B.C.'s Fraser Valley a connoisseurs' delight

LANGLEY, B.C. — Fraser Valley is the kind of place where some winemakers double as your host during your wine tasting. It's the kind of place where the artisanal cheese makers and farmers will leave their posts to greet you at the door. That kind of place.

You've probably never heard of it. You've likely sped through it on your way to Vancouver. Perhaps the "wine tour" signs were a blur.

But Fraser Valley, located north of the Peace Arch Crossing, stretching as far east as Hope and west to Vancouver, deserves to be more than a pit stop.

It merits being a destination — a wine trip, a "slow-food" theme excursion or an agri-tour, perhaps. But definitely a destination.

You can conceivably "u-pick" everything, including hazelnuts. Feast at barns specializing in smoked salmon or smoked turkey. Visit a wasabi farm. Take cooking classes. The choices are almost limitless. The only constraint is time.

On our recent valley visit, wine and artisanal food were the themes. Wine, because this appellation is one of the newest in Canada and still underexplored. Artisanal food, because some of the most exciting culinary work in the region is taking place here.

The big cheese

The road trip began on a recent Thursday, up Interstate 5, about two hours to the Fraser Valley, faster than to Portland.

Get off the highway after crossing the Canadian border; the surrounding farmlands, horse ranches and vineyards announce that you are in the largest agricultural region in the province.

Two hundred acres of vineyards. Thousands of cranberry bushes, the largest berry fields in Canada, the fruit of this valley's much-acclaimed berry wines.

First stop: The Farm House Natural Cheeses, because what's a wine tour without good cheese?

I headed to the community of Agassiz, near Harrison Hot Springs, where self-taught cheese maker Debra Amrein-Boyes has been the talk of the valley. Not bad for someone who started selling cheese two years ago.

"She makes the best cheese in Canada outside of Quebec," according to Diana Becker, co-founder of Vancouver's Dubrulle French Culinary School and an authority on Fraser Valley food.

Amrein-Boyes' distinctive Castle Blue cheese, with a tinge of sweetness, is rich and creamy, not crumbly or runny like many blues. Her English-styled Coulommiers, a tangy, fresh cheese, was mild enough to eat by itself. Her customers vowed it is as addictive as chocolate-chip cookies. Sure enough, I gobbled up that medallion by the time my car backed out of her gravel parking lot.

Amrein-Boyes' secret is that the milk comes only from her cows and goats, which eat only the corn and grass grown on her farm.

Berry wines — and turkey

The Fraser Valley

Where

The Fraser Valley, just north of the Canadian border, is about a two-hour drive from Seattle. The valley stretches as far east as Hope, west to Vancouver and up to the Coastal mountain range. Some of the top wineries and farms are located in Langley. An easy route to Langley from northbound Interstate 5 is to take Exit 275, which will lead to the U.S./Canada border (truck Customs) and onto Highway 15; turn right on 16th Avenue.

Food and wine stops

(Numbers correspond to map)

1. Domaine de Chaberton Estate Winery, 1064 216th, Langley. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. 604-530-1736 or 888-332-9463, www.domainedechaberton.com.

2. Township 7 Vineyards, 21152 16th Ave., Langley. 11 a.m. to 6 pm. daily. (Hours will change in October). 604-532-1766 or www.township7.com.

3. Glenugie Winery, 3033 232nd St., Langley. Noon to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday. 604-539-9463 or 866-233-9463 or www.glenugiewinery.com.

4. The Fort Wine Co., 26151 84th Ave., Fort Langley. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Free public tours Sundays at 1 and 3 p.m. (Groups of 10 or more, call ahead.) 604-857-1101 or www.thefortwineco.com.

5. Vista D'Oro Farms, 20856 Fourth Ave., Langley. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday; noon to 5 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. 604-514-3539 or www.vistadoro.com.

6. The Farm House Natural Cheeses, 5634 McCallum Road, Agassiz. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday; Sun 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. 604-796-8741 or www.farmhousecheeses.com.

Lodging

There are at least 60 bed-and-breakfasts (and a few hotels) in and around White Rock, not far from Langley and the Fraser Valley. Check the White Rock & South Surrey Chamber of Commerce. Call 604-536-6844 or see www.whiterockchamber.com, or Tourism British Columbia, 800-435-5622 or www.hellobc.com.

Picnic food and dining

Many farms sell picnic food. For something different to pair with wine, grab some smoked turkey snacks at J.D. Farms Specialty Turkey, 24726 52nd Ave., Langley. 604-856-2431. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday.

