Birch Block Vineyard is a five-acre boutique winery in Kaleden, owned by Sarah and Murray Bancroft. It’s so small, the Bancrofts don’t even have a tasting room.

Instead, this summer you might just find them pouring their juicy, low-intervention Pinot Noir and pét-nat wines at the UBC, Kitsilano or Mount Pleasant farmers’ markets.

“We’ve never done conventional trade shows,” Murray says. “We love markets. We love the smaller events where we can talk to people. It’s personal and intimate.”

Adds Sarah: “It’s a great way to talk to consumers and answer their questions about natural wine and regenerative farming. We get some really technical questions, especially at UBC.”

Although alcoholic beverages have long been a staple at markets across Europe, shopping for wine — or beer or cider or spirits — is still a relatively new thing at B.C.’s farmers’ markets. It’s only been since 2014, when the province modernized its liquor laws by, among other things, legalizing happy hour and allowing minors into pubs that we could finally pick up a B.C.-made Sauv Blanc alongside the local asparagus it pairs so nicely with.

The thinking behind the change was twofold: to make shopping for local products easier for consumers, and to create economic opportunities for small businesses. But what it really did is create a convivial pairing of food, wine, conversation and, of course, commerce.

For producers like Sarah and Murray Bancroft, owners of Birch Block Vineyard top left), selling their wine at farmers’ markets is a chance to showcase their product in front of new consumers and to sell it without the hassle of shipping or the challenges of getting it into a retail space. There is also a big educational component. The Bancrofts, for instance, are happy to talk about their process. “We don’t brand it as natural wine. We make wines where the only things we’re using are grapes and really small amounts of sulfur. We’re not taking much away from the wine or adding to it. It’s the way wine has always been made through history,” Murray says.

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How it works
Not everyone can sell their hooch at a farmers’ market, and even those who can, can’t do so all the time.

“It’s very competitive,” Sarah says. “We would be there every week if we could. There are only so many people who can be there and there are strict rules about how many vendors of each type there can be.”

For instance, she notes, the Kitsilano Farmers Market just approved 250 vendors for the summer — but there are only 60 stalls available, so many vendors will be rotating in and out. Birch Block, for instance, will only be at the Kits market occasionally this summer, although it has also just been approved for the new-ish Mount Pleasant Sunday Market at Dude Chilling Park.

There are many other rules governing how liquor can be sold at B.C.’s 145-plus farmers’ markets. (Note that there are 17 markets in the City of Vancouver, plus dozens more from Pemberton through Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, and nearly 30 in the Thompson-Okanagan region. A good way to discover them is by following the B.C. Farmers’ Market Trail — there’s even an app you can download to make your exploring easier.)

The Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) oversees liquor sales at farmers’ markets in the province. Not all markets or local governments allow the sale of alcoholic beverages, but at those that do, approved wineries, breweries, cideries, meaderies and distilleries may provide liquor samples and sell liquor products for off-site consumption. They can’t, however, sell you a glass of wine or pint of beer to drink as you meander through the market.

A liquor producer needs three things before they can sell their product at a farmers’ market — market certification, proof of insurance and Serving It Right, the provincial self-study certification that educates licensees, managers and servers about their legal responsibilities when serving alcoholic beverages. On top of that is the fee for a stall.

Sarah also points out that among the many rules about sell- ing alcoholic beverages at a farmers’ market, one of them is that the person pouring can’t be a sales representative, which means it’s likely to be the person growing or making the wine. “It’s a pretty unique opportunity to meet with the people who make the wine,” she says. Murray adds: “It’s a great opportunity to ask questions — and there are no stupid questions.”

And no, it’s not a licence to get liquored before lunch — for one thing, the samples are far too small to get much of a buzz on. “It’s so different from other tastings. People aren’t tasting 75 wines,” Sarah says. “A lot of people say, ‘It’s too early for me,’ but tasting wine is not like drinking wine, and 10 a.m. is the best time for tasting wine. It’s when the professionals do it.”

Creating a community
It’s no big secret that B.C.’s beverage alcohol business has been dealt a number of pretty harsh blows these last few years: the winter kill of 2023 and 2024, the wildfires, the growing zero-proof movement, the ongoing supply-chain issues, the crisis in the restaurant industry and now fears about tariffs and what they will do to everything from the cost of aluminum to cross-border trade.

Pouring samples at a farmers’ market is a pleasant break from all those worries.

For a consumer, it’s a chance to discover something new — say, a Forbidden Fruit pear wine at the Osoyoos Farmers Market, a Mythology Vineyards Meritage in Whistler or Creek & Gully Cider at Riley Park. Consumers can also buy direct from the producer without having to shell out for shipping or pay for an entire case.

For producers, it’s a chance to showcase their product in front of new consumers, and to sell it without the hassle of shipping or the challenges of getting it into a retail space. There is also a big educational component. The producer can share information about how the wine was produced or how to pair it with food.

The Bancrofts, for instance, are happy to talk about their process. “We don’t brand it as natural wine,” Murray says. “We make wines where the only things we’re using are grapes and really small amounts of sulfur. We’re not taking much away from the wine or adding to it. It’s the way wine has always been made through history.”

They credit that natural-ish process in part for saving their vineyard (though not their vintage) after the January 2024 cold snap. “We’re a little small farm and we’ve never used fertilizer pesticides or herbicides, and it might be a little more resilient because of that,” Murray says.

Selling at a farmers’ market is also in line with a more sustainable way of living because the winery saves on packaging and fuel miles when it doesn’t have to ship the wine to the consumer. “Carbon footprint-wise, it’s better for everybody, and cost-wise, it’s better for everybody,” Sarah says.

But what a farmers’ market is all about is community — the community of growers, makers, cooks and eaters, sharing the delicious things our province produces and knowing the money they spend supports their neighbours and strengthens our food security. One of Murray’s favourite things about selling his wine at the farmers’ market is having customers come up to him, telling him about what they’ve bought and what they plan to make with it.

“I love hearing those personal stories,” he says. “Those stories mean a lot to me, and I don’t get them unless I am at the farmers’ market.”

Besides, who better to advise you on what to serve alongside your dinner tonight than the person who made the wine?

“At farmers’ markets, you can buy beautiful eggs and beautiful seafood and beautiful vegetables,” Sarah says. “And we can give you recommendations for what you can pair with them.”

Birch Block Vineyard
birchblockvineyard.com | 604.710.5057 | @birch.block.vineyard