This is the place where terroir and the salty brine of the ocean fuse with innovation and creativity. It is a place of bounty and a diverse culinary culture that makes the Vancouver Island region so individual. Bring only a good appetite and an appreciation for talent. Mild temperatures and a year-round growing season have encouraged the food and drink artisans of the region to fully explore their potential. Their bold innovations have created a special flavour destination for travelers. So many choices – wine, mead, cider, and premium spirits. Enjoy tasting rooms (at least three-dozen), white linen restaurants, sun-drenched patios, brewpubs, farmgates, country markets, specialty food and wine shops. Take a tour led by food and drink experts or give over to full immersion at one of the annual wine, beer or food festivals. Meet the makers, learn about their craft. Simple, fresh and local nourishment is the way here and has been for millennia. A new generation of talented entrepreneurs – many professionally schooled, others enjoying a second career dedicated to their passion – have established themselves in recent decades to work alongside long-time veterans.

Like the Native Peoples who have lived here for thousands of years, they seek a harmony between their work and nature. Local is cherished by home cooks and chefs, who build menus around availability and cellar offerings. The craft breweries pay homage to centuries-old techniques, often bending those rules to create something uniquely regional. Our orchards and apiaries provide the fruit and nectar for cider, brandy and mead. This remarkable gastronomic sustainability also includes distilleries making premium gin, whiskey and vodka. The region has been named one of the world’s best island getaways by readers of Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler magazines. Stop into the Visitor Centres across the region for maps, tips and accommodation information. Experiencing the region’s finest food and drink nurtures the whole being. Long before there were wineries and restaurants, there were First Nations villages throughout Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. The Coast Salish, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Kwakwaka’wakw harvested clams, oysters, crab and salmon from the Salish Sea.

From the land, they ate venison and berries, mushrooms, bulbs and roots. European settlers began arriving in the 1840s and cleared the land for farming, producing dairy products, meat, grain, vegetables and fruit. best wine coolers to drinkThe most independent found their way, and like those before them, discovered a generous land.where can i buy palm wine in usa The first commercial vineyard was established in the Cowichan Valley in 1970 and the Island’s first winery opened in 1992. wine glass setting on tableToday, some 80 vineyards cultivate grapes for over 40 wineries. Canada’s first modern in-house brewpub began serving craft ales in Victoria three decades ago and meaderies and cideries followed right behind.FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — FEBRUARY 25, 2017

Travel Berkeley Springs – Berkeley Springs, WV Press contact only:  Jill Klein Rone  — 304-258-3302 BIG WINS AT ACADEMY AWARDS OF WATER IN BERKELEY SPRINGS BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV —– The Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting, the world’s most prestigious, gave out awards tonight to waters from three continents. The municipal water category was a battle of champions. The top five water winners were all former gold medalists at Berkeley Springs. Village of Montpelier, OH’s water came in first judged as the Best Municipal Water in the World. All the municipal winners are American waters and most from middle America. Emporia, KS took second place while the City of Hamilton, OH won the bronze. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California placed 4th and Independence, MO, 5th. “The consistency in winners from year to year with different panels of judges validates the choices,” remarked perennial watermaster, Arthur von Wiesenberger. “It also speaks to the impressively high caliber of the waters entered.”

The Best Bottled Water title was so competitive that there were ties recorded for the gold, the silver and 5th place.   The two gold medal winners were Zaros Natural Water from Crete and an American water, AlphaPure Springs Water, Ocala, FL. The tie for the silver medal was a pair of artesian waters: Artesia, Crystal Falls, MI and Canadian Gold Artesian Water, Marchand MB, Canada. Svalbaroi Polar Iceberg Water from Norway placed third while another artesian water, Planet H2O Natural Artesian Water of Knoxville, TN placed 4th. Fifth place winner was Whistler Water, Burnaby, BC, Canada. The audience was filled with water enthusiasts coming from as far as New Zealand and Norway. Eleven media judges spent hours tasting and selecting from waters sourced in 19 states, five Canadian provinces and 12 foreign countries. “There were waters from two new countries this year: Costa Rica and Fiji. They joined waters from Italy, Bosnia, Greece and Australia” said Jeanne Mozier, an event founder.

