Love Local: The Best of the Island and BC

February is the month of love, so what better way to showcase that love than with our favourite local makers across BC and the island?

Find the brands below in 18 Mid Island Liquor locations across Vancouver Island.

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Vancouver Island Wines

Alderlea Vineyards (Duncan): Passionate winemakers, Zac and Julie, took over Duncan's Alderlea Vineyards in April 2017. Their strong vision for an island vineyard and dedication to the craft has made Alderlea one of the pioneers of high-quality and unique Vancouver Island wines. Read more about Alderlea.

Unsworth Vineyards (Mill Bay): Built by the Turyk family and named in honor of Tim Turyk’s mother, Unsworth Vineyards in the Cowichan Valley thrives in a perfect climate for winemaking. Across 10 acres of carefully cultivated grape varieties, they handcraft wines that reflect the rich history and vibrant terroir of this special place.

Blue Grouse Estate Winery (Duncan): As the second-ever licensed winery on Vancouver Island, Blue Grouse helped carve the way for island winemaking. The Duncan-based winery blends tradition with sustainability, crafting high-quality products while using Eco-Glass bottles to reduce carbon emissions.

40 Knots Winery (Comox): Nestled on the beautiful Comox Peninsula, 40 Knots crafts exceptional wines and ciders from sustainably farmed vineyards and orchards in the Comox Valley. With a deep understanding of the land and commitment to excellence, they bring coastal flavours to every bottle.

BC Wines

Hester Creek (Oliver): One of the oldest South Okanagan wineries, Hester Creek planted its roots with vines from Italy in 1968. The property, wines, and restaurant all pay homage to beautiful Tuscany.

Black Sage Vineyard (Summerland): What started as a successful experiment from Sumac Ridge Winery became its own unique offering, headed by winemaker Jason James. Since 2010, Black Sage has been embracing the rugged terroir of the Okanagan to create bold and refined wines.

Inniskillin (Oliver): A historic winery, Inniskillin was the recipient of the first winery license in Canada since prohibition in 1975. Since then, they've gone on to garner international attention for their ice wines. They opened their second winery in the heart of the Okanagan in 1994. 

Tinhorn Creek (Oliver): Located on the Golden Mile Bench in beautiful southern BC, Tinhorn Creek relishes in the natural landscape to produce their wines. A gentle morning sun basks their fields, while nearby Mount Kobau provides shade from the afternoon heat. The combination makes for balanced, beautifully ripe grapes.

Vancouver Island Spirits

Wayward Distillery (Courtenay): Brewing up deliciousness since 2014, Wayward has committed themselves to not only making great products, but making the world a better place by donating proceeds to Pollinator Partnership Canada and being a Rainbow Registered and Living Wage employer. Cheers to that!

Stillhead Distillery (Duncan): Crafting small-batch whiskies, gins, vodka, and brandy in Duncan, Stillhead showcases Vancouver Island’s flavours with wild-picked berries, locally farmed rhubarb, and aging in Cowichan Valley wine barrels. We love Stillhead so much we partnered with them to create an exclusive single-cask rye whisky!

Sheringham Distillery (Langford): Winner of one of the world’s biggest gin competitions, Sheringham Distillery infuses West Coast culture into every bottle. Partnering with local artisans like Westholme Tea, Sirene Chocolate, and Victoria Lavender Farm, they craft spirits that celebrate the rich heritage and flavours of Vancouver Island.

West Coast Spirits (Nanaimo): Seeing a lack of Canadian representation in the price-conscious spirits category, West Coast was born to meet the need for spirits that won’t break the bank while being locally crafted. Read more about West Coast Spirits.

Tofino Distillery (Tofino): Embodying the relaxed vibes and environmentally conscious ethos that defines the West Coast, Tofino Distillery has been a staple in the small town, and across the island for high quality, locally produced spirits. 

Arbutus Distillery (Nanaimo): Fermented, distilled, and bottled in Nanaimo, Arbutus Distillery spirits are crafted from 100% BC-grown fermentables, with many botanicals grown on-site. Inspired by folklore, myths, and the occult, each bottle created is a tribute to the magical world of distillation.

Driftwood Spirits (Victoria): The creative minds from Driftwood Brewing have branched out into an exciting array of unique spirits made from locally-sourced ingredients. Explore their Blueberry Liqueur made from hand-picked berries from the Cowichan Valley and Oyster Spirit distilled with fresh Van Isle oysters.

Empress Gin (Victoria): Inspired by and named after the iconic Fairmont Empress hotel in Victoria, Empress gins elevate classic cocktails with premium spirits and striking colours. Their beloved Indigo Gin gets its colour naturally from butterfly pea blossom. 

