The VQA VQA XXVIII wine run.

Beehive RV Park and Campground, Mill Bay, BC (no stars)

We headed out today to visit a few wineries in the Cobble Hill area. A little research showed that this would be the 28th time we had done such a 'wine run' so we decided to call today's adventure VQA VQA XXVIII.

Our first stop was Cherry Point Vineyards that we had not visited for perhaps 20 years. It has had a series of owners and is now owned by a German man who poured and sold the wines. As it turns out, most wineries that grow Siegerrebe started harvesting it today. Sitting on overturned plastic tubs with cutter in one hand. Not the most comfortable task, but it has to be done.

Next up was Unsworth Vineyards, a place we had not visited before. They are heavy into varietals created in Austria and well suited to Vancouver Island. We bought a couple of them - Sauvignette and Amiel.

Our last stop was at another old haunt - Blue Grouse Vineyards. It has changed incredibly since the Kiltz family owned it. Their combined winery and tasting facility is wonderful. We sampled a flight of Bacchus and enjoyed a charcuterie board of local goodies.

It has been a long time since we have done a wine run - or a VQA (Vino Quaffing Adventure) of VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) vineyards. We would come home with many cases of wide variety of wines that rested comfortably (and handy) in our basement wine cellar - a naturally cool environment, and always a conversation piece for visitors and friends as we would choose a wines for an evening around the dinner table.

As we drove the Cobble Hill winding roads in a glorious sunny calm day, it was very reminiscent of the Okanagan adventures with a few others over the years. There are new grapes being grown since we last toured, and we had to taste them! We truly just taste - not drink a whole wine glass of each wine!

It was truly a wonderful day cruising the island wine country.