Averill Creek was founded in 2001 with one simple purpose - to produce world-class estate grown wines. The vineyard is located on Vancouver Island, in the Cowichan Valley wine region, and consists of 32 acres of planted vines at elevations between 118 and 240 meters above sea level.

Owner/winemaker Andy Johnston, after several seasons working in Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and France, chose this site for its potential to grow Pinot noir and other cool weather varietals, with the hope that the terroir of the Cowichan Valley would yield grapes of high quality and unique character. As early as the first vintage in 2004, Averill Creek wines showed signs that this was indeed the case, and began winning awards on a regular basis. More recent vintages have continued this trend, and as the vineyard matures it continues to surprise with its potential to create exciting wines.

Winemaking at Averill Creek is done by gravity-flow method, and the Averill Creek winery is specially constructed for this purpose. The winery is constructed on four levels: the first being the grape reception pad, below that the press pad and ferment floor. After fermentation the wine flows by gravity to the blending floor and on into the barrel room. This way, the wine is put into barrels having never been pumped. Filtering is kept to a minimum. Using this method, wines are handled as gently as possible, so the identity and subtle characteristics of the fruit are retained.

Currently Vancouver Island’s largest estate winery, Averill Creek remains committed to the goal of producing wines of exceptional quality. Every year, with the help of the Cowichan Valley microclimate, we strive to create new wines that showcase the potential of what Vancouver Island has to offer. Combining the attention to quality that can only be achieved in handcrafted, small batch production, with the attention to detail only possible with state-of-the-art equipment and techniques, the art and science of winemaking come together at Averill Creek.