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Apple picking starts soon!
Leave a CommentGetting hungry for apples? We hope so!
When are we going to open? That’s the #1 question of the 2018 growing season. The good news is that we have a great crop! And yes, that includes the ever popular Honey Crisp. It’s their “on” year, unlike last year.
We finally got the moisture that we needed. The apples are beginning to size. However, the not so good news is that the maturity/taste just isn’t there yet, thanks to the extreme summer weather. We thought the opposite – that the heat would have advanced maturity. Not so!
We’re evaluating day by day & will post on our web site under Types of Apples & Availability section once we are sure. Well… almost sure. Mother Nature always has the last word.
Vince and Johnny
Upcoming Event:
Come savour the sights, sounds and smells of the apple season!
We invite you to take our Fall Apple Harvest Driving Tour, September 29th & 30th from 10 – 4. Eight great locations to visit along A Country Path.
At Archibald’s, you can pick your favourite apples, taste wines & ciders made right here, let the kids enjoy our “Wine Tank Play Area” & don’t forget about our fries & caramel dumplings. Just up the road is the Tyrone Mill where you can learn how this 172 year old mill operates.
Next stop – Model A Acres – has amazing full size historical replicas including the DeHavilland Mosquito. Check brochure for tour times and cost. Then make your way up to Enniskillen to visit Crystal at Timeless Essentials. She will be talking about fall herb harvesting, essential oils and putting your garden to bed.
Drop into Rosemary Jenkins Pottery to see beautifully crafted nature inspired pottery, as well as handcrafted wood products. Want to learn more about bees? You won’t want to miss a visit with Beekeeper Martin and Queen Bee Petra at 3Beez.buzz.
And who can think about fall without thinking about pumpkins. It’s opening weekend at Knox’s Pumpkin Farm – the perfect place to pick that perfect pumpkin. Last but not least… drop into Geissberger Farmhouse Cider for a taste of the fall harvest – sweet apple ciders and non-alcoholic ciders.
Here’s more information on the sites, as well as a map to get you on this Fun Fall Road Trip! 2018 Fall Apple Harvest Brochure
Step Inside Tour
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We invite you to come Step Inside! This is a one of a kind tour where farmers, beekeepers, millers & wine makers will show you the behind the scenes operations. Ever wonder how a heritage mill works? Want to see how farmers rotate cattle in the fields? Are bees really dying? Want to see how cider used to be made & how it’s made with a mobile unit? Interested in making your own apple wine or cider? Bring your curiosity & follow the path to Step Inside! We’re proud to show you how it works. Every stop has a unique story to tell. And each is hosted by passionate, committed people. Learn something new about something old! This is a special day to see the inner workings… ask questions… learn.
- Cider Presses – old & new
- 1846 Mill, still in operation
- “Live” rotational pasture
- Beekeepers share their story
- Learn how to grow apples & make wine
When is this happening?
Saturday & Sunday, June 9th & 10th from 10 – 4.
Check out the site locations, activities & times: Step Inside Brochure here.
Participating Sites include:
Geissberger Farmhouse Cider
Gallery on the Farm
3Beez.buzz
Tyrone Mills
Archibald Orchards & Estate Winery
Bottling Ciders
Leave a CommentWe’ve been crazy busy trying to get our Ciders back on the shelf. As many of you know, our Ciders are carbonated (bubbly) as opposed to the Wines which are still. There’s a two step process for getting bubbles into the cider. First, the cider is filtered into a special tank that we affectionately call Bubbles. This tank is then “charged” for approximately 24 hours with CO2. Next, the cider is fed into the actual bottling line that runs CO2 through it as well. It’s a very canktankerous machine with several gauges that need to be monitored very closely at start, as well as all through the bottling. Once the balance with all of the guages has been reached, the bottles can be capped – one by one. For a sneak peak of Fred in action, check out this video!
We’re happy to report that Hard Core & Hard Cherry are back. AND we’re very excited that our newest cider – Hard Ginger – will be available very soon. Stay tuned!
Winter Pruning
Leave a CommentIt’s March & it’s time to prune the trees! The goal is to basically give your tree a “Christmas Tree” shape. That way the upper limbs will be shorter than the lower limbs & not block the necessary sunlight. Here’s a “felfie” – farmer taking a selfie – video with some tips from Fred.
Stay Calm & Capture Special Moments!
Leave a CommentWhat’s happening at Archibald’s? Santa’s elves have been busy building baskets. We’ve still got a great selection for every taste & every budget.
The elves have also been busy stocking the shelves with Holiday Wines & Ciders. Our Hard Cider is the #1 choice to serve with appetizers. What goes well with turkey? We’ve called our Apple Black Currant Wine “the turkey wine” for many years now. Black, a drier “red type” is also good, as well as our Ida Red Oak Aged for people who prefer a white. And for dessert, Spiced Winter Apple wins hands down. Some people call it Christmas in a bottle.
We’re open Friday & Saturday from 10 – 5 & Christmas Eve from 10 – 4 for you last minute shoppers. We re-open December 27 – 30 from 10 – 5. Then we take a “long winters nap”, closing January & February.
From the folks at Archibald’s, we want to wish you a Merry Christmas… Happy Holidays & all the best for 2018!
Christmas in Clarington Country
Leave a CommentNow that the apple harvest is over, we are thinking about the upcoming Holidays. Getting together with family & friends… food & wine… gift giving… It’s the most wonderful time of the year – other than apple season, of course.
Time to get into the Holiday Spirit!
We invite you to come visit 6 locations hosting Christmas in Clarington Country, a self-guided tour November 24 – 26 from 10 – 4. Each location is offering something special just for this weekend. At Archibald’s, you can visit with local artists displaying & selling their art work.
