OOMPHLOVE: Applewood Farm & Winery

10/8/13

last weekend my husband and i, along with his sister, her husband and their kids, loaded up and headed out for a day of apple picking at the Applewood Farm & Winery in Stouville, Ontario. It was the perfect fall day. bright sun. light breeze. pumpkin patches. fresh apples galore. i must admit that as much as I see the different varieties of apples in the grocery store I haven't really stopped to compare how and what makes them different. To me an apple was an apple unless it was a grannysmith (then it was special). the same goes for cooking with apples, i just figured any apple(s) were good enough. clearly i was still an apple newbie. after spending the day on the apple farm i learned so much. we taste tested every variety they had and learned even visually what made them different. we finally picked two giant bags of, Cortlands, great for apple pies with a tart taste; Honeycrisp, large size with a sweet and sour blend great for eating and for apple sauce making; and Empire, a small deep red apple with moderate flavour perfect for snacking on.

after picking our two huge bags of apples, my husband headed back for a free pumpkin and I headed off to the wine shack. in the main barn at the Applewood Farm there is a large tasting bar where you can sample many of the award winning fruit wines. the best by far in my books was the 2010 Trio and the Iced Cider. After this year I know i'll be coming back for years to come. it's great, even for a little bit, to feel like you are out of the city and into the wild. now for my list of ideas on what i'll be making with all my apples ...