Harbour Air Presents Coastlines May/June 2008
West Coast Vintages
by Adrian Mack

...the Carbrea Vineyard is of special note as it also includes a rustic one-bedroom cottage for summer weekly rentals. The herbicide/pesticide-free four acre vineyard itself is used to cultivate the common Northern European varietals Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, and Agria, as well as the naturalized blackberries that Carbrea uses in its Wild Blackberry fortified dessert wine (a recent Bronze medal winner at the Northwest Wine Summit). Overseen by the owner/winemaker Stephen Bishop, Carbrea is an insurgent young vineyard, well-placed in the artists colony of Hornby; the company's eye-catching and elegantly funky label deserves an award in and of itself.

Campbell River Courier-Islander (April 27, 2007)
Exploring the Hornby flavour of Carbrea Vineyard
by Doug Sloan

When Marshwood estate and vineyard was being sold in January, 2007 - to folks who have expressed no interest in keeping the winery open! - Stephen and Suzie Bishop, farther south on Hornby Island were reviewing their first summer's hectic sales of 2005's wines after a hectic opening in May, 2006.

Built initially on two thousand Pinot Gris and Agria vines in 2002, Carbrea Vineyard was always a gamble...

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Focus Magazine, June/July 2007
Excerpt from 'Bounty of the Islands'
by Laura Busheikin

The key to successful grape growing, Bishop says, is finding the right varietals. These are certain grapes that will flourish best in just this climate. For instance, Carbrea has had success with its Gewurztraminer grape, which they chose because it does so well in Germany, where the climate is similar.

It's certainly hot and sunny as I sit in the Carbrea Tasting Room, watching Stephen Bishop pour me a taste of Blackberry Dessert Wine. He and Suzie beam with pleasure when I tell them how delicious it is. Their passion for their work is obvious - and necessary, says Stephen. Like any farming venture, running a vineyard is hard work, fraught with uncertainties.

"We have 4000 vines in the ground right now, and over the season we need to spend at least an hour on each vine," he says. That's just the growing; there's also the actual making of the wine, the marketing, the agri-tourism element to organize, and the administration to be done.

"It's a lifestyle," says Suzie. "You have to want to do it".

"I don't foresee planting 1,000 acres or anything like that," says Stephen. "My goal is to make the best quality wine that I can."

Pacific Yachting, August 2007
Excerpt from 'Cruising the Wine Islands'
by Diane Selkirk

Carbrea Vineyard, the second winery on Hornby, is pretty new. When we visited they had sold out of all their whites, which were reputed to be quite good for such a young winery. The charm of visiting Carbrea or any of the Gulf Island vineyards is only partly found in the wine though. At these small, owneroperated farm gate wineries, visitors have the unique opportunity to meet pioneering farmers who are working to master their craft.

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