Susan Boles
Susan is a mixed media artist. She works with acrylics and water colour, mixed with ephemera and collage. Here’s just one example of her art.
Bear Hugs
Joanne & Sharon will be here with their adorable collectible stuffed friends. They also make Memory Bears & baby blankets from your family heirloom fur coats. If you have a bear or other stuffy that needs mending, they can help! They are also making beautiful silk scarves. Just take a look at these two cuties!
Visual Yum
Ann is all about rustic & recycling. She crafts a variety of custom rustic signs and decor items on naturally aged up cycled wood:
- Front porch welcome signs
- Interior decoration “Home Sweet Home”
- Smaller wall pieces
- Whimsical one-of-kinds
AND she takes custom orders too. Something to think about for that special person on your Shopping List!
Janice Phillips
Janice is Seamstress Extraordinaire! Come see her quilted placemats, microwave bowls, potato bags, makeup bags, table toppers tea cozies, covered journals etc.. Also Psycho B*tch mugs & covered light plate switches. Last but not least, Janice makes lovely bags/purses. I love mine! Quality functional gifts for that special someone – including yourself!
Food & Wine Tasting
We’ll be doing some food & wine matching for this tour. It just may give you some ideas for entertaining during the Holiday Season. Not sure which wine goes with what? “There’s always a wine for that”! We are happy to make suggestions. We would also love to help get your Gift giving all wrapped up too. Come see our Holiday Basket display. Something for every taste & budget. Don’t see what you’re looking for? We will custom design just for you.
Come join us & get into the Holiday Spirit! For more details on Christmas in Clarington Country, here’s the Christmas in Clarington Brochure
Last Day for Apple Picking – October 6th
Leave a CommentIt’s hard to believe that the 2017 apple harvest has come to an end. It was a great crop over-all. The Honey Crisp – being bi-annual – were down this year which means there will be lots next year.
The weather for picking was amazing! Only 1 partly rainy day the whole season. That’s unheard of. And so many new customers. If it’s “word of mouth” – thank you to everyone for sharing.
We will continue to be open until New Year’s Eve with wine, cider, gift baskets, gourmet foods, cheese… So, keep us in mind for your entertaining & gift giving needs.
Please note that our hours will be changing. As of Tuesday, October 10th we will be open daily from 10 – 5.
Last but not least… thanks for all your support & Happy Thanksgiving!
Apple Picking is right around the corner!
Leave a CommentGetting hungry for apples? We hope so!
It’s soon time to come apple picking. We’re not usually open Labour Day Weekend. However, this year a few of the varieties are ready. So, we’ve decided to be open on Saturday, September 2nd & Sunday, September 3rd from 9 to 5:30 in the orchard. What will be available for picking? Silkens – firm, crisp and juicy – and Galas – another amazing variety.
Please note that we will not be open the Holiday Monday for picking apples. However, we will re-open on Saturday, September 9th. This marks the official beginning of the 2017 harvest at Archibald’s. We will be posting a complete list of varieties and availability shortly. With 11 different varieties to choose from, we’re sure to have your favourite. What a wonderful way to celebrate the fall and “harvest memories” with family & friends.
Come savour the sights, sounds and smells of the apple season!
We invite you to come out for the Fall Apple Harvest Driving Tour, September 23rd & 24th from 10 – 4. 6 great locations to visit along A Country Path. At Archibald’s, you can pick, watch a cider demonstration, taste wines & ciders made right here & don’t forget to try our caramel dumplings. Try a fresh made cider donut at Tyrone Mills. Sample apple preserves at Timeless Essentials. Drop into Rosemary Jenkins pottery to see beautifully crafted nature inspired pottery. See what the buzz is all about at 3Beez.buzz. And drop into Geissberger Farmhouse Cider to sample sweet ciders & their newest product – Fire Cider. This is going to be an amazing road trip!
Fall Apple Harvest Driving Tour
Savouring an apple
What’s happening with all this rain?
Leave a CommentIt’s been “the summer of the rain”! The 1200 new trees that we planted are happy. And the trees that struggled through last year’s drought are too. However, we need some heat units – some sunshine – to ripen up the apples. Here’s the latest “Fred Report” on things in the orchard.
20th Anniversary for Archibald’s Winery
Leave a CommentCome help us celebrate our 20th Anniversary with the Winery on June 25th from 1 – 3!
Fred and Sandy invite you!
In the beginning…
50 years ago, the Archibald family purchased this property, ideal for growing apples. The initial plan was to just sell wholesale. The tree type of the time was semi-dwarf & number of varieties was around 8. However, in 1983 a hail storm with a silver lining helped us decide to try “Pick Your Own” apples. We loved it! The opportunity to meet the people eating the fruit that we grew was so rewarding. Pick Your Own was here to stay.
Orchard management – growing, picking & selling the apples kept us busy for quite a few years. However, a hobby of Fred’s – making apple wine – was to become an important part of Archibald Orchards. It took about 12 years of experimenting with “outside the bottle” apple wines before we decided to take the plunge & open our winery. The initial wine list was quite short with only 8 wines. A few of them are still on the list. Spiced Winter Apple – our “apple pie in a glass” – has won many awards. Also, Ida Red Oak Aged (Sandy’s long-time favourite) & McIntosh have been around since the very beginning. The present day wine list boasts around 15 different wines & we also have 5 ciders. There’s something for everyone. As we always say – wine is all about time, place, mood & food!
20 years later, we are still standing & passionate about all that we do here. It’s time to celebrate this milestone with family, friends, customers… people that we’ve met along the way. Please join us on Sunday, June 25th from 1 – 3, for food & wine. Cale Crowe will be here to provide us with some great music. What an amazing local musician!
Come help us celebrate! Format is “drop in & casual”. Rsvp’s are appreciated. Email: archibalds@idirect.com
20th Anniversary Invite