U.S.A.
      • Alaska
      • Washington
      • Oregon
      • California
    • Indigenous Tourism
    • West Coast Galleries
  • Things To Do
    • Staycation Secrets
      • Canada
        • Vancouver Island, B.C.
        • Okanagan
        • Lower Mainland, B.C.
        • Northern B.C.
        • Interior B.C.
        • Alberta
        • Yukon
      • U.S.A.
        • Alaska
        • Washington
        • Oregon
        • California
    • Adventure
      • Hiking
      • Camping
      • Beaches
      • Biking
      • Skiing
      • Fishing
      • Rafting
      • Adrenaline
    • Sip & Savour
    • Family Activities
  • Share Your Experience
    • Join Our Team
    • Contests
      • Okanagan Summer Getaway
      • Win Round Trip Flights
      • 10 Adventures Contest
      • Winter Road Trip With RVezy
      • Paddle Tour 2021
    • The Armchair Traveller Newsletter
  • Nature & Wildlife
    • Nature Photography
    • Wildlife Photography
  • About
    • Impressive West Coast
    • West Coast Partners
    • Contact Us
  • Search
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Menu
  • Skip to left header navigation
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

West Coast Traveller

  • Destinations
    • Canada
      • British Columbia
      • Alberta
      • Yukon
    • U.S.A.
      • Alaska
      • Washington
      • Oregon
      • California
    • Indigenous Tourism
    • West Coast Galleries
  • Things To Do
    • Staycation Secrets
      • Canada
        • Vancouver Island, B.C.
        • Okanagan
        • Lower Mainland, B.C.
        • Northern B.C.
        • Interior B.C.
        • Alberta
        • Yukon
      • U.S.A.
        • Alaska
        • Washington
        • Oregon
        • California
    • Adventure
      • Hiking
      • Camping
      • Beaches
      • Biking
      • Skiing
      • Fishing
      • Rafting
      • Adrenaline
    • Sip & Savour
    • Family Activities
  • Share Your Experience
    • Join Our Team
    • Contests
      • Okanagan Summer Getaway
      • Win Round Trip Flights
      • 10 Adventures Contest
      • Winter Road Trip With RVezy
      • Paddle Tour 2021
    • The Armchair Traveller Newsletter
  • Nature & Wildlife
    • Nature Photography
    • Wildlife Photography
  • About
    • Impressive West Coast
    • West Coast Partners
    • Contact Us
  • Search
You are here: Home / Travel / 3 unique Comox Valley purveyors to sip and savour

“I wanted to support the food system, not take from it,” says Dave Brimacombe, whose Wayward Distillery was Canada’s first to produce spirits using 100 per cent B.C. honey. Wayward is among the unique distilleries, wineries and breweries crafting delicious beverages in the Comox Valley.

3 unique Comox Valley purveyors to sip and savour

February 15, 2021 //  by Jennifer Blyth

Share this:

Foodies have long known there was something special about the Comox Valley.

They taste it at the celebrated local restaurants, sourcing their ingredients from the flourishing farms found throughout this “Land of Plenty.” They shop it at the bustling Farmer’s Market, packed with the goodness grown and produced right here.

More and more, they’re also sipping it from creative teams growing, aging, brewing and distilling the finest ingredients into unique beverages you won’t find anywhere else.

In fact, these three unique-to-the-Comox-Valley destinations are a must for locals, and once we’re travelling again, visitors!

Next to the Salish Sea, with a view of the glacier, 40 Knots Winery visitors can relax in the Cellar Tasting Lounge or outside on the heated and recently renovated Vineyard Terrace, while enjoying a flight of red or white.

40 Knots Winery

Showcasing clean, ethical wines and a sustainable approach as part of their continuous certification in Green Tourism, 40 Knots Winery is one of the largest wineries on Vancouver Island, farming biodynamically on 24 stunning acres.

“We’re a local, family-run business with a beautiful setting to come and explore sustainable, locally crafted wines,” says Brenda Hetman-Craig.

Next to the Salish Sea, with a view of the glacier, visitors can relax in the Cellar Tasting Lounge or outside on the heated and recently renovated Vineyard Terrace, while enjoying a flight of red or white. Sample vintages crafted from noble varieties such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Gris and Gamay, as well as common hybrids such as Auxerrois, Sieg and Schönberger.

The six-time winner of the Comox Valley Record’s Readers’ Choice Awards also offers guided tastings, registered classes exploring everything from wine history to perfect pairings, and welcomes guests to stroll the vineyard and a picnic of carefully curated local farm fare.

Visit 40 Knots Vineyard and Estate Winery at 2400 Anderton Rd. in Comox, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday, and online at 40knotswinery.com Families and dogs are welcome.

***

Quality ingredients from around the world come together in Gladstone Brewing’s award-winning beers, including Belgian ales, European lagers and Pacific Northwest-style India pale ales, poured alongside experimental small batches.

Gladstone Brewing Company

Quality ingredients from around the world come together in Gladstone’s award-winning beers from head brewer Tak Guenette, including Belgian ales, European lagers and Pacific Northwest-style India pale ales, poured alongside experimental small batches.

Housed in a 1948-built heritage building – once the Seale and Thomson garage and dealership – visitors love the laid-back, mechanic-themed tasting room inspired by local history: hand-made tap handles from vintage mechanic tools and flights served on upcycled vintage license plates in a room decorated with carefully curated artefacts.

