November 10, 2022 By Alex Guertin in Uncategorized Comments Off

Beaufort Vineyard And Estate Winery Newsletter 2022

Hello!

We’ve been busy at Beaufort Vineyard & Estate Winery.
Take a minute to catch up with us and hear about what’s new in 2022.

We don’t know how many times we can use the word “unprecedented” in a sentence, but it seems to be the word of the decade so far! This year was a roller coaster for sure, but we’ve made it through and are so excited for what the future has to bring. Here’s an overview of the 2022 season at Beaufort.
As always, we’re so pleased to be making delicious small batch wines from our certified organic estate vineyard and sharing them with you, our enthusiastic sippers who enjoy a good glass of local, sustainable wine with a wholesome back story to go along. Thank you for supporting organic agriculture and tasting our unique wine region.

Cheers,

The Beaufort Team

Our 2022 Winemaker’s Case is a curated selection from our cellars. In this exclusive case, you will find fan favourites, otherwise sold-out vintages, and a pre-release unavailable anywhere else! All at a discount of 20% off retail prices. For a full list and descriptions of the wines included in the case, click here. There is a limited number available, so don’t delay in reserving your case!

You can pick-up your winemaker’s case at the winery during our December openings or opt for FREE delivery within the Comox Valley and Campbell River. Shipping is available to eligible provinces (shipping fees apply).

Winemaker’s Case Order Form

List of wines included in Winemaker’s Case

In the vineyard…

The winter seemed to stretch along forever here in the Comox Valley. We monitor many things in our vineyard like soil saturation, temperatures, and frost days. With three times the usual frost days and not a day over 20°C until late June, to say this was a difficult start to the growing season is an understatement!

We planted just under an acre of Pinot Noir 114 to add to the existing clones at Beaufort (115, 82 and 828) and a small trial block of 250 Chardonnay vines in the vineyard this year. Both plantings have been establishing well, giving us lots of hope for great wines in the years to come. Vineyard plantings are a long game, as we won’t be seeing substantial harvests for a few years.

When the rains finally relented in mid-July, the vines wasted no time in trying to catch up. The long stretch of hot sunny weather boosted our Growing Degree Days and brought about a successful crop of grapes despite the shaky start to the season.

Harvests began October 5th and we’ve pulled a beautiful crop of grapes with our highest yields ever and ripe, clean fruit. Sunny warm days made for lovely harvests and laughter echoed through the vineyard as our super crew of Beaufort friends helped us get to the next step of our 2022 vintage.

In the winery…

BIG NEWS! Our 2022 vintage will be officially CERTIFIED ORGANIC! After our vineyard organic certification was completed in 2019, the next step was clearly to certify the wines (yes, it’s a different process). Freya was all prepped and ready, as she has been making the wines to organic standards for years now, but the final stamp of approval brings a culmination to years of hard work, planning and record keeping. This final step makes us the first fully certified organic winery on Vancouver Island, and we are glad to hear there are others making this commitment too!

Our third and final batch of our traditional method sparkling wine Stellaris was disgorged and released in August. The 4.5 years aging on the lees brought out some lovely quince and caramel notes to this dry bubbly. Stellaris is the perfect accompaniment to your holiday celebrations. Stock is very limited and the winery is the only place Stellaris is available for purchase, so be sure to stop by and grab a bottle or two before they are all gone!

In the Tasting Room…

Many regulars noticed a certain Irish lilt was missing from the tasting room chatter this season. Our Tasting Room Manager Katie was on maternity leave this year. Katie and her husband Cohen, our vineyard manager, welcomed a happy baby boy in June. Big cheers to their family!

While Katie is away, longtime Beaufort employee Jacinda and her tasting room dream team Maddy, Kristi and Lesley poured wines and told our stories out on the patio. The cool Spring was as much as of an impediment to outdoor tastings as it was to the grapes, but we had diehard Beaufort fans wrapped up in wool blankets out on the patio (when it wasn’t raining sideways) or tucked into our improvised tasting spots amongst the barrels in our barrel room. Once the weather turned for the better, our patio is one of the best places in the valley to sit and sip. Locals and tourists alike marvel at the spectacular views of the vineyard and the Beaufort mountain range beyond.

We were so pleased to bring back events at Beaufort Winery this year! We welcomed Merville’s own Luke Blu Guthrie for two free evening concerts. Luke’s deep and easy style of Blues fit the vineyard vibe perfectly and a great time was had by all.

We hosted our first Wine & Cheese pairing event in September in collaboration with LaLiberté Cheese Co., a local company specializing in high-quality international and domestic cheeses. Guests tasted through 5 wines with paired cheeses and enjoyed a sunny afternoon on the patio. It was delicious and generous event as guests helped us raise money for local food security non-profit LUSH Valley.

It was a great feeling to be able to host guests from all over the Island, the county and the world once again (we realized we had been a little cooped up when Saskatchewan sounded exotic!) We are planning for more concerts, events, and hopefully a food truck for the tasting room next year, so keep your eyes on our social media for announcements!

