Westham Island Estate Winery came to fruition in the Spring of 2003 when Lorraine and Tamara Bissett opened the doors to the winery, and to a lifetime family dream.

Andy Bissett worked as a farmer all of his life, as a young man he helped his mother manage the family blueberry farm in Richmond. After the family sold the farm, Andy purchased his own farm on Westham Island bringing the immense knowledge he had acquired over the years to grow a variety of berry types. His success in the business led to his nickname as the “Berry King”.

Based on the experiments of John Harper in Cloverdale and the results from the Agriculture Research Station in Saanichton on Vancouver Island, the Berry King knew he could produce fruit that would make high quality wines. Five years before Andy’s sudden death, Andy started collecting equipment for the farm-based winery to make use of leftover berries each season.

Andy's dream to establish a winery at his Westham Island farm was a dream he almost achieved. Sadly, Andy passed away suddenly just before receiving the final government approval for the winery. His wife Lorraine and daughter Tammy amazingly opened the winery in early 2003. Ron Taylor joined the winery as winemaker. The first batch of wine began fermenting in September 2002 resulting in 10,000 bottles.

Andy would certainly be full of pride knowing that the first vintage was entered into the Northwest Wines Summit in Oregon State and awarded three medals, and that the wines continue to increase in quality. The winery continues to expand its variety of wines and is known for the superior vintages it produces.