Corporate Holiday Party Ideas Across Canada: How to Choose Between a Wine Tour, a Beer Tour and a Virtual Tasting

October 20, 2026

Every December, someone in your office gets handed the job of planning the holiday party. The usual options are a restaurant buyout that costs too much, a conference room with a tray of cheese, or a pub where half the team stays for one drink and leaves.

There is a better format, and it works whether your team sits in one building or in six provinces. Put the group on a bus with a guide, or put everyone on a video call with the same tasting box in front of them. Either way, you give people something to do together other than stand around holding a drink.

This guide walks through how to pick the right format, what it looks like in different cities, and what to sort out before you book.

Start With Your Team, Not the Venue

Before you compare tours, answer three questions. How many people are coming, where are they based, and how much of the evening do you want to organize yourself?

A team of 12 in one city and a team of 60 spread across the country need completely different plans. The first can book a private tour with a single pickup point. The second probably needs a virtual event, or a mix of both. Get the headcount and locations written down first, because every other decision follows from them.

Option One: A Private Beer Tour

For an office that likes a casual night out, a brewery tour is the easiest sell. You get one vehicle, one driver, one guide and a planned route, so nobody has to figure out who is driving home.

Our three-brewery tours run in Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary and Edmonton, with public tour pricing in the range of $110 to $115 per person. Private tours give your group the whole vehicle with custom pickup and drop-off. Minimums vary by city: 8 passengers on weekdays in Victoria and Calgary, 10 on weekends, and 10 seats in Edmonton.

Vancouver

The Vancouver Brewery Tour visits three breweries with guided tasting flights and a look at how each one operates. Private groups can choose from East Vancouver, North Vancouver or the Langley Ale Trail, with pickup anywhere in Metro Vancouver. You can see the Vancouver Brewery Tour here.

Calgary and Edmonton

Both Alberta tours run about three to three and a half hours and visit three breweries. In Calgary, private groups get the whole van and can arrange pickup almost anywhere in the city. Edmonton works the same way, with flights at all three stops and reserved taproom seating.

Victoria

The Victoria tour uses a 14-passenger minibus and includes a behind-the-scenes visit at a local brewery, usually Category 12 or Twa Dogs. It is a good fit for a smaller team that wants a quieter evening.

Option Two: A Private Wine Tour

If your group leans toward wine, or you want a daytime event that feels a little more relaxed, a winery tour is the better pick. It also works well as a client thank-you rather than a team party.

From Toronto, the Niagara Wine Tour is an eight-hour day with three wineries in the Niagara-on-the-Lake area, a fourth available for an extra fee, charcuterie at one stop and at least one ice wine sample. Private groups of 8 or more get a private pickup in most of the GTA, with Mississauga and Hamilton pickups also offered. 

In the Okanagan, the Kelowna Wine Tour visits three to five wineries, with Summerhill Pyramid and Tantalus Vineyards among the featured stops. Private tours are for groups of 8 or more, with custom pickup in Kelowna or Lake Country and group rates available on request.

Option Three: A Virtual Tasting for Teams in Different Places

A tour only works if everyone can get to the same city. For remote and hybrid teams, a virtual tasting is the practical answer, and it is better than most people expect.

Each person gets a tasting box delivered to their home. A host leads the group live over Zoom or your own meeting platform, and the session covers guided tastings, trivia and a virtual look inside a brewery or winery. Larger groups are split into breakout rooms so people can actually talk. 

Basket delivery is available from Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Toronto and St. John's, and other cities can be arranged by contacting the team. That covers a lot of the country, though a team member outside those cities needs a quick call first. You can browse all of the virtual options here.

What About a Team That Is Part Local, Part Remote?

This is the hardest case, and it is common. One option is to pick the format that includes everyone, which usually means virtual. Another is to run an in-person tour for the people in your main office and send a tasting box to everyone else. If you want to try that, ask our group team early whether the two can be scheduled around the same evening.

Plan the Logistics Early

A few details are worth sorting out before you send the invite.

• Book well in advance. Group tours are booked ahead, and you work with a group specialist to set the date, pickup and route.
• Know the deposit terms. A 25% deposit is due at booking. It is non-refundable but transferable, so it can go toward another tour if your date changes.
• Check food. Food options on tours vary by day and start time, and extra food is available at additional cost.
• Mention non-drinkers when you book, so your group specialist can plan around them.
• Choose your pickup. Private tours offer custom pickup and drop-off, so you can start at the office instead of a meeting point.

Book Your Team's Holiday Party

Whether you want a private bus tour in Vancouver, a wine day out of Toronto or a virtual tasting for a team in five time zones, we can build it around your group. Start with our private and special events page or email info@canadiancrafttours.ca to talk to a group specialist.

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