Millstone Estate Winery — Attraction in Area C (Arrowsmith-Benson)

I waffled about whether to leave a review but ultimately I think if you charge money for something that a customer can’t return (eg, a wine tasting), it’s only fair for customers to give each other an idea of what to expect.

This is literally the worst wine we’ve ever tasted at a winery. We were a group of four - two “wine snobs” and two more mass-market consumers and we all ended up pouring out the remainders of our tastings. I’ve visited in the range of 100 wineries and have literally never done this before. The reds were undrinkable.

The man giving the tasting was great and I’m sure was doing his best. I wonder if he is aware of how bad they are and is just trying to do his job. He mentioned that they were young and needed to age more…but this was like red wine vinegar. I can’t imagine another 3 months of bottle aging could save those, especially given that the whites were also so acidic.

I can’t imagine a wine maker in good conscience charging a tasting fee for wine like this - especially one that isn’t even waived with a bottle purchase or I guess at least give customers warning that the wine is “not done” if that is truly why they were so bad

We drove an hour round trip to visit this winery - save yourself the time and go to the ones to the south that are closer together. For us, the benefit is that we now have a fun memory of that one time we tasted the worst...

As an avid wine enthusiast, I recently had the opportunity to visit Millstone Winery. I must say that it was a disappointing experience. The wines served, particularly their Ortega and Pino Gris, were simply terrible.

Let's start with the Ortega. It lacked any distinguishing characteristics and was completely devoid of full bodied flavour. The wine had a flat and watery taste, leaving a bitter aftertaste that lingered on the palate. It felt as if the grapes used were of subpar quality or perhaps mishandled during the winemaking process. Regardless, it was a sad representation of what an Ortega wine should be.

The Pino Gris, unfortunately, fared no better. It lacked the delicate balance of acidity and fruitiness that is characteristic of a good Pino Gris. Instead, it had an unappealing, almost sour taste that overwhelmed any subtle notes that might have been present. It was like drinking a poorly executed experiment rather than a well-crafted wine.

There are some great wineries on Vancouver Island, but in my opinion this isn't...

A beautiful winery with wonderful people and animals. We came by when it was closed, whoops - but the owner still came rushing out to greet us and he opened up the wine tasting room and shop for us! We really appreciated it since we came all the way from Vancouver. I would still recommend following the store hours or calling them, we were super lucky that they were home when we came by - the owners live on-site.

The wine was unique and it was explained well along with what food pairings would go great with each wine. We walked out with three bottles, yum! I will definitely be coming back to visit. They have chickens and three dogs who roam around the house who are all harmless - this place is children friendly, Daisy the golden lab can keep them busy (friendliest and most affection dog I've ever met).

If you're in the Nanaimo area, I would definitely put this on your list of things...