Amy and Rick from Barr Estate winery do a fantastic tour! 2…read moreacres of raspberry's- 3 weeks of raspberry picking- can you imagine?! They need 2400 lbs for their wine. And the rhubarb and raspberries are hand picked. The Cherry's are harvested with a harvester and it sounds like quite an interesting piece of equipment. They are considered a cottage winery so they can only make wine out of what they can grow. Go local! They only use the juice from their fruits and never the pulp of the fruit so they use a fruit press. Takes 4 weeks to get everything pressed. And the pulp- well it all goes to the sheep. And the sheep do their thing. The compost goes back out in the fields this completing the circle of life. Rhubarb and raspberry only have enough sugar to get the wine to about 4% so they add more sugar to get the wine up to 12%. They do a cool fermentation that takes 42 days. Takes longer for the yeast to eat all the sugar and at the end there is no sugar left. So they sweeten the wine back up. They filter their wine 4 times and they also filter with a high quality filter at the very end that filter sterilizes their wine. Since they do that they don't have to add sulphites to their wine. So cool! No herbicides or pesticides out in the field and they don't want to use harsh chemicals in the wine process. Their goal is 12000 bottles of wine a year, 3000 of each of the three flavours. But they have a Cherry Port coming soon and we can't wait to try it! Check out their discounted tour deal on Groupon too!

We had a great experience here. I purchased a winery tour from Groupon, they do tours even through…read morethe winter. Winter tours involve a complete explanation of the wine making process from picking the fruit to bottling the wine. Each step and the tools involved are explained along the way. There is a very organic flow of how the presentation comes together, like you're being sped through the entire process, which normally takes months. The winter tour goes into depth over the science behind how the wine comes together, the choices they made as a "cottage winery" and how they came to produce such a nice product. They will only produce 4 wines in as many bottles as the harvested fruit will make, they have to use whatever they can grow on their land and they keep all of their ingredients and processes as simple as possible to retain the flavor of the fruit in their wines. Seems simple but it's very cleverly thought out in its own complicated way. If any part of their process changed they wouldn't be able to make the wines they make, it's that simple. "The Barb" is a rhubarb red wine. Very light in body and flavorful. The colour resembles a rosé, it has a light finish with the slight bitterness of rhubarb on the tongue. That was our first sample. "The Ruby" is a rhubarb strawberry red that feels very substantial. Strawberry smells fill the room when you're holding a glass and there's a crisp bite to this wine with a sweet strawberry finish. It leaves you wanting another sip, making this wine an insidious guest at your next party that wants to stay and cause trouble ;). This was my favorite. "The Other Red" is made with raspberry. I'm not a huge fan of sour tastes, this one was a bit tart, has strong body and lots of interesting flavours. After talking with Rick, the idea of adding a wine in oak barrels, or even better in of oak whiskey barrels, would transform this wine (an idea they are toying with) but it was a bit too sour for me. "The Jewel" is a soon-to-be-released fortified wine coming out in May 2018 that has me very excited. I want able to taste that one yet because it's still in production. You are able to buy directly from Barr Estate, just call or text if you want one or two bottles and they'll accommodate you. There have been some events held on their grounds, which would make for a very interesting reception venue, unlimited boutique wines made 100 feet away? Heck yeah. Go for the Groupon, get the tour. Warm weather tours involve seeing the orchards, sheep, Alpaca, the dogs and the beautiful rustic farm. Cherry blossoms come out for a week, book your tour then and you'll get an unforgettable stroll through all the cherry trees with white fragrant flowers... Seriously, they run groupons all year long for the tours, winter groups are usually under 5 or 6 people, summer tours are 20+.

The food here takes you on a journey. The pizza is what I love here. Everytime I go here I'm…read moregreeted by wonderful people. Great place for super. 5 star review

Cocktails and service are fantastic. Beautiful big building just outside of Edmonton.read more

A beautiful little spot out in the country about 20 mins from Barrhead. Their fruit wines are…read moredelicious - whenever I heard fruit wine I imagine a super sweet cheap wine. These were not the case - their fruit wines are much more subdued and perfectly flavored using fruit grown right on their farm. The family who owns and operates it are wonderful people who take a great deal of pride in their work and in keeping their products and production locally focused while keeping the spirit of their German roots in their products. A great event space for weddings and such!

Just returned from our second visit to Shady Lane Estate, and I'm finally getting around to writing…read morethis review! This is a family owned and operated Euro-style fruit winery and distillery making some fantastic products that I strongly recommend for any wine or spirit enthusiast. My initial thoughts about Alberta fruit wine was that I was probably going to have to politely sip it, but after trying it - I must say, I'm an enthusiastic convert and I have been suggesting these wines to all of my friends and family. Shady Lane used to run as a U-Pick but converted to.a winery, and more recently - opened up a distillery. They originally operated as a "cottage winery" - which means that they grow their own fruit, which they continue to do. They're likely going to convert a portion of their section back to U-Pick to help keep up with the demand of their growing business. Look for their Saskatoon, Strawberry, Choke Cherry wines (as well as others and their selection of moonshine and liqueurs) at their estate or at Sherbrooke liquor - and don't be afraid of sugary sweetness either, these wines are all mellow and complex, but you can definitely find sweetness of that's what you're looking for! If you make it out to there location, near Barrhead (and I really recommend that you do) - you'll see for yourself, their beautiful location that they make use of for weddings, concerts, tastings, parties and farm to table dinners. So - go for scenic drive to the country, support an Alberta business making some excellent products, go for a tour of the grounds, and test out those delicious wines and spirits in their tasting room (where they also serve food, but which I haven't had a chance to try.)

Really great atmosphere to try some mead! Staff is lovely…read moreand welcoming, and the owner gave us a tour. We tried a sampler and they were all good. And it was good to try things to know what to buy a bottle of to take home (or two). They also do have a limited menu which looks good. We had already eaten but they have both savoury and fruit pies to try from Vi's for Pie's and South Island Pies. Pretty good decision! Great patio as well as inside seating. A great pit stop if you happen to be by New Sarputa!

This meadery is worth checking out! I make a point of visiting a few times every summer. The mead…read moreis tasty and the owners are knowledgeable and personable. I like that you can try a couple of samples before placing your order. They have a great patio to use on sunny days! They often have food trucks come to the property so you can have lunch with your drinks. Highly recommended!