Sparkling waters are sourced from eight countries. The best sparkling water in the world was last year’s winner, Tesanjski Kiseljak, Tesanj, Bosnia tied with 2016’s silver medalist Touch Sparkling Mineral Water, Marchand, MB. Winning silver this year was Otakiri Reserve, from New Zealand. Third place was Aqua Nobel Carbonated Water from Sweden and 4th was Oro Luxury Water from Macedonia. Another New Zealand water, Antipodes Sparkling Water placed 5th. Purified waters are a relatively new addition to the water world, often municipal systems bottling their water. This year’s winners – three of the top five – are something different. They are sourced in Toronto, Canada and based on a process that oxygenates standard water. GP8 Oxygen Water won the gold medal while Thermodx Thirst Oxygen Water and Thermodx Thirst Alkaline Water are 3rd and 4th respectively. Winning the silver was hometown Berkeley Springs Purified Water while 5th was Rain Fresh Bottled Water from Garland, TX

“It was another wonderful year for the longest running and largest water tasting in the world,” said von Wiesenberger. “Berkeley Springs is the Academy Awards of water.” The crowd was interested in the peoples’ choice packaging competition where it was their votes that chose which of the seven entrants was the most alluring.  They voted the gold by an overwhelming margin to Svalbaroi Polar Iceberg Water from Longyearbyen, Norway. A pair of New Zealand waters won the silver and bronze — Waiheke Imperial was second and Antipodes, third. Conclusion of the daylong water tasting is the famed “water rush” where the audience is invited to take home hundreds of bottles of water sent as part of the judging.  “I spent about six hours arranging all the waters in a display,” said Mozier.  “The crowd spent less than ten minutes making it all disappear. It’s like a Tibetan sand mandala,” she laughed.  “I was pleased to see our favorite couple from Brooklyn in the rush.

Peter and Cynthia Lloyd come every year especially for the water tasting – and the rush.” The eleven media judges selected by Klein Rone included representatives from various regional and national media including television and online magazines. They were instructed by von Wiesenberger to look, sniff and taste each water under guidelines similar to those in a wine tasting. The waters were rated for each attribute including appearance (it should be clear – or slightly opaque for glacial waters), aroma (there should be none), taste (it should taste clean), mouth feel (it should feel light), aftertaste (it should leave you thirsty for more). Waters were tasted in four separate flights over two days. “The judges job is crucial and so is their training,” said Mozier. “We present all our judges with a diploma designating them as a Certified Water Taster.” The 28th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting is scheduled for Saturday, February 24, 2018.  The event seminar on Friday and Saturday’s award ceremony were live streamed on the Berkeley Springs, WV Facebook page operated by the Morgan Arts Council’s Digital Media Center.

For more information on Berkeley Springs or its water tasting, call 1-800-447-8797 or check the website. Best Municipal Water 2017 1st – Village of Montpelier, OH 2nd – Emporia, KS 3rd – City of Hamilton, OH 4th – Metropolitan Water District of Southern California 5th – Independence, MO Best Bottled Water  2017 1st –  Zaros Natural Water, Crete 1st — AlphaPure Springs Water, Ocala, FL 2nd —   Artesia, Crystal Falls, MI 2nd – Canadian Gold Artesian Water, Marchand MB, Canada 3rd – Svalbaroi Polar Iceberg Water, Longyearbyen, Norway 4th – Planet H2O Natural Artesian Water, Knoxville, TN 5th — Whistler Water, Burnaby, BC, Canada 5th–Best Sparkling – 2017 1st – Tesanjski Kiseljak, Tesanj, Bosnia 1st — Touch Sparkling Mineral Water, Marchand, MB, Canada 2nd. – Otakiri Reserve, Otakiri, Bay of Plenty, NZ 3rd – Aqua Nobel Carbonated Water, Morap, Sweden 4th – Oro Luxury Water, Vizianius, Macedonia