A-Life BC Travel Blog

By Ross Collicutt

The smell of mulled wine and gingerbread wafted through the air. Lights twinkled all around us. We had just walked into a German Christmas village.

We hadn’t really flown all the way to Germany. In fact, we had only walked down West Georgia Street in Vancouver and found ourselves transported to a world full of beer steins and every kind of sausage you can imagine. Back for a second year, the Vancouver Christmas Market brings authentic German food, drink and Christmas gifts to a beautiful market on West Georgia and Hamilton streets.

By Jessica Woollard

When November’s rain clouds roll in and block the view of the Olympic Mountains, it’s time to set your sights on a few indoor activities, and preferably those that combat dampness while lifting spirits. In other words, it's best they involve chocolate.

This year, Silk Road Tea Company presents the ultimate champion of dreary weather: the Tea & Chocolate Pairing. This workshop mates organic, locally-made loose teas with decadent, homemade truffles that have a melt-in-your-mouth filling made from Silk Road teas. The maturity of the tea matched with the magnificence of chocolate is staggeringly satisfying. I can honestly say I will never forget my first bite.

Since 1992, Silk Road has attracted Victoria tea drinkers to its bar, which is North America's first established tea bar. Customers can peruse the selection of 100 locally-made, 100 percent organic teas on their self-proclaimed "Great Wall of Tea." Silk Road’s trained tea masters will help you choose the perfect tea to suit your taste buds, or they can provide a deeper exploration of taste, smell, and state of mind and help you reach a desired level of energy from a tea selection.

By Jacqueline Windh

It surprises me how many west-coasters do not know about the salal berry. I’m not saying all of them - there are lots of locals who head out salal berry picking at this time of year. But there are also lots who don’t even know that it’s edible. It’s as if they assume that something that is this abundant can’t possibly taste good.

And that’s the great thing about the salal berry - it is so abundant that you can collect lots of it for very little effort. Salal is the main shrub growing on the rainforest floor here on the west coast. With its tough and leathery leaves, it is actually a member of the heather family.

Because of its abundance, it was one of the few plant foods that were mainstays of the traditional Nuu-chah-nulth diet.

By Holly Rose

It's one of the summer's last truly hot days. I drive down the winding back roads of Duncan's heartland, filled with rolling green pastures, fruit trees and open sky. Music spills into my window with the passing of each car. I don't think anyone can bear to have their windows up on a day like today.

It's right about then that I pull up to Alderlea Estate Vineyard. In meeting owners Roger and Nancy Dosman, I find that there is much reason in their rhyme.

Prior to 1911, the town of Duncan was known to its residents as Alderlea. The name honours both the heritage of Duncan and the place where all the grapes are harvested.

I am always intrigued to find where a person's passion rests. Even in winemakers this varies greatly; some folks have a passion for interacting with their clients and talking about their wines, others have a genuine joy for the harvesting and growing of the grapes, while others still love the little intricacies of running a vineyard.

By Jessica Goerzen

When it comes to fall, there is one Vernon institution that does it best! Davison Orchard Country Village is a place that smells of fall, looks of fall, and even tastes of fall.

With treats such as apple donuts, apple cider and pumpkin pie (soon!), Davison Orchard is a sweet setting. Located at the north end of the fertile Okanagan Valley along the south-facing slopes above historic Bella Vista Road, the farm is a close drive from downtown Vernon. It's a perfect location in that it is close to town, yet it feels distant and rural.

There are many great family activities at the farm, like choosing a special Halloween pumpkin, which has always been a difficult task for me because there are so many shapes and sizes. Visitors can take a tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch to choose the perfect pumpkin and then head back to explore the farm's other activities.

Another farm favourite is the petting zoo, which includes goats and donkeys. Hunger is a natural part of exploring Davison Orchard, but have no fear—there are plenty of warm goodies available at Auntie May’s Deep Dish Café.

By Holly Rose

Saison Market Vineyard is a unique concept I have never seen before. Monday to Friday, owners Ingrid and Frédéric work the vines, and on weekends, they open the bakery to the public.

The bakery is humble and heartwarming. The ingredients are local whenever possible and often organic. They have never advertised and relied solely on word of mouth. This is how I stumbled upon Saison and their fabulous baked goods and jarred jams; a rave recommendation from a friend.

By Jacqueline Windh

Tofino and Ucluelet tend to attract visitors who value healthy living: clean air and water, keeping active in the outdoors, and nutritious foods. For people who value health and wellness, it helps to know where to find local and organic products.

Each town has a supermarket—the Co-op Grocery stores—with a small organic section and some organic produce, so you may be able to find what you are looking for there. But each town has specialty shops too, and even some local products.

By Michael McCarthy

Everywhere you look these days there seem to be new wineries popping up. Washington County, located just west of Portland, Oregon is the latest region to register a big hit on the wine radar.

The secret of Washington County lies in the soil, rich red clay, combined with just the right amount of sunlight and rain.

Easily the best way to enjoy this new wine region is by following the Vineyard and Valley Scenic Tour Route, a 50-mile drive or cycle tour that showcases much of the county’s agricultural bounty, including many of the county’s 21 wineries, farms, pioneer and historic sites, wildlife refuges and scenic viewpoints.

By Holly Rose

There are few ways to get as familiar with a beverage as when we pair food with drink then savour. I think that this creates an intimacy, an understanding, and even creates the space for us to fall (just a little) in love.

It also allows for us to get a greater sense of what our palate prefers, without attaching an idea of right or wrong to it. Our taste buds are always innately accurate. When it comes to pairing cider with food, the world is your oyster.

So saddle up, and pour yourself a few glasses of Sea Cider alongside me, partner, and we can have an adventure of apple proportions (my father's sense of humour raises its head again).

Wild English - Perfect for pairing with a ploughman's lunch or aged cheddar, this bold earthy cider will please the palate with a clean, crisp finish. I find this to be a palate pleaser, with enough bite to let you know you are sipping on the bounty of the earth without being tart.(Wonderfully dry).

By Holly Rose

Located on a picturesque hillside in Saanichton, the Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse is a thing of beauty. Not only is the view from the Ciderhouse a spectacular panoramic ocean view, but the orchard trees stretch out in front, heavy with the burden of growing apples.

Some might even speculate that it is the beautiful ocean view that sweetens these apples. But one sip of cider hints at the many secrets stored in the flesh of this, the original fruit.