For many Whistler-area visitors, the best way to wind up a day outdoors is to enjoy a glass (or two) of wine.

Before we get to places to sip terrific wine in and around Whistler Village, we recommend a day trip two hours north along spectacular Duffey Lake Road to Lillooet, the home of Fort Berens Estate Winery.

Situated at the southern end of the Cariboo Chilcotin region, Lillooet has a long, hot, dry summers, like the Okanagan, while cooler nights mean overall summer temperatures are lower. Riesling, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris all grow here.

A team of eight owns Fort Berens, Lillooet’s first winery, which launched in 2009 and has gone on to win scores of awards, including gold for its 2018 Chardonnay at last year’s San Francisco International Wine Competition. The winery prides itself on making on clean, fresh, terroir-driven wines that combine Old World elegance with New World fruit-forwardness.

New releases include the Rosé 2019, a 100-percent estate-grown Pinot Noir Rosé with notes of strawberry and crab apple, and Pinot Noir 2018, a sophisticated vintage aged in French oak barrels with hints of berries and pepper.

If not at the winery itself, you can find Fort Berens wines at various liquor stores, grocery stores, and restaurants throughout B.C.

While dining out in Whistler, order them at Araxi, Bar Oso, Il Caminetto, Sushi Village Japanese Restaurant, and Legs Diamond, to name just a few spots that carry them.

To discover other wines you never knew you loved, head to Bearfoot Bistro, which has B.C.’s biggest restaurant wine cellar, with more than 10,000 bottles. Among the 1,500 different labels the acclaimed restaurant offers are Dom Pérignon (eight vintages), Penfolds Grange, Château de Beaucastel, E. Guigal’s La, La, La (14 vintages), and Screaming Eagle. B.C., Bordeaux, Burgundy, Tuscany, Piedmont, Napa Valley, and Spain are regions of the lengthy list’s focus. Happy hour runs Wednesday to Sunday from 5 to 7 p.m. with glasses of red, white, or rosé for $9, and, with summer here, the Champagne Lounge is set up out on the swanky patio.

SIDECUT Modern Steak & Bar at Four Seasons Resort and Residences Whistler is taking to its pretty courtyard patio all summer, while the interior undergoes major renovations for a December 2020 launch. While listening to live music surrounded by greenery, pore over its extensive and sophisticated wine list. It breaks down every type of wine into Old World and New World options, from Allegrini Corte Giara IGT delle Venezie 2017 Pinot Gris to Bonterra Bartolucci Vineyard Muscat (Lake Country) 2009. Then there are “other interesting” bottles, like Spain’s Bodegas Portia Ebeia Ribera Del Duero 2016 and Pentâge Winery’s Roussane/Marsanne/Viognier 2012 from Penticton.

Basalt Wine & Salumeria is another Whistler destination where you can indulge in tantalizing wines. B.C. labels have a leading role on the thoughtfully curated wine list, with selections ranging from Okanagan Falls’ Synchromesh Four Shadows Riesling 2017 and Liquidity Viognier 2018 to the Okanagan Valley’s Volcanic Hills Gamay Noir 2018 and Oliver’s Culmina Hypothesis 2013. Old World, New World, sparkling, rosé, dessert, and fortified wines are all on offer in this popular resto that specializes in cheese and charcuterie boards with exquisite ingredients like caramelized onion labneh and elk Goldberg salami.