PARSELL
VINEYARD
OUR STORY
Winemaking is not new in Saanich, British Columbia, and the Parsell family has been part of that tradition since the early twentieth century. The Parsell and Miles families arrived on Vancouver Island as early pioneers and farmers in the late nineteenth-century, and by the 1920s were growing loganberries for the peninsula's first wineries. One of those early winemakers in 1922 was Neil Lamont, a founding partner in Grower's Wine Company, and, when the chance to purchase a part of the historic Lamont property came up in 2015, already planted to vineyard, we decided that it was time that the Parsell family got back into the island winemaking business.
THE VINEYARDS
Today we farm nearly a dozen acres on the Saanich peninsula, Victoria's wine country, making Vancouver Island's only RAW
registered natural wines. And, yes, we're still using some of that original Parsell family winemaking equipment.
We farm regeneratively using no pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or chemical fertilizers, and we carry that philosophy over to the winery, where our natural wines are made, without filtration, fining, additives, and, except when absolutely necessary, without added sulfites. While we know some folks are fans of "barnyard" or "funky" aromatics, the natural acidity of cool-climate fruit means our wines don't have Brettanomyces. We make the wines we like to drink: brut and brut-nature sparkling wines made in the ancestral method; food-friendly cool-climate wines with clean aromatics and no residual sugar; and botanical aromatic wines and vermouths in the European tradition.
We source our fruit from estate vineyards on Lamont Road, where you can visit our tasting room and winery, and at Bannockburn Farm, est. 1855, a heritage site on Mount Newton Cross Road open to the public occasionally.
THE WINES
At Parsell Vineyard we produce hand-crafted still and sparkling wines with a purist's zeal for zero manipulation, believing that wines should be and should taste clean and transparent.
We specialise in small lots, but our current releases include our Ortega (white), skin-contact Ambergris (orange/amber, 100% Pinot Gris), Foch (red), Ancestral (sparkling, blanc de blanc un-disgorged), Glogg (spiced red holiday wine), Marechal (sparkling red), Piquette (rose sparkling wine) & the local cult favourite, Saanich Sangria (red).
We are committed to making local, natural wines that are affordable. We release in 750-ML sizes at the $15-20 price point and in our signature reusable one-litre growlers for sustainably conscious locals at $20-30 per litre.
We are able to export into the United States. Please inquire for details.
ACCOMMODATIONS
The main residence of the winery is available for accommodation with unrestricted access to spa amenities.
Guests can visit the estate overnight by booking through our estate management team at Elite Vacation Rentals.
Located on a gated acreage estate, with panoramic views of the Olympic Mountains and over the vineyards, the main residence accommodations feature a (seasonal) pool, a palm-tree and lavender-lined sundeck, & (year-round) a wood-fired Finnish sauna. Private winemaker tours and tasting available on request.
WEDDINGS
We're the Victoria wine country's newest wedding venue. We offer outdoor wedding facilities for intimate occasions, with ceremony and reception spaces pool-side, on our mountain-view decks, or among the vines.
We're able to accommodate daytime and early evening events, up to 75 people, and our two-day wedding venue rental package lets you setup for your big day without feeling rushed and enjoy every minute. Wedding packages, booked via our estate management team at Elite Vacation Rentals include two-cases of our estate sparkling wine, two nights bed-and-breakfast in a honeymoon suite with private hot tub and unrestricted after-hours access to the pool, and wedding venue rental. We are able to provide complete destination wedding services upon request. Pricing and details are available online.
VISIT & CONTACT
Due to COVID 19, our tasting room is closed. Unfortunately we do not anticipate being able to reopen the tasting room under Phase 4 of BC Restart. We continue to sell wines at the Moss Street Market in Victoria each Saturday during the year, and we continue to provide free delivery of wine in Victoria and on the Saanich peninsula (no minimum order).
Our mailing address is 2838 Lamont Road, Saanichton BC V8M 1W5 CANADA.