From Wine to Cheese — The Flavors of Canada

Words Pitch by Pitch

Signature Ingredients and Delicacies by Region

The defining trait of Canadian food culture is how sharply it varies with region and natural environment. In British Columbia, salmon caught in the Fraser River, the Columbia River and along the Pacific coast have long been a vital ingredient, while in Nova Scotia on the Atlantic coast, fresh seafood such as lobster and king crab counts as a prized delicacy. Dishes that blend French culinary traditions with local ingredients are part of Quebec’s unique appeal. Poutine, which is french fries topped with cheese curds and gravy, and Montreal bagels, sprinkled with sesame or poppy seeds and baked in a wood-fired oven, are also must-tries. The Prairies, which take in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, have a well-developed agricultural sector and abundant meat and grain. Eastern Canada is the world’s largest source of maple syrup, producing more than 70 percent of the global supply, and its pure, rich sweetness comes straight from nature.

From Indigenous Cuisine to Fine Dining

Indigenous cuisine, which has developed in harmony with nature, is one of the key elements of Canada’s food culture. It is characterized by ingredients taken from the land and water, from salmon to moose, venison and wild berries, and in recent years it has also drawn attention as a sustainable food culture that takes health and the environment into account. Traditional foods you may encounter while traveling in Canada, such as bannock, a traditional bread, and pemmican, a preserved food made by mixing dried meat with berries, will make for a distinctive experience.
Meanwhile, Toronto and Vancouver have in recent years been added to the Michelin Guide one after the other, emerging as world-class culinary destinations. Centered on these cities, you can enjoy fine dining built around locality, sustainability and multiculturalism in many other places, including Montreal, Quebec City, Calgary, Ottawa and Halifax.

Wine and Drinking Culture

The Okanagan Valley in British Columbia and the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario are Canada’s leading wine regions. The Niagara Peninsula is especially famous as the world’s largest producer of icewine. Original, distinctive wines from small boutique wineries are also drawing more and more attention. Craft beer culture is booming as well, with about 1,350 breweries across Canada. In Vancouver and Toronto in particular, small independent breweries with their own character are easy to find. Wine lovers may want to plan a half-day or full-day winery tour, and beer lovers a brewery tour. A wide range of spirits and ciders made from regional produce, including whisky, gin and vodka, also delight travelers who love good food and drink.

Canada’s Culinary Routes You Shouldn’t Miss

British Columbia
British Columbia

Okanagan Valley Wine Route
In the Okanagan Valley, vineyards stretch along the gently rolling hills around vast Okanagan Lake, making it one of Canada’s leading wine regions. More than 200 wineries are located here, producing a wide range of wines, from reds and whites to rosés and natural wines. Among them, Kelowna is the gateway and hub of the Okanagan wine region, and a good base for traveling along self-guided wine routes. There are options to suit every schedule and taste: the Southeast Kelowna Bench, which takes in small boutique wineries on the hilltops; the Lakeshore Wine Trail, which follows the lake to well-established wineries; Downtown Grapes & Grains, where you can visit craft breweries and cider houses along with wineries; the Westside Wine Trail, with historic family-run wineries and old vines; and Lake Country’s Scenic Sip, which leads to wineries on the north side of the valley with spectacular views.

Ontario
Ontario

Apple Pie Trail
More than 40 percent of Canada’s apples are grown in Ontario. Dishes made with the region’s richly sweet apples have developed too, and apple pie is one of them. During the apple harvest season, you can find apple pie almost anywhere in Ontario. South Georgian Bay, about 90 minutes by car from Toronto, is one of Ontario’s main apple-growing areas and is known for its Apple Pie Trail, where you can experience orchards, cideries and apple pie all in one route. Traveling through the Town of the Blue Mountains, Meaford, Beaver Valley and more, you can pick your own apples, taste handcrafted cider and enjoy apple desserts including apple pie. Visiting craft markets and galleries and dining at farm-to-table restaurants, you can experience a journey where local art and cuisine come together. Outdoor activities can be added too, such as kayaking and canoeing in spring and summer, hiking in fall and snowshoeing in winter, so the trip offers a different charm in every season.

Butter Tart Tour
For dessert lovers with a taste for rich sweetness, a butter tart tour is just the thing. The butter tart is a signature Canadian pastry, made by filling pie dough with a mixture of butter, sugar, eggs and syrup and baking it. Around 40 cafés and bakeries are located in and around Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes and Northumberland County, about an hour and a half by car from Toronto, so you can sample butter tarts made from a wide variety of recipes.

Alberta
Alberta

Calgary & Edmonton Wine Route
Alberta is known not for traditional grape wine but for fruit wines and honey mead. The Calgary & Edmonton Wine Route is the best way to enjoy these local bottles. The journey takes you to small wineries that turn local produce such as raspberries, cherries, apples, blackcurrants and peaches into distinctive wines, and to tastings of mead, the traditional honey wine made by fermenting honey. It is a chance to savor Alberta’s nature and cuisine. Centered on the two cities of Calgary and Edmonton, the route lets you tour nearby wineries and also try a range of activities, from harvesting crops to farm tours. We recommend adding a picnic to your itinerary in summer and timing your trip to the festivals and events of autumn.

Hot Chocolate Trail
Every winter, restaurants and cafés in the Banff and Lake Louise area roll out seasonal, limited-edition hot chocolate menus. The trail usually runs from mid-November to the end of December, with 20 to 30 venues taking part. Visitors to Banff and Lake Louise during this period can build their own route of tastings, sampling hot chocolates of every kind. You can also keep the journey going by exploring the shops and galleries within walking distance.

Quebec Province
Quebec

Cheese Trail
You can taste countless kinds of artisan cheese across Canada, but the cheeses of Quebec Province are widely considered the finest. On this road trip, you can sample some 500 cheeses amid pastoral countryside, meet local producers and experience the true flavors of Quebec. Workshops that make cheese in the traditional way are scattered across the province, in places such as the Eastern Townships, Charlevoix and Baie-Saint-Paul, where you can tour, taste and buy at any time. After meeting cheesemakers, learning how traditional cheese is made and trying a variety of handmade cheeses, you can return to Quebec City to continue your culinary adventure. A perfect way to end the journey is at the 1608 Wine & Cheese Bar, overlooking the St. Lawrence River, with a pairing of top-quality wine and premium Quebec cheese.