Find Your Spirits Here
NEW WINTER HOURS: 7 days, 12 - 6pm, incl Public Holidays Private Events by arrangement.
~ Turning the Best Local Fruit into the Best Spirits ~
Creston, BC is on the valley floor nestled between the Selkirk and Purcell Mountain ranges, near the wetlands and migration home to more than 260 species of birds and just over the border from Bonners Ferry, Idaho.
The Creston Valley is a fruit growing area with strong agriculture and forestry industries and year round stunning scenery to Relax, Explore and Play In.
We started out as Wynndel Craft Distilleries opening in Wynndel, BC in 2017. We sold our products at Farmers Markets throughout the East and West Kootenays.
2020 was the first time we entered the Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition (CASC) where we scheived 6 awards, Gold, 2 x Silver and 3 x Bronze. 2021 we re-entered the Apple Brandy and 3 others, winning Gold and Best in Class with the Apple Brandy and Bronze with the others. Since then, across several categories, we have achieved 2 more Best in Class, 5 more Gold, 6 more Silver and 5 Bronze.
By 2023 we had outgrown the original distillery location out near Duck Lake so the Sunset Seed Building in nearby Creston was purchased.
In 2024 we moved everything into the Distillery's new home.
We kept the exterior almost as it was (think Speak Easy disguise) but converted the interior to house our Taste Room, Distillery, Warehouse and barrel storage in the one building.
Having part of our name Wynndel in Creston was deemed too confusing so we had to rename the Distillery which we did to Sternwheeler Craft Distillery after the Sternwheelers without which settling this area would have been almost impossible.
We opened our Lounge Bar in February 2025, and stocked it 100% with local products - beers, wines, cider and our Spirits. The Creston Valley houses a brewery, micro-brewery, 2 Cideries, 5 (or more) Wineries and one distillery - us.
We still have the original 16 acres in Saskatoons and a few other Berries and late June into July, still operate our U-Pick - Duck Lake Saskatoon Berry Farm U-Pick.
We don't use grains or nuts and only use natural colours and flavours in our Spirits which we hand craft in small batches for your enjoyment using fresh fruit only grown either by us or by local orchards (Creston Valley).
~ OPEN 7 DAYS - 12pm - 6pm ~
where to FIND our products
Our products are at select Farmers Markets in BC, our Distillery in Creston, BC and via this site.
Spring to Fall we are at Creston, Cranbrook, Fernie, Grand Forks and Nelson Farmers Markets.
Winter we are at Creston's Indoor Farmers Market on Saturdays until end of December and also at the Cranbrook, Creston, Trail and Wynndel Christmas Markets.
In an exciting move for the Spirit industry and Craft Disitlleries, 9 Provinces and one Territory have signed a Free trade agreement for Direct to Consumer Alcohol Sales.
They all have until May 2026 to finalize and implement their rules/guidelines. As some Provinces have different legal drinking ages and others have different regulation systems in place, some Provinces have more to work through than others.
May 2026 is the deadline, for those who signed and are changing rules etc to better support On-line Direct to Consumer sales to work out and advise whether they will implement any changes in bulk or piecemeal.
What this means for you, our customers:
- If you live in BC, Manitoba, Nova Scotia or Saskatchewan, nothing changes, you order, we ship. The infrastructure is already in place and working well.
- Newfoundland and Labrador plus the Territory of Yukon have opted out of the agreement. This does not mean they aren't looking at it or won't align themselves with everyone else at some stage, it just means for now, no changes to existing systems in place have been indicated. If you live in one of these areas and wish to order, please e-mail us first and we will advise what the current situation is for you.
- Everywhere else, including Ontario and Quebec, will be advising us of changes as they roll them out or with an as of this date advisory. If you live in one of these "everywhere else" areas, please email us prior to ordering and we will be able to advise you of the current situation and also, if we have been advised of any more favorable conditions, the date of these.
This is fantastic news for the industry as a whole and will open up so many more opportunities for producers and consumers alike. Whilst we will be looking to keep this page up to date as we roll towards the May deadline, we are asking you to email us before you order incase we have an update or process change that has not made it to this page yet. We anticipate that there will be periods of phasing in and out as changes are rolled in which also complicates keeping a page up to date!
If you have any questions, please email us at: sternwheeler01@gmail with Shipping somehwere in your subject line.
fresh ingredients, Natural Flavours
OUR COLLECTIONS: NO GRAINS, ARTIFICIAL COLOUR or FLAVOURS
OUR Brandy, Gin, Liqueur AND MOONSHINE AWARD Winning Spirits at THE
annual CANADIAN Artisan SPIRIT COMPETITION
With over 600 Craft Distilleries in Canada, the Annual Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition is fiercely competitive.
Held in Vancouver, we first entered in 2020 and medaled with a Gold Brandy, Gold and Silver Gin and 2 Bronze Liqueurs.
We have entered every year since and achieved medals for our Brandies and Gins as well as medaling Silver and Best in Class with our Copperhead Shine in 2023.
The knowledge and experience gained from entering the awards is invaluable as Distillers, the medals reinforce that we are on the right track product wise.
