Visiting the “Fauxkanagan”

Yesterday we went to Township 7 Vineyards & Winery in Langley, BC to attend their 1st Annual Artisan Affair. Fittingly we went along with our pals Sharole & Diego, who joined us for our 2006 Okanagan wine trip to Naramata.

It might have been the wine combined with our sense of humour, but it was last summer we came up with a nickname for the burgeoning Fraser Valley winery scene: The Fauxkanagan.

Township 7 is a winery named after the old 19th century place name for the Township of Langley, BC. It can almost be said that Fraser Valley wineries were not taken seriously until Township’s 2002 Chardonnay won White Wine of the Year and the Gold Medal at the 2003 Canadian Wine Awards in Toronto. Township 7 put the Fraser Valley wine industry on the map.

Certainly, if you are aching for a pleasant drive to the country from Vancouver to sample some wines, then Township is the place you must visit. Nearby there are other wineries a short distance from here worth checking out. BC Wine Lover will be doing its own Fauxkanagan day trip, and writing about it here.
With the 1st Annual Artisan Affair Township 7 looks like it has begun a great tradition to rival the noise and crowds of the PNE, and we look forward to returning in 2008. We took home bottles of their Rosé 2006, their Merlot 2004, and their Syrah 2005. With the exception of the Syrah, which we plan to bottle age for another year or more, these wines are ready to enjoy.