Vancouver Island Coolers & Ciders

Salt Spring Wild (Salt Spring Island): Once the largest producer in BC, Salt Spring Island is home to over 450 varieties of apples. Each year, Salt Spring Wild gathers over 250,000 lbs of these apples from properties around the island to create their iconic ciders. 

Merridale Cidery (Cobble Hill): This family-owned orchard in Cobble Hill is crafting refreshing beverages from their own apples. The growing, pressing, fermenting, and bottling processes all happen on site to create the freshest ciders.

The Strait & Narrow (Victoria): Inspired by the West Coast, Strait & Narrow cocktails are crafted with custom spirits made by in-house distillers. With unique flavours you won’t find anywhere else, the company prioritizes using locally-sourced Vancouver Island and BC ingredients including rosemary, lavender, and rhubarb.

Sea Cider (Saanichton): Since 2007, Sea Cider has been crafting traditionally fermented ciders from 50 varieties of organically grown apples, harvested from 1,300 trees. With 16,000 cases produced annually, every bottle delivers the taste from their Saanichton orchard right to your glass.

BC Coolers 

Hey Y’all (Vancouver): Inspired by southern sweetened iced tea, this Canadian-owned company has been brewing their hard ice teas from real black tea leaves since 2014. Now introducing hard lemonades, the Vancouver-based brand continues to offer new and exciting products.

Nude Beverages (Vancouver): Founded in Vancouver with the goal to be the best-tasting low calorie drink in the market, Nude offers a selection of unsweetened vodka soda beverages. Through their #pawsofnude program, Nude donates a portion of all sales towards local animal rescue organizations in each area their products are sold.

Cinco Drink Co. (Vancouver): Founded by friends and made for lovers of the outdoors and tequila, Cinco has been making a splash since it’s debut in 2021. Voted the number one canned cocktail at Whistler Beer Fest 2023, 2024, 2025, the new company is bound for big things.

Cheap Thrills (Vancouver): Another newcomer  to the scene, Cheap Thrills is bringing nostalgic, soda shop vibes, in an easy-to-drink can. Currently available in two delicious flavours: Lemon & Lime and Black Cherry. 

Vancouver Island Beer

Hoyne Brewing (Victoria): With a storied history dating back to the 70s, Hoyne officially opened in 2011 and quickly grew throughout its hometown of Victoria. Soon after the company brought in larger tanks and expanded their product offerings to share with happy customers across Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, and the rest of British Columbia.

Wolf Brewing (Nanaimo): Located in the heart of Nanaimo, Wolf Brewing mixes the Vancouver Island lifestyle with traditional European brewing styles to create the best of both worlds. Wolf’s brews are the perfect companion for all of your outdoor adventures. Read more about Wolf Brewing.

Longwood Brewing (Nanaimo): Nanaimo-based and describing themselves as “obsessively local”, Longwood Brewing Co. takes pride in using locally farmed ingredients in their brews, with the majority of their barley and hops coming from BC. Recently, they’ve partnered with The Whale Interpretive Centre to help raise funds to rebuild the centre after a devastating fire.

Driftwood Brewery (Victoria): Innovative and fun, high-quality and handcrafted, Driftwood brewery is the poster child for craft beer. Started in 2007 in Victoria, Driftwood has stayed true to their southern Vancouver Island roots as more people have discovered their delicious brews.

Mount Arrowsmith Brewing (Parksville): Based in Parksville on beautiful Vancouver Island, Mount Arrowsmith Brewing was created to meet the community’s demand for high-quality, locally-crafted beer. Having already lived and worked in the area for three generations, the Hill family took it upon themselves to meet this demand.

BC Beer

Whistler Brewing (Whistler): A tried and true classic since the 80s, Whistler Brewing makes award-winning brews that are beloved across BC. When they’re not pumping out their core lineup, they’re always brewing up something fun and new.

Steamworks Brewing (Vancouver): Opened in 2013, Steamworks brews their iconic offerings in their Burnaby brewery, with tap and kitchen locations in Gastown, Mount Pleasant, and North Shore. Their carefully curated selection celebrates the history of beer making in the Vancouver area with inventive artwork and nods to historic events.

Stanley Park Brewing (Vancouver): Born from a love of the outdoors and a passion for exploration, Stanley Park Brewing is located in Vancouver’s iconic Stanley Park. From IPAs to sours, to each of Stanley Park’s award-winning brews represent a tasty tribute to BC’s west coast lifestyle.

Four Winds Brewing (Delta): Always up to something exciting, the Four Winds team is brewing beers they’d want to drink. The family-owned business has been supplying BC and Alberta with great brews since 2013 and continues to expand their offerings with new products, fun collabs, and inventive flavours.