Lavender, Liquefied

In the faculty of aromas, you can thank an organic compound called a “terpene” for the uplifting nose of the lavender flower in your wine (as well as rose and lychee!). If you get the chance to sniff and sip a beloved glass of red Côtes du Rhône (try a $24 bottle of Les Halos de Jupiter 2016, for instance) you’ll be sure to find this attractive characteristic. It is also commonly detected in the grapes Grenache, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Syrah and Mourvedre—the list goes on! Test your senses, grab a glass and see if you can detect this purple posy! —Laura Starr

damali lavender & winery. Should you be seeking a much more tangible encounter with this gorgeous plant, book a summer weekend in the Cowichan Valley and visit Damali Lavender & Winery on Cobble Hill. You can walk through fields of the dream-like purple clouds of lavender—and they make wine and fruit wines, some of which incorporate lavender right into them, to boot! Give the Mure Lavande a go—this dry, blackberry and lavender wine is said to pair well with salmon (challenge accepted!).

middle mountain mead. If you’re really up for a lavender adventure jump over into the world of mead, a.k.a. honey wine—a delicious and silky elixir of fermented honey and water. Lavender honey is made by the bees that frequent those ample purple fields that flourish in Provence—as well as our own backyard! Middle Mountain Mead on Hornby Island is a meadery in a lavender field, and you can pick up the resulting Mead of Inspiration at Legacy Liquor Store for $34!