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.)

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+.

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!

This is a fantastic brewery to visit! The beers are tasty, and the atmosphere is relaxed and…read morewelcoming. Everyone who works here is so friendly and kind. Friends and I stopped by for happy hour- select pints of beer are on special for $5. I tried the Mangolorian and Main Squeeze. They were so refreshing! I like that they offer some inexpensive snacks, like popcorn. The decorations are interesting too! It's fun to look at all of the labels that the brewery has used. Alley Kat supports the community, which is important to me. During the Alberta Teachers' Strike, they offered a free pint. Thank you, you are appreciated!

I came to Alley Kat Brewery for the first time this week to attend their Fall Launch Party and boy…read moreoh boy was it a treat! I saw many familiar faces from previous events Alley Kat had served at including the fabulous Kristin :-) What's not to love about my beer name doppleganger who also loves kats and wears kat prints? MeOwSeRs!!! I digress... Alley Kat was warm and inviting from the moment we arrived at 5PM. They had freshly made soft pretzels on hand along with cheese and meat nibbles to compliment the launch. Now, let's get to the good stuff... The BEER! Hubby and I were on cloud 9 that our favourite Alley Kat Beer - Freshly Squeezed (with real grapefruit) was still on tap and EVEN BETTER they had 4 packs of it for sale! Our local liquor store only had it in a combo pack but this was like finding a giant bag of your favourite one of a kind Jelly Belly Flavours - Yes, kids... Freshly Squeezed is that good! ( And Yay! It keeps getting better! Just checked out their webiste: www.AlleyKatBeer.com and noted: The Summer Squeeze Grapefriut Ale has taken Alberta beer drinkers by storm. You've been enjoying it so much that it is here to stay. Our Summer Squeeze has become our Main Squeeze. With the inclusion of Grapefruit into our core line up we will be discontinuing the seasonal six pack. ) The launch party was held to feature their fall releases: Alley Kat's Dragon Series Alley Kat brews their Double IPA Dragon Series for hop fans. A new single hopped Double IPA will be released every two months using a different hop variety and sold under a different color of dragon. Current Dragon: Maroon Dragon Release date: October 1st Hop Variety: Centennial Alley Kat is back on the Dragon train with Maroon Dragon DIPA. This Centennial hopped double IPA has floral and citrus aroma with notes of light malt and loads of citrus hop. Brewed in limited quantities so get yours before its all gone! I will admit that I'm usually a wine and girly girly drinker so the Maroon Dragon was completely out of my league. But my fellow drinkers assured me that it was an excellent man's beer - SUPER HOPPY! Do you think they will release an Easter Bunny Hop? Bahahaha! Okay, I'll stop ;-) And my favourite of their Fall Releases: Alley Kat's Big Bottle Series As a way of celebrating great tasting beer, Alley Kat's own Big Bottle series is a toast to all brewmasters and lovers of ale, alike. Cheers, and drink up! Current Big Bottle: Pumpkin Pie Spiced Ale Release Date: Sept 2, 2013 September marks the return of Alley Kat's Pumpkin Pie Ale. This delicious full-bodied beer is infused with pumpkin, ginger and cinnamon. Pumpkin Pie Spiced Ale is like the Fall season personified! And the big bottle packaging is cute and the perfect accompaniment to bring to your Thanksgiving dinner next week! So go snag a few bottles and treat the Beer Lovers in your life to a fabulous limited edition treat! While at the Launch Party we got to partake in a fabulous Brewery tour where I learned that Alley Kat is the oldest microbrewery in Alberta at the tender age of 19 and the 4th oldest Brewery in Alberta. They use recycled bottles boys and girls... That's right, feel good and green when you support your local Kat! Alley Kat also recycles it's spent grains into cattle feed and does their best to use all local and West Coast ingredients! Yay Alley Kat! You've got a friend in me :-) I can't wait to see what will be re-released for Christmas or what new creation you will come up with? Perhaps a Holly Hops? PS - Bring Back CRINGER (Cranberry Ginger)!

Visited Aligra many a times & experienced a customer friendly atmosphere especially in contact with…read moreHarry. Last night I got the opportunity to visit & experience variety of wine tasting in the presence of 5 leading wine importers from France, Italy, Australia, South Africa, Argentina with a detailed explanation how the wines were manufactured, country, regions of origin, how to choose wines for special cuisines a must know thing by a wine enthusiast. I enjoyed the event very much and appreciate the demonstrations & cutometers experiencing of wine tastings facilitated by the company representatives as well as the owners Alison & Grant's warm & customer friendly approach towards all those present. Thank you, Harry, for a well-coordinated event organized to boost the appetite of wine lovers.

This isn't really the kind of place you just grab a case of beers for the weekend from, although…read moreyou can certainly buy it here. I prefer to come here when I'm looking for something special, like a gift. Their specialty is wine, but you can still ask them about other things. We've taken their advice on tequila and rum, and so far no complaints. Today, I went in looking for a very specific beer for a wonderful computer geek who fixed my incredibly temperamental piece of...Dell. Anyway, I found the Innis and Gunn type he likes, four different kinds, and 'Trooper' from Robinson's Brewery, named for the Iron Maiden song. They ranged in price from $3.23 to $5.42, which is decent in my opinion. In fact, this goes on the Christmas List, because I'm going to be grabbing more later for stocking stuffers. Of course, if you're looking for something super cool and pricey, they keep the $400 champagne on the highest shelves behind the till.

An annual tradition for my girlfriends and I. This show will let you sample taste and try all the…read morenew products on the market! They also have some favorites that are tried tested and true as well. You might just find your new favorite drink here! And if you get hungry while you're sampling all the bevy's you can stop at taste some delicious eats from a number of local restaurants. We had a ton of samples and loved all of them! Price can be a bit high as you have to pay for entrance and then pay for individual tickets for sampling so it can add up. But it's a great outing to go for a date, or just to have fun with girlfriends. You can also choose if you want to go for an afternoon or an evening instead. I always like the afternoons as they are a bit less busy but the hustle and bustle of the evening portion is fun too!

First time at this event. Fun atmosphere. Lots of vendors. But the cost to attend was over the top…read more Tastings seemed to average from 3 to 6 dollars for one tiny taste. Most wine tastings are 10 dollars to try 4 to 6 different wines. And generally that money comes off the price of a bottle if you decide to buy. On top of the price of admission and paid parking. Bonkers! Vendors trying to get their name out there at the cost of potential customers. It was a bit of a turn off. Food vendors were attempting to feed the masses so the food was "meh", and I'm not sure if this type of event is something that helps or hurts them. But it seemed like people were having fun.

A wonderful weekday happy-hour hang. Lots of local brew…read morechoices. I ordered a Broken Spoke cider $8.00. Ample wines. Full bar for cocktails. Many mock-tail selections. I didn't get to eat the food, but I did snack on the popcorn. It's served with an amazing seasoning. Chill interior. Clean, bright, lots of windows. Great wall art. No TV. Stage area for live performance. Outdoor patio with many picnic tables. Neutral washrooms. Rear alley parking. Friendly staff.

Wow!! If you want the best grilled cheese - like unbelievable!! This is it! Cozy neighbourhood pub…read moreand super friendly service!!