pacific breeze winery

unheralded gem in New West, this is one of the best 'Garista' wineries I have ever attended. Great wine maker and knowledgeable staff. Grapes are mostly from Cali, Wa and Oregon creating some of the best value wines in the province. Killer Cab is just the start. Try the Granache and the Merlot, a bit more but you will not be disappointed. Well done Maurice.

I recently attended a special barrel sampling of Pacific Breeze's 2011 GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mouvedre) and their 2012 Killer Cabernet. The event was well attended and the comments were quite positive. Pacific Breeze Winery is a unique niche winery in New Westminster. Since it opened, not quite ten years ago, it has developed a growing number of die hard fans and has received far more than their fair share of recognition from various competitions. Winning so many awards in their first years quickly brought them critical acclaim.The Pacific Breeze line up features more than a dozen wines. I am a big fan and have many of their wines in my cellar. My current favourites include the Reserve Chardonnay, Killer Cab, Big Red and Assaszin. Their location is almost a hiding spot, which explains why so many people in the Lower Mainland still don't know about them. Take some time to visit their tasting room and give their wines a try. As some have said, it isn't an impressive facility, but I am glad their money goes into buying top quality grapes and barrels rather than a fancy exterior.

I'll explain the title first then get into my review.I've seen a couple of reviewers complaining about the price of the wine and felt compelled to respond. Yes the wine is not cheap (750 mL bottles were in the $20 - 25 range). And yes you might be able to save a buck or two on comparable wines if you do your homework and buy wines from larger producers (but I don't think that would be as easy as some suggest). However, I think at some point we have to look at buying and supporting local stores and producers. So as part of my values system, I think it is worth paying an extra buck or two, especially for a luxury item such as wine, if it means I am supporting someone locally. I can understand if you want to bottom-line it and try to squeeze everything you can from each dollar but for me, sometimes paying a little extra for something like this is worth it (and yes, for some things, I can be quite miserly).But let's go on to the actual review:The location looks very industrial on the outside but well worth the trip. Our tour took about an hour and I really enjoyed the discussions we had with the wine maker. He's young but enthusiastic, very honest, and bold as far as wine-making goes. It was nice to see the work areas but they aren't very different (maybe smaller) than most wineries. The sampling area wasn't the same as sitting on a deck in the Okanagan but siting in a room full of barrels of wine was quite charming and fun. It was, overall, a nice experience. Learning the history of the site was also fun.The wine sampling has a posted cost of $5 but they do credit that towards any wine purchase. The wines we sampled were selected seemingly on the spot as our host figured out what our preferences were. I liked that. Rather than getting stuck sampling the same thing everyone else did, having selections catering to our tastes and our discussions (we did some sampling of the same wine in different barrels to see if we could tell the effect of the difference in barrels) was great. They did have some cheese, crackers and salami slices available but there's not a lot (mind you we only picked at them). I like robust fragrant wines and Big Red certainly was a good match. I also liked the Cab Sauv's they had. They do offer a wine club wherein you commit to buying 2 to 3 bottles of wine 4 times per year. Joining is free (but you do have to commit) and that gives you 5% off single bottles or 15% off cases. It also entitles you to some events they have (like wine tasting) and a free 10-person wine sampling for you and your friends. Seems like a good deal since I liked the wine so we signed up. I found the staff nice and never felt pressured to buy any wine or sign up for the club. Over all it was a very nice experience. I honestly hadn't expected much given its location but was pleasantly surprised.

Wine tasting tour, a friend received a gift for four to do a wine tasting and tour. It was very interesting, loved the wine, and they gave good samples. Very enjoyable afternoon.

I think it is worthwhile for anyone interested in wine to take a winery tour in a stripped down industrial bay. Wine making is usually cloaked in the mystique of rolling vineyards and musty cellars but, those belie the real art of wine making which is applied chemistry. Where better to be reminded of that than at Pacific Breeze where they make a very good product that tastes of grapes and terroir but without all the usual paraphernalia. Adds another dimension to wine understanding.

Attended a Chamber of commerce function here and found the experience to be interesting.They make some good wines especially the reds. Enjoyed the evening very much.

a great place to pick up a nice bottle of red - they have some very nice wines have a tasting and choose your favorite. They also have a wine club.

We visited this winery on a 1/2 price Groupon coupon ($25 for 2) billed as a "winery tour, wine class, and a food-pairing lesson for two". The 'winery' consists of two bays in an industrial complex in downtown New West, and realistically takes all of 10 minutes to tour. Guide was very informative and knowledgeable and stretched out the tour and tasting to just over 1 hour. Not sure what the 'wine class' was supposed to be. Offered 1oz wine tastings of 5 wines. Cheese & cracker platter was pathetically small and uninspiring, no food-pairing was discussed. Seems like this "tour" is just an excuse to get you in to buy their wine. Wine was good but in our opinion not worth the $20 to $30 price tag per bottle (no tour discount was offered). For our money would be better off paying the $5 walk-in tasting fee which can at least be credited towards a purchase.

Tryed pumpkin beer and it was so yummy! It tastes like a lite beer with a slight all spice taste and smell!

Various wines have received gold medals and distinctions from wine community. Excellent product and good value.

tried some wine, bought a bottle, just didnt get a great vibe, tried again, just think the place needs some laughter and welcoming enhancements

The servers are really sweet and the wine is quite good. I did not buy much because I felt you could get a better wine at the liquor store for the average $25 price tag.

Had an office event here for 25 people in the cask room. Arranged catering through the winery and the food was delicious. The wines are great. It is family run and very welcoming. Definitely worth going for a tasting. You can organize a larger one, or just drop in. They have nice selection of wine accessories for sale too. Killer Cab is a winner. It is a bit out of the way and hard to find. It is in an industrial park so you might think you are in the wrong place, but it is set up nicely inside.

This is a cool winery in the "garage" style. It is not obvious from the outside, but once you enter you are welcomed into a fabulous wine ship and tasting room. On the tour they show you the wine operation and great barrel room.Fantastic wines at competitive prices! The wine club is a good deal as they keep you in the loop of the latest releases, with special invites!

Love the Merlot. But all of this "garage wine" is worth the price and the trip to the winery to get it.