My girlfriends and I went to Glass House Estate Winery for their High Vin Sunday Brunch simply because it sounds like a lot of fun. For $65 per person, you are treated to a buffet brunch, a glass of bubbly and a flight of five 1oz wine. We stumbled upon it, and really, we couldn’t resist. The four of us usually go out for afternoon tea, and we all like wine, so this naturally fits our MO to give it a try.
When we arrived, we were already impressed. They have turned their tasting room into the dining room, with the buffet stations set up in the corner. The food looked cute and dainty, and the team arranged it beautifully and colourfully. My eyes were drawn to the lox bagel station, the giant charcuterie platter and multiple displays of cheese, as well as miniature cakes and pastries that I knew I would be loading up my plate with.
Honestly, there was so much to choose from and I didn’t get to try everything. Here are just some of the items/stations on display:
- Charcuterie & cheese platters
- Lox bagel station
- Yogurt & granola
- Butter boards & bread
- Mini sweet and savoury pastries & tarts
- Vegetable platter
- Salads
- Flatbreads
- Soups & dips
- Fondue station
- Marshmallow roasting station
As soon as you sit down, they serve you a glass of their NV Stellatus Brut Cuvee. Once you are settled in, perhaps with a plate of food, they bring around the flight of wine. You don’t get to choose the wine in your flight, but it sounds like they rotate the selection based on availability. Here is what was in my flight:
- 2022 Gruner Veltliner
- 2022 Pinot Gris
- 2022 Muscat Ottonel
- 2022 Rose de Pinot
- NV Pinot Noir
Towards the end, because we were having such a good time, I ordered an additional glass of the 2022 Gewurztraminer ($9.50 for 6oz); KK also ordered a glass of wine and IY ordered a different flight of wine (five 2oz pours for $20). And for the a la carte wine flight, you get to choose from their full list of available wines. Overall I found their wines to be on the drier side, even the Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and Muscat were not as sweet as some other BC ones I’ve had. I liked the Rose de Pinot the most so I took home a bottle ($32).
Now, this perhaps is the controversial part for some — they charge auto gratuity. When you book online, you are to pre-pay your $65 plus a 20% gratuity. Interestingly, my friends and I didn’t book it online, so we didn’t pay our bill until the end of our brunch and they accidentally charged the 20% on EVERYTHING on our bill, including the bottles of wine. They fixed it at the end but my advice is to check your bill if you didn’t pre-pay for your brunch online, just to be safe.
All things considered, my friends and I had a really good time. $65 is really not a bad price for the variety of items and the amount of wine we were served. Because one of us lives close by, we were able to Uber to Glass House and back, so we could really enjoy ourselves. They also have a patio and a picnic area with the view of the vineyard, so it would be quite beautiful in the summer and be able to sit outside. It may be a little out of the way for some but if you can manage your ride there, it’s a nice destination for wine lovers.
Glass House Estate Winery
23449 0 Avenue, Langley
(604) 427-3225
glasshouseestatewinery.com
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