Eating and drinking is a most stimulating way to enhance your senses. Taste an array of Island delicacies and meet the chefs, farmers, producers, vintners et al that make Vancouver Island delicious. It's not just the food and the wine but the experience Travel With Taste provides. Consider these indulgent adventures March through December personally guided by Kathy McAree.
Urban Culinary Walking Tour
Saturdays until September 20 ... An urban forage by foot discovering the local's favorite merchants in downtown Victoria. Sip, slurp and chomp your way on a guided walk devouring tastes of tea, cheese, meats and pates, chocolate, special sweets and a little wine of course! Tours operate seasonally and begin at 11am near the gates of Chinatown. Waddle back by about 3pm. $89 per person plus 5% GST. Advance reservations required.
Cowichan Valley Cuisine and Wine Day Tour
Depart at 9:00am from your Victoria area hotel. Drive 45 minutes north to the Cowichan Valley enjoying spectacular scenery. Visit local wineries and taste outstanding wines made from the plentiful vineyards of the island chatting with wine makers, strolling through vineyards, and tasting the abundance of flavors our Vancouver Island wines have to offer.Begin with a private guided tour through a vineyard along with a private structured tasting at our first stop. Next, meet an artisan cheesemaker and sample his delicious offerings on our way to a gourmet three course lunch paired with Island wines.
Try wild BC salmon, Cowichan Bay Farm chicken, or Salt Spring Island lamb. Return to Victoria about 4:30pm. Cowichan tours generally run Wednesday through Saturday and are a huge hit! Guests never seem to want to leave each stop as we sip our way through the valley. All tastings, a three course lunch, wine and transportation including pick up and drop off is included $195 CAD + 5% GST per person for 4-6 persons. A private tour for two persons totals $550 CAD + GST.
A Taste of the Saanich Peninsula and Butchart Gardens
Visit farm gate wineries and an organic farm. Weekends are best for the Peninsula tour complemented by a three course lunch and visit with the chef in the Dining Room at Butchart Gardens. All tastings, garden entrance, a three course lunch, wine and transportation including pick up and drop off is included $225 CAD + 5% GST per person for 4-6 persons. A private tour for two persons totals $600 CAD + GST. Tours generally begin with pick up in Victoria at 9:30am and return about 4:00 or 4:30pm.
Culinary Escape to Salt Spring Island
This is a very special getaway to quaint and colorful Salt Spring Island. Start the day with an early morning ferry ride and get away to the real island life. Visit with the entrepreneurs that make Salt Spring a favorite delectable island; a baker, a cheesemaker, and a wine maker. Lunch at the exclusive Hastings House where Chef Marcel Kauer and team will prepare a private lunch to enjoy overlooking the ocean and pastoral views. Please inquire for dates, timing and prices.
Relocation Vacations
At some point on every culinary tour guests begin to ask questions like, "What's the weather like in the winter?" Eventually this leads to, "Do you know a good real estate agent." Indeed Victoria is a great place to live and many people are taking interest in the hot new properties downtown, on the waterfront, and on the west shore. Kathy custom builds a day outing so that you can visit several properties getting to know the neighborhood through a local’s perspective and a local 'taste' of Vancouver Island. Please inquire to custom build your tour.
Multi-Day Tours
Combine any Travel With Taste Tour over consecutive days and include other special outings:
Sooke
dine at the award winning Sooke Harbour House
explore the ocean floor on a culinary seaweed tour
visit a meadery or lavender farm
Salt Spring Island
eat from the wood fire ovens of The Bread Lady
taste sheep and goat milk cheeses
taste Salt Spring Island wines and chat with the winemaker
enjoy a private lunch overlooking the ocean at Hastings House
Cooking Classes and Chef Demonstrations
for small groups, hands on cooking classes are available on farms, in restaurant and catering kitchens, or at a charming bed and breakfast
chef demonstrations are available for larger groups - a great team building activity
Tours can be guaranteed at time of booking to your Visa or Mastercard with a 50% non refundable deposit due at time of booking. Cancellation up to two weeks prior to your tour will not incur further charge. Full payment is non refundable after this time. All prices are subject to change.
Depart at 9:00am from your Victoria area hotel. Drive 45 minutes north to the Cowichan Valley enjoying spectacular scenery. Visit local wineries and taste outstanding wines made from the plentiful vineyards of the island chatting with wine makers, strolling through vineyards, and tasting the abundance of flavors our Vancouver Island wines have to offer.Begin with a private guided tour through a vineyard along with a private structured tasting at our first stop. Next, meet an artisan cheesemaker and sample his delicious offerings on our way to a gourmet three course lunch paired with Island wines.
