Starling Lane Winery and Olympic View Golf Course Pairing


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Written by James Ellsworth Monday, 20 July 2009 12:03

South Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands are a wine lover’s and year round golfer’s surprise discovery. The Victoria area in particular boasts several excellent golf courses to combine golf and wine outings any month. Starling Lane Winery and Olympic View Golf Course make a superb pairing to prove the case. 

 Lesser known than the Okanagan or Napa Valley labels, the Canadian Pacific Coast, from the Saanich Peninsula and Cowichan Valley to the several Gulf Islands, will enchant the oenophile with wine making in its traditional way:

  •  family- operated, small vineyards
  • small production for quality
  • commitment to the total process, vine to table 

Starling Lane Winery is one such unique venture on Victoria’s Saanich Peninsula. Over fifteen years ago, three couples met and decided to pool their separate holdings and discrete skills into a winery. The result has been a controlled limit of 1000 cases each year of award-winning wines. 

The Partners 

Each of the partners share general skills and contribute in specific ways as well. For instance: 

  • Jerry and Sherry Mussio: Jerry is of Italian ancestry from the Friuli area. They started experimenting with Ortega varietal for its early ripening and crisp, citrus flavours, perfect for local shellfish. Although familiar with Pinot Grigio methods, they mastered Pinot Gris, and now Maréchal Foch. Sherry is the graphics artist for the group and Jerry does most of the marketing. 
  • John and Jacqueline Wrinch: John is a radiologist by training and understands the chemical and organic underpinning of wine-making. He is also a sommelier and grows eight varietals. He and his wife organize the making, tasting and agritourism of the winery which is on their property, the 19th century farm of Judge Begbie, now called the Heritage Farm.
  • Ken and Sue Houston: they believe in healthy vines and nurture five high quality varietals on Hummingbird Vineyard. Sue doubles as the group’s bookkeeper and Ken, a former heating company owner, is the mechanical talent. They are at the forefront of the Maréchal Foch production. Starling Lane Winery’s Maréchal Foch has won the:
  • 2005, 2006 Silver Medal, Northwest Wine Summit (Oregon)
  • 2006 Silver Medal, All Canadian Wine Championships
  • 2008 Bronze Medal, Canadian Wine Awards

Services and Local Connections:  

The partners are good at sharing their passion too. For instance:

  • Jackie organizes weddings and receptions on site at the original old barn and the old four-storey water tower of Heritage Farm
  • Farm produce sales such as fruit and flowers from the old
  • Vineyard activities from harvesting to wine tasting in the cozy tasting bar
  • The Fairmont Empress Hotel tea room features each Sunday at the Centennial Tea the winery’s Port Victoria Wild Blackberry port, winner of the Gold Medal, 2006 All Canadian Wine Championships 

  Starling Lane Winery wines are available at over 23 restaurants and at over 12 outlets on the island and mainland, or contact Jerry Mussio, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   for Ontario deliveries. 

Other Awards:

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The partners have experimented and honed their skills and have the awards to measure their success, even with the “heartbreak grape” Pinot Noir. Jerry Mussio said that there are 19 vineyards who have won awards for the difficult Pinot Noir in Canada. Three of them are on Vancouver Island and Starling Lane is among the award winners:

  • the 2005 gold medal and 2006 bronze at the Northwest Wine Summit for their Pinot Noir
  • the 2007 silver medal for their Pinot Blanc
  • the 2005 silver at Oregon’s Northwest Wine Summit for their Ortega
Olympic View Golf Course has awards to match Starling Lane. With sightlines of snow-capped mountains, two waterfalls, and gardens for any season, Olympic View has been rated the #20 Best Golf Experience in Canada and USA West by Fairways and Greens Magazine 2006 and is similar to Taboo with rock outcrops. Also, the golf course has its own boasts to make:
  • in 1994 Tiger Woods won an amateur championship here
  • in 2005 Pacific Golf magazine voted it the #1 Practice Facility
  • in 2002, 2006 and 2007, its BC Golf Academy had the  BC Teacher of the Year, John and Lori Randle
  • in 2009, Golf Digest gave it a 4-star rating

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Jamie Heffernan on # 9

 Olympic View is described as a target-oriented and course management style of course with four tee boxes and is maintained impeccably. It is Bill Robinson-designed with a 123 slope rating. In fact it is part of the Sea to Sky Invitational, a package deal featuring four Pacific courses, three of which are on Vancouver Island, the top North American island destination according to Condé Nast in 2008.  Furthermore, Olympic View has an event planner who can coordinate any kind of package of  “play and stay” with several quality hotels, such as the Fairmont Empress, Royal Scott and Grand Pacific, the winner of the Condé Nast 2008 best Canadian Hotel Award.

Whether it be individual or group arrangements, Olympic View can provide a tailor-made outing replete from warm-up with a pro to a variety of tournament formats to special meals paired with Starling Lane wines. Either choosing to hang out at the old “Hanging” Judge Begbie farm after a round of golf at the picturesque Olympic View course, or incorporate an annual general meeting at Heritage Farm, club members would pique their taste on many levels. 

By James Ellsworth, Victoria free lancer who has his Level 1 Sommelier (WSET) and golfs wherever and whenever he can.