Bog to Bottle

Today’s post could also be titled “Vineyard to Vino” as I encourage you to get outside and try a wine tour!

Where I live, there aren’t any vineyards but there is a cranberry bog (hence the “Bog to Bottle”) in Bala Ontario, which is about 45 minutes north of me. Bala is considered the Cranberry Capital of Ontario because the largest cranberry farms in the province are located here. Every year, on the weekend after Thanksgiving Bala hosts the Cranberry Festival. I checked out a bit of the festival today but was more into the wine tasting tour.

Johnston’s Cranberry Marsh is one of the farms located in Bala and along with cranberries it is also host to the Muskoka Lakes Winery. This winery is particularly special because there are no grapes in any of the wines they produce, instead they use fruits that thrive in the soils and climate unique to Muskoka, this includes cranberries, blueberries and apples all taken from local farms.

Everyday at 1 pm Johnston’s Cranberry Marsh has a bog to bottle tour that takes you out through the cranberry bog and then for a wine tasting, this is all done outdoors and they host this everyday for 360 days a year. The tour plus tasting is only $10! This weekend, because the cranberry festival was on there were more tours and more tastings available. I chose to do the wine tasting for $5 and then walked the bog.

At the wine tasting you are served nine different wines that scale from dry to dessert. I’m usually never a fan of dessert wines but they have a good one. Their Red Maple Dessert Wine is made with just cranberry and maple syrup and while its a little sweet to sip, I imagine it tastes best served over a bowl of ice creme. I picked up a bottle of their Cranberry Wine and Georgian Bay Rose after the tasting.

Here are some interesting facts I learned about cranberries while doing the tasting:

• To harvest cranberries farmers flood the bog with water so that the bitter berry rises to the top for picking
• White cranberries are just berries that grow under the leaves of the vine. Since they don’t get much exposure to the cold air they stay white
• Cranberries turn red because of the cold temperatures they are exposed to overnight
• If you put a bag of white cranberries in your freezer they will turn red!

 

(This is an unharvested bog and a harvested)

After the wine tasting I went for a little walking tour around the bog, and snacked on back bacon on a bun with cranberry chutney and some candied cranberries.

It was certainly a bit colder out today but grabbing a cranberry/apple cider and walking around the bog was a lot of fun, and wine tasting, well that’s right up my ally anyway. The taste and tour would be perfect for an outdoor date but the marsh is also a neat place to take kids.

If there is a winery in you area that takes you on a tour and taste I encourage it as a fun way to Get Outside!

Check out Johnston’s Cranberry Marsh and the Muskoka Winery website, conveniently at: http://cranberry.ca/