Averill Creek Vineyard — Attraction in North Cowichan

So I have a VERY bad taste in my mouth after my most recent visit at Averill Creek Vineyard... I don't leave bad reviews, I typically just don't go back, but thought this one really needed to be written. We stopped in there on November 11th at around noon as I wanted to take my dear friend out for a lunch date somewhere "special" as it was her birthday and we hadn't seen each other in a while. I called ahead to see if they served "lunch", and was told yes we do! So we set off and once we arrived we were acknowledged by a grubbily dressed guy behind the counter and were told that someone would be with us shortly. Then a young girl (20's?) made her way to us, asked if we had a reservation (no) and honestly I have never been treated with such rudeness anywhere. We asked to see a menu, this is before we could sit down (strange) and then were told that they only had snack food and no kitchen (lunch?) We asked her to tell us something about the red wines (there were 3) since we were going to be buying a bottle and she replied with "what do you want to know?" Anything? She finally muttered a few words about this one was feminine and this one was masculine - er what? So I gave up on that and asked for a taste (almost EVERY restaurant will do this) and she reluctantly gave us (1) glass to taste it (the Foch). We didn't care for it and I was not up to asking for anything else so we just chose the Pinot (excellent BTW) and ordered as much of the "snacks" that we thought would fill our bellies. We were then led into an empty back room with 4 tables, no music, nothing. She brought us our wine and our food - canned muscles (yep still in the can), canned scallops (also in the can) paper plates, wooden forks, some cheese (that was the only thing we could eat), and potato chips (salt & vinegar?) It became laughable as she was still so snotty and rude to us. The bill ended up being $130, I left her $150 as I figured that no one else would leave her a tip and she's going to need all the extra money she can get. Again, I thought this place was something special as I had been there 2 years ago in the summer with my daughter and had a completely different experience. I don't know wtf is going on there, but do not waste your time until they get that sorted out. Buy their Pinot in a liquor store and save yourself the frustration and utter...

We decided to stop at this winery because last year we stopped and liked their pinot noir. We walked in and it felt like we walked into prison. Immediately unfriendly faces: the lady at the counter had a face as if we were the biggest annoyance in her life, the older man got off the chair and right away asked to put our name and phone down. And also asked if we have a reservation. We didn’t. The advertising board on the highway doesn’t say a word about it. What a greeting :( Then the man proceeded to tell us that they have wines to taste for $5, and reserve ones for $10. So, we decided that one of us will have the $5, and the other $10 tasters... But no, such thing was not allowed. The man said that they cannot do it. “It’s too difficult “... So, we asked what would they do if a single person walked in to try the wine, the man mumbled that it’s to difficult. Hmmm... interesting... never heard that poring a bit of wine was that difficult. We decided that we don’t want to be in such unfriendly place anymore. We got 2 bottles of Pinot Noir , not knowing what it tastes like this year, and left. We felt quite upset with being treated this way. Later on I regretted buying the wine as I don’t want to have anything to do with such people. I won’t be able to enjoy it remembering how we were treated. I will never go to this winery again, and will definitely tell all my wine-loving friends about our experience. But on the cheery note: we went to Recline Ridge and Marionette Wineries near Shuswap Lake and oh my god how friendly and beautiful people were in both of those places. And the wines are great too ! Visit the wineries where you are...

We had a disappointing visit for the first time in many years. My sister had recieved a gift certificate for Christmas from her son, who lives in Calgary. Her son had purchased it over the phone and then sent an email explaining the certificate would be registered at the winery with her name. She did not keep the email. On arrival the women working at the time ( Wednesday, July 27 @ 1pm) did locate the certificate with her name online but said she could not honor it, as she had no way of knowing if it had been used or not already. Really??? First, it's the buisness responsibility to track if their gift certificate had been used or not. Second, my sister is over 70 years  old and with 3 other senior wine loving women. Did she really think we might want to rip them off???? Rather sad and insulting. We had also brought appetizers with us but informed they no longer allowed outside food. Although disappointed as our previous visits we had been able too, we understand changes happen. However it was the gift certificate issue that made us decide to move our gathering to Blue Grouse Winery, whom welcomed our group and the appetizers we had brought with us. Unfortunate for Averill as we did spend a few hundred on wine, which is our usual custom. I will visit again and give another chance, as it truly is one of favorite sites. I hope the gift certificate issue can be cleared up by her son and  our next visit will...