Facebook

Instagram

Website

Join us for tastings on weekends in December in our cozy tasting room. Sample our wines and choose your favourites for your holiday parties and meals. Tasting appointments can be booked through our website. While we do accept walk-ins when space allows, we recommend booking your tasting to avoid disappointment. If you can’t make it in to the tasting room, you can purchase our wines through our online store. Delivery within the Comox Valley is free! (6 bottle minimum)

Book a Tasting

Shop Wines

Our mailing address is:
5854 Pickering Road
Courtenay BC, V9J 1T4

250-338-1357
www.beaufortwines.ca

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

January 4, 2022 By Katie Phelan in Uncategorized Comments Off

Tastings in 2022

As per our usual rhythm at Beaufort, the store and tasting room is now closed for the winter season. You can always order our wines online, or find a selection at these great restaurants and liquor stores. Wine club members are welcome to call in an order for pick up during the off season too.

We will reopen in the spring–please keep an eye on our website (or better still, follow us on Instagram) for more info and an official opening date.

We’re looking forward to welcoming you back!

November 9, 2021 By Katie Phelan in Uncategorized Comments Off

Christmas 2021 Store Hours

Our WINERY STORE will be open on two weekends in December for wine and gift card purchases. We will be open from 11am to 4pm on the following dates:

Friday 10th, Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th December
Friday 17th, Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th December

We look forward to having you stop by to pick up your winemaker’s case, or just a few bottles for the festive season! Please remember your mask.

Please note that we will NOT be hosting tastings this holiday season.

March 10, 2021 By Katie Phelan in things to do in courtenay, offers, winery news, Uncategorized, tasting room events Comments Off

Spring Clean SALE

It’s happening! If you want in on all the deets, CLICK HERE for a link to our spring newsletter.

February 18, 2021 By Katie Phelan in Uncategorized Comments Off

TASTINGS IN 2021

Sure, there’s still snow on the ground in the Comox Valley, but we’ve just opened our booking portal for tastings in 2021. If you’re keen to have something to look forward to (we know exactly how you feel!), head to our booking pages to secure your preferred date and time.

You can access the booking portal here. You can’t even imagine how excited we are to see you again soon!

March 13, 2020 By Katie Phelan in Uncategorized Comments Off

SALE UPDATE (Friday 13th March 12.20pm)

Given the current situation regarding COVID-19, we are going to take extra steps to protect the health of our wine club members, tasting room guests, and staff at Beaufort.

Tomorrow’s sale WILL GO AHEAD. We are all well at the winery and will be onsite to serve you between 10am and 5pm tomorrow, Saturday March 14th for our end-of-vintage sale.

However, if you would like to call ahead and pay for a wine order over the phone, we will prepare it and shuttle it to your vehicle tomorrow. Alternatively, we are offering FREE DELIVERY in the Comox Valley & Campbell River areas on 1 case minimum orders placed today and tomorrow (March 13th and 14th). All major credit cards can be used to process payment over the phone. Call us at 250-338-1357.

For those still planning to visit the tasting room tomorrow, we request that you follow WHO guidelines for frequent and thorough hand-washing. We have installed anti-bacterial soap and single use towels in our washrooms, as well as hand sanitizer by the tasting room entrance. A reminder that our tasting glasses go through an industrial, high temperature sanitizer between tastings.

We respectfully ask anyone with flu-like symptoms, no matter how mild, NOT to attend tomorrow’s sale.

Be well everyone,

The Beaufort Team.

January 23, 2020 By Katie Phelan in Uncategorized Comments Off

A harvest vignette

Our pals Alex and Liam of Lobby Studio in Vancouver shot this short vignette for us during harvest 2019. Take a peek…

February 20, 2019 By Katie Phelan in Uncategorized, tasting room events, things to do in courtenay, winery news Comments Off

Mark your calendars

Pssst! The tasting room will open a little earlier than usual for the 2019 season – we’ll be back behind the bar from Friday April 19th, all through the summer and into fall on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (noon until 5pm). We are looking forward to seeing you! Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and check back here for news and updates…

November 23, 2017 By Katie Phelan in Uncategorized Comments Off

A Vaguely festive trivia night

Perhaps you’ve heard the rumour already but… Beaufort Trivia Nights are a whole lot of fun! We’re hosting another on Friday 15th December, from 7 until 9.30pm and we’d sure love to see you. The theme this time round is ‘Vaguely Festive’ so don’t be put off if you’re a bit of a grinch – we aim for the perfect balance between non-seasonally specific inquiry and tinsel-related tidbits!

Teams of 4 must pre-register; contact katie@beaufortwines.ca to secure your spot. Free entry & lots of prizes. Over 19s only.

November 1, 2017 By Katie Phelan in Uncategorized Comments Off

December events and tasting room open dates

Let’s hope we’re still a little ways off this kind of weather in the Comox Valley!

Our tasting room will be open on the following dates in December: Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th AND Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th, from noon until 5pm. If you have friends and family visiting for the holidays, we hope to see you for a tasting. Plus, we’ll have two special releases just in time for Christmas – 2015 Big Nose Red and our second and final batch of 2016 Vintner’s Reserve Ortega. Don’t miss out on these two eagerly awaited tasting room exclusives!

Pssst…. we’ll also host a festive Trivia Night on Friday 15th December from 7 ’til 9.30pm. As always, pre-registration is a must. More details to follow soon on that fun event – keep an eye on our Facebook page, as well as our Instagram