The Averill Creek Winery takes its name from the pretty little creek that cuts through the vineyard as it runs down the southern slopes of Mount Prevost into the Cowichan Valley of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Ready to launch his new career as a maker of fine wines, Andy Johnston set off to look for land in British Columbia when his family made it clear they were not about to let him relocate to the south of France or New Zealand.

The Okanagan was appealing, but with most of the good vineyard land already taken, Andy was next drawn to Vancouver Island, in particular to the Cowichan Valley. This valley in the rain shadow of the Olympic Peninsula and the Malahat has long dry summers and very good grape growing soils; deep, with well-drained sand and gravel.

Andy soon found it was not easy to find a piece of land that was big enough and had the aspect, soil, and elevation needed. Most suitable sites had either been dug up for gravel pits or turned into small acreages. But in 2001, he located just what he was searching for. A former farm, the Averill Creek property is on the southeast slope of Mount Prevost, at an elevation of 118 to 240 metres above sea level. The parcel is 46 acres, of which 30-32 is plantable. The soil is Royston/Qualicum which, with appropriate drainage, is very suitable for viticulture.

“This seemed just right to me to grow grapes from the Pinot family,” he says. After the necessary soil surveys confirmed this, Averill Creek Vineyard was acquired in 2001 and readied for planting the next year.