There’s also a spacious, heated outdoor patio, where the community-minded brewery looks forward to hosting local events when protocols allow, notes Alexandra Stephanson. “We’re pretty involved in the community, and people seem to appreciate that,” she says.

Beyond tasting flights, pints and growler fills, guests can savour local kombucha, cider and wine on tap. Hungry? Gladstone is also home to the amazing burger bar, with a menu featuring delicious, local, seasonal ingredients – which pair perfectly with their quality beers, of course!

A family-friendly environment, minors are welcome when accompanied by a parent or guardian. Visit at 244 4th St. in Courtenay, where the tasting room is open daily from noon to 10 p.m., and online at gladstonebrewing.ca Well-behaved, leashed dogs are also welcome on the patio.

***

Wayward Distillery

In creating Wayward Distillery, Dave Brimacombe wanted to establish a business that returned more to the local agriculture industry than it took. Rather than consume grains, potatoes and other ingredients that could otherwise be used to enhance the province’s food security, he wanted a byproduct.

The solution? Honey. Today, bees from 1,500 hives pollinate the province’s vegetable fields and fruit orchards, and in turn supply the golden nectar to Canada’s first distillery to produce spirits using 100 per cent B.C. honey!

Led by its flagship Krupnik, a traditional, spiced Polish liquor unique to Wayward, the award-winning Courtenay distillery also produces Unruly Gin, Unruly Vodka, Drunken Hive Rum and Depth Charge spirits – each designed to be sippable on their own and enjoyed in the tastiest of cocktails.

“I wanted to support the food system, not take from it,” Brimacombe explains, noting that distilling creates an end-product similar to other artisanal liquors. “Our vodka tastes like a really smooth vodka, our gin tastes like a botanical gin.”

Join Wayward for a tasting today, and when protocols allow, tours will be back! Visit at 2931 Moray Ave. or online at waywarddistillery.com Bottle sales of spirits and hand sanitizer are available at the door.

Share this:

Category: TravelTag: British Columbia Destinations, Canada, Comox Valley, Food, Food and Drink, Impressive West Coast, Things to do, Things to Do in Vancouver, Travel

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

Pigeon Lake draws community curlers to outdoor rink

Despite a pandemic keeping community members physically distanced, Pigeon Lake neighbours have been creative this…

Pigeon Lake draws community curlers to outdoor rinkRead More

Mystery Mountain Hop: Documentary recounts quest for largest peak on the B.C. coast

It’s the largest peak on the B.C. coast and the namesake of Vancouver Island’s most…

Mystery Mountain Hop: Documentary recounts quest for largest peak on the B.C. coastRead More

Island wildlife viewers thrilled by close view of passing Orca pod

It was a wildlife photographer’s bonanza on Feb. 27 when a pod of orca passed…

Island wildlife viewers thrilled by close view of passing Orca podRead More

Cow moose rescued from frozen pond east of Williams Lake

Williams Lake residents and a conservation officer rescued a cow moose after it fell through…

Cow moose rescued from frozen pond east of Williams LakeRead More

All aboard! Train traces the epic Klondike journey

What do the Eiffel Tower, the Panama Canal and the Statue of Liberty all have…

All aboard! Train traces the epic Klondike journeyRead More

Year-long logging halt aims to bolster northern spotted owl habitat near Hope

The last known wild northern spotted owls in Canada have been given a new shot…

Year-long logging halt aims to bolster northern spotted owl habitat near HopeRead More

Summer is sweet at Sugar Lake (and winter’s pretty cool, too!)

Emerging from winter, you may be dreaming of a vacation with sunny skies, warm water…

Summer is sweet at Sugar Lake (and winter’s pretty cool, too!)Read More

VIDEO: New Mt. Cain ski documentary eye-candy for powder lovers

A freeskiing documentary set at Vancouver Island’s Mount Cain is making waves online. Frozen in…

VIDEO: New Mt. Cain ski documentary eye-candy for powder loversRead More

BC provincial camp reservations start March 8

If you’re planning for summer nights under the stars in British Columbia’s provincial parks, camping…

BC provincial camp reservations start March 8Read More

Previous Post: « Own downtown Chicken, Alaska for just $750,000
Next Post: Honing your cross-country skills? Check out this BC ski instructor’s YouTube channel! »

Primary Sidebar

Things To Do

Pigeon Lake draws community curlers to outdoor rink

March 2, 2021

Mystery Mountain Hop: Documentary recounts quest for largest peak on the B.C. coast

March 2, 2021

Island wildlife viewers thrilled by close view of passing Orca pod

March 2, 2021

Cow moose rescued from frozen pond east of Williams Lake

March 2, 2021

Recent Posts

Pigeon Lake draws community curlers to outdoor rink

March 2, 2021

Mystery Mountain Hop: Documentary recounts quest for largest peak on the B.C. coast

March 2, 2021

Island wildlife viewers thrilled by close view of passing Orca pod

March 2, 2021

Cow moose rescued from frozen pond east of Williams Lake

March 2, 2021

Footer

The West Coast Traveller has an immense social media footprint, with eight social media sites and 100,000+ Facebook followers.

Join us on social media and Join Our Community by sharing your stuff!

Get Inspired

News Media Groups

Black Press Media
Sound Publishing
Oahu Media Group
Alaska
Boulevard Magazines
Used.ca

Let’s Get Social

West Coast Traveller
I Love British Columbia
I love Alberta
I Love Yukon
I Love Washington
I Love California
I Love Oregon
I Love Alaska

Site Footer

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 West Coast Traveller and · All Rights Reserved