The vineyard at Cherry Point was established in 1990 when the founders purchased 34 acres on a former mink ranch a few miles south of Cowichan Bay. Since wine-growing was still new on Vancouver Island they planted the vineyard with several grape varieties, for nobody really knew which grapes suited the island’s soil and climate. After the grape trials, Cherry Point Estate Wines became one of the first licensed wineries on Vancouver Island in 1994.