We celebrated our 4th anniversary this past Saturday. Chad and I affectionately call it our ‘Poorth’ anniversary because every penny we have has gone towards the house leaving us ‘poor’. I guess the house is a present in and of itself, so really we can’t complain.

To celebrate this milestone we headed out to South Langley to the winery Domaine de Chaberton.

Domaine de Chaberton is located on a 55 acre parcel of land and is ranked as the third largest estate winery in BC, as well as the largest and oldest winery in the Fraser Valley.

We arrived at the winery just in time to catch their daily tour of the grounds. We weren’t allowed to photograph everything as it is harvest season, but we were able to photograph the Cedar Room and the vineyard itself.

The Cedar Room is where they keep some of their wine in Oak barrels. This allows certain flavors to develop within the wine. The barrels can only be used 5 times before all the flavorful from them is gone. Each barrel is worth $1000.

We loved this room. All the wood and industrial lighting. Just beautiful. I think we may need to get a chandelier like this for our entrance way.

They only grow grapes for their white wines at the winery and purchase their red grapes from the Okanagan. They produce two brands of wine, Chaberton and Canoe Cove.

After the tour we went back to the gift shop for our complimentary wine tasting. We were able to try any three wines and we went with…

Canoe Cove Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot (0) BC VQA
This hand-crafted blend of “noble Bordeaux varietals” with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot is brimming with rich berry flavours, subtle nuances of anise, toasty oak and black pepper. Hints of plum and blackberry make this a perfectly balanced blend with a long lasting smooth finish.

Canoe Cove Shiraz (0) BC VQA
Heat loving Shiraz grapes from the Black Sage Bench were hand selected for this elegant red wine. Rich and fruity cherry and plum notes with a touch of smoky oak, caramel and cinnamon. Long and silky smooth finish.

Bacchus (1) BC VQA
Our signature wine from our Fraser Valley vineyard. This German varietal, related to Riesling, boasts lively flavours of peach, pears and ripe apples. Delightful and clean, with a lingering finish. Some of the Bacchus vines are from the original planting back in 1983 and now are nearly 30 years old.

The wines were fabulous, even the Bacchus which is a white wine and something we rarely drink, we thoroughly enjoyed it. I think my favorite of the three was the Shiraz.

You are actually able to buy a bottle or glass of wine from the gift shop and enjoy it out in their courtyard, so we purchased a bottle of the Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot and sampled it while we wait for our dinner reservation. We didn’t finish the bottle and we able to get it recorked at the gift shop.

I was really looking forward to this dinner as I had heard rave reviews from my parents who had had lunch here in the Summer.

Since we finished dinner earlier then we normally do we went for a quick walk around Hazelmere golf course, one of Chads ‘old stomping grounds’. Trust me when I say the man has a LOT of old stomping grounds. It was very beautiful there, though it got quite cold as the sun went down. What a scenic place to play a round of golf.

Overall it was a fabulous day. I wish we took more time to sit out in nature and enjoy a bottle of wine. Maybe once these renovations are done I’ll set up a little wine patio in the backyard. Something classy and French. I think one of our neighbours has a set up like this. Maybe I’ll take some inspiration from her.