Shale Ridge Estate Winery & Cidery » 2021 Nominees

Hi, we’re Alicia and Garren. We’re third generation farmers family based in Thedford, Ontario. We started making Cider & Wine right here on our farm, where we live with our dog Denver.

It all started with alcohol, an industry that hasn’t evolved since prohibition. It’s still ruled by huge liquor companies that spend big to get their products on the liquor shelves and in bars. And you’re stuck with their choices. Sketchy ingredients, too much sugar, outdated aesthetics, and too many hangovers. Something needed to change, and as wine makers and grape farmers, we knew alcohol could be different. It can come right from the farms, not factories. It can be fermented naturally and made with real fruits and not artificial flavours. So we created our own alcohol brand. We made our first batch of Cider in our two-car garage in car boys from fresh pressed apples from the farm. Today each bottle and can are still handcrafted by our family in Thedford — we’re proud to be making something you can feel good about drinking.

Alicia discovered cider at a Fruit and vegetable convention that she was attending with her family in Grand Rapids, Michigan back in 2013. That is when she fell in love with the concept of fermented farm fresh apples and grapes in a glass. She has always been a firm believer in drinking something good for you that tastes just as good too! Adding other fruits to the ciders has become her own way of expressing her love for creating new and beautiful things.

Our ciders and wines put a modern spin on the European tradition. You’ll find them less sweet and less bitter, deriving flavour from the fresh fruits, in every bottle. The result is fresh, complex, and easy to drink.