Jason Lowe has lived and worked in many regions in British Columbia including the Okanagan, Kootenay Rockies, Vancouver, Whistler and now Vancouver Island. Currently, Jason is the General Manager of the Arbutus Ridge Golf Club located near Victoria and the Cowichan area.
Jason has a passion for outdoor activities, food & wine and has enjoyed extensive leisure travels through Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Cuba, USA including Hawaii, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador and Mexico.
Jason has a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from Royal Roads University and is President of Golf Vancouver Island as well as a Board of Director and/or Committee Member for Tourism Victoria, Tourism Vancouver Island, Tourism Cowichan, British Columbia Golf Marketing Alliance and the South Cowichan Chamber of Commerce.
I took our management team on a wine tour as an afternoon out of the office last week and have to share our excitement. Although I’ve visited many of the wineries before, met the players in the industry, keep up to speed on vineyards, this trip was different.
We were picked up at the Arbutus Ridge Golf Club by LA Limosine and escorted to Averill Creek, followed by lunch at Vinoteca and a stop at Rocky Creek and Cherry Point. The Pinot Noir from Averill Creek, scallops at Vinoteca, Blackberry dessert wine from Rocky Creek (mix this in with their salt & pepper chocolate!) and Ortega from Cherry Point stole the show in my opinion. The Gewurtzraminer from both Averill & Cherry Point are fantastic as well and comparing the Pinot Gris from many of the wineries was very interesting and they are all of great quality & have distinguished characteristics. We would have stopped at Blue Grouse and Alderlea if we had more time!
Photo Courtesy of Heather McGillivray, Tourism Victoria
I have to say that although many of the wineries on Vancouver Island may have been categorized as “in their infancy”, the products they are producing right now will surprise many folks who are not familiar. Most of the wineries marketing budgets are small, so it’s important not to get caught up in not knowing a brand or name. The fun is in discovering something new and there are treasures to be found here! In addition to great products, I don’t think you’ll find more genuine hospitality than what we experienced on our tour.
I was inspired afterwards to ensure we tied wine tours more into golf than we had previously, so I created the Arbutus Ridge Golf Club Harvest Golf & Wine Package. The Arbutus Ridge Golf Club is directly surrounded by 9 wineries so it’s a natural. Check out the package located here: http://www.facebook.com/arbutusridgegolf or http://www.golfbc.com/special_offers/vancouver_island. Two nights at the Oceanfront Grand Resort in Cowichan Bay, a round of golf with cart at Arbutus Ridge Golf Club, a four-hour guided winery tour of the Cowichan Valley visiting Cherry Point, Venturi-Schulze, Rocky Creek and Averill Creek Wineries. This is the making of a memorable getaway!
Last week, I wanted to surprise my wife with a spa day, so I started looking up some of the local day spas in the area. One of my friends told me that he had just been to the bistro at Merridale Ciderworks for lunch a few days previous and that he had seen brochures for their Orchard Spa, so I looked it up on their website and scanned through their list of services. I picked up the phone and arranged for an hour-long couples massage, followed by a platter of breads and dips, meats, candied salmon, etc.
This whole experience took place in what Merridale calls their “Antioxidant Hut” at the front of the orchard. They also do spa treatments for groups down in their yurt that overlooks the pond and that they’re currently working on packages to accommodate up to 12 guests (and no, that’s not a typo!). The Orchard Spa at Merridale is a hidden gem, so check it out if you like getting off the beaten track!
In September we played the Arbutus Ridge Golf Club near Victoria on Vancouver Island and caught some video of an amazing rainbow from the patio. Then we saw a group of golfers fly off in a helicopter! Must be nice.
The views from clubhouse and golf course are fantastic. You can see the ocean and nearby islands in the background. We had dinner at the Satellite Bar & Grille at the Arbutus Ridge Golf Club and it was very good. It’s normal not to expect too much from a golf course restaurant but the menu, food quality and selection of local wines made for a fantastic night cap.
The golf course is surrounded by 9 wineries, so we visited a few. The Pinor Noir from Avrill Creek Winery is fantastic! Cherry Point Vineyards and Merridale Estate Cidery have great venues for tastings as well. Check the golf course and nearby wineries out if you can!
Greetings golfers, in case you haven’t heard…the Telus Skins Game is coming to Vancouver Island! Bear Mountain Resort is hosting the event in 2010 and there are a lot of great festivities planned if you are in the area June 21 - 22, 2010. The drama builds for this event as PGA Tour Players are selected after the Master’s. Who do you want to see at the event?
If you want to watch the Pro’s and golf at courses around Victoria check out the package offer I found at golfvancouverisland.ca
I’m looking forward to hearing what players will attend, stay tuned and I’ll update this thread.
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