For a sit-down meal, try the Bacchus Bistro at Domaine de Chaberton Estate Winery, 1064 216th, Langley. 604-530-9694. Open 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday; 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Traveler's tip

Most shops in the area carry maps of the wineries and farms. Also, Diana Becker of Chef & Chauffeur provides wine and food tours of the Fraser Valley; see www.chefandchauffeur.com.

More information

See www.bcfarmfresh.com or www.langleychamber.com

On to the wineries. I had passed fields of berries along these long and winding roads; they are the valley's top crop. Cranberries prevailed until prices tanked in the late 1990s. Some farmers turned to berry wines, and a new industry was born. Five of the 13 wineries in the valley specialize in berry wines.

Canadian wine expert John Gerum assured me that the valley makes the best fruit wines in B.C.

And supposedly, no one makes them better than the Fort Wine Company in historic Fort Langley. The cranberry wine served in an edible chocolate cup is a hit.

Even wine connoisseurs who turn up their noses at fruit wines gave Fort Wine's ports high marks, especially its blackberry port.

In my experience, fruit wines can taste syrupy. Here, the blueberry, raspberry and cranberry wines tasted crisp, a nice balance of acidity, sweetness and alcohol, some robust enough even to stand up to the strong-flavored cheeses.

But I had another idea: heading off to J.D. Specialty Turkey Farms, where turkey is dressed in every conceivable way. Smoked, peppery turkey with honey. Fiery hot turkey pepperoni. Both paired nicely with the cranberry wine.

Historic Langley

J.D. Farms is located in Langley, birthplace of British Columbia. Europeans settled here in the early 1800s. Some found gold along the Fraser River. Then everyone wanted a piece of Langley, located 25 miles from Vancouver.

The first valley winery started here, and a cluster of them soon followed. Credit Claude Violet, a ninth-generation winemaker from France, who saw potential in Langley while other vintners were migrating to Okanagan Valley.

Violet planted 40 varietals in 1981. Like a mad scientist, he tinkered away day and night over the next decade on his vineyard, until he was confident enough to showcase his Domaine de Chaberton Estate Winery in 1991. He sold it two years ago.

In the valley, the nights are cool. Long, hot days are an aberration. And the growing season runs short. Don't expect the big, bold reds. The climate is more conducive to white wines and the German varietals, such as Gewürztraminer.

Domaine de Chaberton's Bacchus — a crisp, white wine with a hint of Muscat and a citrusy finish — is the valley's signature wine, a valley best-seller. Like other Fraser Valley wineries, Domaine relies on grapes from the Okanagan Valley to make the heavy red wines.

This wine appellation offers great bargains. Most bottles go for between $10 and $20 (U.S.), and most wine tastings are free.

A tour full of tales

The small winery Township 7 used to be a cult wine, like Frog's Leap of Napa Valley. Then a couple of years back, some wine connoisseurs proclaimed that Township 7 made one of the best white wines in Canada.

You can guess what happened next to a vineyard that produces only 5,000 to 7,000 cases a year. The winery sold out of its 2003 vintages recently.

You can still grab their rosé — with strawberry and rhubarb aromas — made from Fraser Valley grapes. But the winery made only 147 cases and, well, you can guess what may happen soon.

Another small vineyard lies a few miles north, home of Glenugie Winery, which last year made the valley's first traditional sparkling wine named after Christina Tayler, the late co-founder of this Scottish winery family. The family also makes a medium-body, oaky Pinot Noir, Old World-style with no sugar added, with organic grapes from its 10-acre vineyard.

You don't need a tour guide to navigate through the valley. Follow the wine signs, or grab a farm map at most farms and shops. If you can grab a proprietor's time, pull up a chair. Their stories will touch or inspire you.

Take Lee and Patrick Murphy, who ditched the corporate life a decade ago. She was in accounting, he in marketing.

They run the 10-acre Vista D'Oro Farms in Langley, including a carriage house that serves as a cooking school, and produce an impressive line of gourmet preserves: Pear with Pinot Noir. Raspberry with Merlot and peppercorns. Turkish fig with walnut wine (a foodie favorite).

Next year, the couple will introduce a line of walnut wine. The Murphys are some of those culinary-people-to-keep-an-eye on. Don't take my word for it. Ask the French, who, uh, know a little bit about food. The Murphys have been invited to teach a culinary class in Provence next summer.

Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or tvinh@seattletimes.com