Item: Chapter Estates Winery: High VIN Sunday brunch
Rating: 10
Author: Hey Langley

Where: 1212 216 Street, South Langley · 604-265-6869
Brunch: High VIN, Sundays 10:30 am – 3 pm. $39, or $55 with a mimosa and a five-wine flight. Book through their High VIN page.
Fieldnotes bistro: Wed–Thu 11:30 am – 3 pm; Fri–Sat 11:30 am – 11 pm; Sun 10:30 am – 10 pm
Re-Tale shop & picnic area: Wed–Thu 11:30 am – 6 pm; Fri–Sun 11:30 am – dusk. Closed Monday and Tuesday.

This one comes from the brunch crowd on our side. One of us went to High VIN with a table of girlfriends on a Sunday in November, came home, gave it a 10 and said we all need to go back. That’s about as clear a verdict as we get.

The High VIN brunch table at Chapter Estates: boards of salami, ham and dried sausage, bowls of olives, roasted red peppers and gherkins, a cheese board, smoked salmon and small pumpkins down a long linen-covered table — The savoury end of the table. Photo: Hey Langley

What’s on the table

High VIN is a buffet, and it’s a proper spread, not a few chafing dishes. One long table runs the length of the bistro, dressed in linen with pumpkins and fall leaves. The savoury end has boards of salami, ham and dried sausage, bowls of olives, roasted red peppers and gherkins, a cheese board and a stand of smoked salmon. There are crudités with dips, yogurt with toppings, bagels, fresh fruit and a little pot of melted chocolate. Hot dishes sit along the bar.

Part of the High VIN buffet: a basket of croissants and danishes, a platter of cucumber, pepper and carrot sticks with dips, bowls of yogurt toppings and a pumpkin on a linen-covered table — Pastries, crudités and the yogurt station. Photo: Hey Langley

Then comes the sweet end. There are croissants and danishes in a big woven basket, scones, cookies, meringue-topped tarts, little cups of panna cotta and chocolate mousse, brownies, layered bars and a pumpkin pie. Everything is labelled with handwritten place cards.

Scones, a tray of cookies and a tiered stand of meringue-topped tarts on the High VIN dessert table at Chapter Estates — Scones, cookies and the tart stand. Photo: Hey Langley

The room and the service

The bistro is bright and calm: white walls, a big stone feature wall behind a long marble-topped bar, iron chandeliers, concrete floors and white-clothed tables. It feels like a special-occasion room without being stuffy. Service was a highlight of the day.

The dessert end of the High VIN brunch: tiered stands of tarts, cups of panna cotta and chocolate mousse, brownies and bars, cookies and a pumpkin pie — The dessert end. Photo: Hey Langley

What it costs

Brunch is $39, or $55 with a mimosa and a five-wine flight. Our reviewer had the $55 version. With GST and BC liquor tax added, that came to $63.25 a person before the tip. For the setting and that much food, our reviewer called it exceptional value, and we agree.

Not just Sundays

Chapter Estates is one of the newest wineries in Langley, and the Fieldnotes bistro stays open late on weekends: until 11 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 10 pm on Sundays. They also run a supper club. That’s next on our list. There’s more on the winery, the Re-Tale shop and their events on our Shop Local profile, and the rest of the local wineries are in our Langley wineries guide.

Go if you’re planning a brunch with friends, a birthday or a Sunday that deserves a bit of a fuss. Skip if you want a quick bacon-and-eggs breakfast; this one is meant to be lingered over.