A tour with Vancouver Island Expeditions allows you the time to get to know the owners or dedicated employees of the businesses you are visiting. And if it's a food or drink tour in Nanaimo you're after, the Taste of Nanaimo is your best bet!
Central Vancouver Island has been my home base for over ten years. So, I feel fairly confident in my knowledge of Nanaimo. However, after the Taste of Nanaimo tour, I experienced with Leif, the owner of Vancouver Island Expeditions, I was shocked at how much I learned.
Whether you call Nanaimo home or are just visiting, if you love craft beer and spirits, local wine, and sampling a few local delicacies, then book a Taste of Nanaimo Local Food, Craft Beverage & Estate Winery Tour!
What to Expect on The Taste of Nanaimo Tour
Expect to drink…a lot! The amount of alcoholic beverage samples you receive is extraordinary. And the businesses you stop at are more than generous regarding how much they serve you.
If you are a lightweight like me, it's safe to say you may want to bring a few extra snacks along to help soak up all the alcohol. I knew I had to drive myself home after the tour, so I was trying to take it extra easy on the samples, yet I still reached my limit.
Insider tip: Ensure you have a designated driver after the tour or are within safe walking distance of your next destination.
You are at each location for quite some time, sampling the products and getting to know the owners of each establishment. And, of course, your fellow patrons.
In our four-hour tour, we stopped at four locations. So, if a fast-paced tour seeing many different sights is your thing, this may not be right for you. However, if you like to linger, mingle and sip, head to their website and book this tour!
The stops on this Nanaimo food and drink tour
Depending on the group you are with, and/or the availability of the businesses, each Taste of Nanaimo tour is a bit different. Case in point, the tour I joined could not stop at the winery that particular day. (However, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing (for me), for I had more than enough to drink as it was).
We stopped at four locations while on the tour.
St. Jean's Cannery
St. Jean's is the largest cannery serving the sportfishing industry in British Columbia and the largest tuna and salmon cannery in Canada. They also make gourmet packaged food and gift baskets that you can purchase in-store (or online). Make sure to try their candied salmon (my favourite), and their famous smoked oysters. While on the tour, we sampled oysters and tuna.
They hand-pack each can of fish to ensure premium quality. Do you love tuna, but worry about mercury intake? You might be happy to learn that St.Jean's uses only young, smaller albacore proven to be among the lowest mercury in the world.
You get a behind-the-scenes look at how the fish is processed and packaged and learn about the incredible history of how the cannery has grown and changed over the past 50+ years. It's definitely a place worth visiting!
Longwood Brewery
This unique brewery partners with local farmers to grow and malt quality barley and hops. 50% of their barley comes from Central Vancouver Island, while most of the hops come from within 20km of the brewery.
The pride and knowledge of the staff giving us the tour and samples shone through. And the owner was more than happy to share stories about his establishment while we enjoyed yet another beer with him out back.
As a non-beer drinker, I worried about this particular stop. However, they were determined to find a beer that I would enjoy. And enjoy I did! So much so, I purchased a few cans to stash in my wine fridge at home. (Let's just say my husband was slightly shocked).
Arbutus Distillery
Within stumbling distance of Longwood Brewery mentioned above, you'll find Arbutus Distillery. A crafted distillery offering flavour-forward spirits and cocktails. They brew, ferment, distil and bottle on-site using only BC-grown products and many of their own grown botanicals.
They produce flavourful small batched spirits, including Gin, Vodka, Absinthe, Single Malt Whiskey, Brandy and a variety of tasty liqueurs. And they aren't afraid to let you try them all!
(Trust me when I say, this stop could be dangerous if you aren't used to having a lot of hard alcohol – and definitely where the snacks and water you packed beforehand come in handy!).
Cold Front Gelato
Our last stop on the tour was at Cold Front Gelato, a beautiful little shop in the heart of downtown Nanaimo. They make fresh dairy and plant-based artisan gelato daily, using local and sustainable ingredients whenever possible.
With this stop, we each received a (more than generous) scoop of ice cream. The toughest part was trying to decide which gelato to choose. However, no matter what flavour you decide on, get it in one of their homemade waffle cones – delicious!
Other Tour Options
The Taste of Nanaimo Local Food, Craft Beverage & Estate Winery Tour mentioned above is a 4-hour tour, leaving from and returning to downtown Nanaimo.
If you want something different, Vancouver Island Expeditions offers several other tours. Nanaimo wine tours, Cowichan Valley tours, half-day, full-day, and multi-day options, plus various locations they can take you to.
And it's not just all about wine, beer and food. They also have nature and wildlife tours and history and culture tours, too!
Check out the Vancouver Island Expeditions website for all the details.
Have you experienced a tour with Vancouver Island Expeditions? Let us know how it went in the comment section below.
If you want a fantastic food tour in Victoria, check out Taste of Victoria Food Tour.
*Disclosure: The Taste of Nanaimo Local Food, Craft Beverage & Estate Winery Tour was provided by Vancouver Island Expeditions. Opinions are my own.
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I wish there were similar tours for teetotalers like me, who search in vain for unique non-alcoholic drinks. Most restaurants, even high-end ones with a wide-ranging menu, offer us only coffee, tea,. or cola. Why is that?
Well, if you went on a tour that was more food based (like the Taste of Victoria tour I posted a few weeks ago), it would most likely better suit you. On that particular tour, anyone who didn’t want beer or cider was given a yummy looking non-alcoholic drink in lieu of beer or cider.