Spirit Tree Estate Cidery

Another great find in the Caledon area, about a 5 minute drive from the Badlands, is Spirit Tree Cider. As with most finds, we tripped over this place on a Sunday afternoon drive and it has become one of our favourite wandering destinations.

Spirit Tree provides a little something for everyone – there is a bistro, bakery and kitchen, shop and cider tours and tastings. We found it within months of its opening in late 2009 but what becomes obvious once you read their history is that a lot of work went into their becoming an overnight success.

Cider

Spirit Tree offers both hard (alcoholic) and sweet (non-alcoholic) cider. The owners, Thomas Wilson and Nicole Judge, began their cider education in Somerset, England with Peter Mitchell, a world-renowned cider expert and rounded it out by taking another course with him at Cornel University.

They regularly offer two different types of sweet cider: fresh pressed and sparkling sweet apple cider and there are five types of hard ciders: Draught Cider, Apelager Cider, Pear Cider, Estate Reserve Cider and Ice Cider

Bistro

The food is unexpectedly good for a location so off the beaten path but that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise once you know their story.

After owning and operating a successful farm market and pick-your-own operation, Thomas and Nicole wanted to add a bakery to their market. To learn about baking they took an introductory baking course at George Brown College. They then attend Le Cordon Bleu Chef School (Ottawa) for a one-week pastry course and finished that off with a one-week intensive Boulangerie or bread making course at Le Cordon Bleu Chef School in Paris.

I highly recommend trying everything on the menu – this might require a number of trips or bring a large number of friends and share.

Location

1137 Boston Mills Road
Caledon, Ontario, Canada
L7C 0N1

 

 

 

Hours of Operation
Wednesday 10 am – 5 pm
Thursday 10 am – 5 pm
Friday 10 am – 8 pm
Saturday 9 am – 6 pm
Sunday 10 am – 5 pm

Closed Monday and Tuesday