Students are well known for going to pubs, being loud and drinking a lot of beer. If you’re looking for more sophisticated than that, or even if you just prefer to get drunk on wine, you might want to look into the wine tasting events that take place all around British Columbia. In fact, lots of vineyards offer tastings regularly; all you need to do is look them up. British Columbia has two distinct wine producing regions and has some of the best wines in Canada. White wines are more frequent, and the main wine varieties produced are Pinot Noir, Merlot, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Icewines.

Vineyards

There are quite a few renowned vineyards on Vancouver Island, some of which I will mention now. One is Cherry Point Vineyards, a vineyard that offers free tastings and guided tours most days of the year. Another place to go near Victoria is the Vinoteca at Vigneti Zanatta, a wine bar on the vineyard, and Blue Groue Vineyards. In Okanagan Valley, you will find more well-known vineyards that produce quality wines and are known all over the world. However, none of these are located in Victoria itself, so you would have to drive a little before you could indulge. British Columbia’s biggest wineshop is actually located in North Vancouver, but if you’re really passionate about wine, it’s definitely worth the trip. Not only can you go to tastings at vineyards and bars, you could also attend one of the wine festivals that are offered, the Icewine festivals, spring, summer or fall festivals. There’s also actual tours dedicated only to wine around, in case you’re interested but you’re not sure where to go first. So if you happen to have a lot of free time and not know what to do, why not drive to a vineyard and experience the quality and great tastings that you can’t get anywhere else.

Places to go to in Victoria itself

You might not always have the time or the resources to go to an actual vineyard, but there are places in Victoria itself where you can go and have some wine. They’re not quite the ultimate experience of vineyard tastings, but they come quite close. For example, Askim’s Beer and Wine Emporium on Haultain Street is a good place to have a few drinks and indulge in all the wine you want (preferably on a weekend night, though!). The Temple Restaurant on Fort Street is technically a restaurant, but the length and quality of its wine list selection is incredibly impressive. The same goes for Zambri’s on Yates Street -  it’s actually an Italian restaurant, but it’s a great place to have a glass of wine as well. If you want to take a bottle home, good wine stores in Victoria include places like Belleville Park Wine & Beer, Harris Green Wine & Spirits, Six Mile Liquor Store, or Rosie’s Liquor Store. You can also find an extensive list of events related to wine in every major city online, and that’s probably the best way to check regularly whether there are any events worth going to wine-wise. But remember, just because you can’t go to a vineyard because they’re too far away doesn’t mean you have to miss out on all the deliciousness of the wine of the region!

In short…

You might want to plan your wine tastings and events in the weekends, or at least on nights where you don’t have classes the next day, otherwise you’re not going to like the terrible hangover you realize you have the next day, when you’re trying to get up early for classes. But so long as you keep that in mind, and keep alcohol intake to a sensible level (otherwise you will regret it as your phone will start sending weird messages by itself, your legs won’t listen to your brain, you will suddenly feel a deep and tender love for every person you come across etc.), there are no limits to the wine tasting experience you can have in Victoria and around the city!