Our Story
Our Story
Archibald Orchards & Estate Winery and Cider House Golf is a fourth generation family farm business located 12 north of Hwy. # 401 in Bowmanville, Ontario. This 40-acre property is an ideal orchard site with a southwesterly slope for good air & soil drainage. With a number of other local attractions & beautiful surrounding countryside, Archibalds' is a "must visit"!
Originally established in 1967 as a wholesale operation, Fred & Sandy have developed the family farm into several components:
- Pick Your Own (PYO) Apples
- Apple Market & Play Area
- Winery (Established in 1997)
- Cider House Golf Course
The Winemaker
Fred Archibald is the grower & the wine maker at Archibald Orchards & Estate Winery. After 10 years of wine making “for the fun of it”, his hobby became an important aspect of the family business.
His professional training as an Area Planner may not have laid the groundwork for starting a winery. However, growing up in Niagara’s fruit belt & eating a lot of fruit certainly influenced his concept of what he thought fruit wine should taste like – “like the fruit is made from”.
Making wine actually started right in the home! Fred’s Dad, the late Dr. John Archibald, was once the Director of the Horticultural Research Station in Vineland where wine making research was an important part of the Horticultural Products Research Laboratory. Before coming to the Station, Fred’s Dad was a Chemist with Brights Wines. This wine connection certainly inspired many “home brews”. Some, his Dad knew about and some, he didn’t!
In June 1997, Fred & Sandy opened the doors to Archibald Orchards & Estate Winery with 8 selections on their wine list. Today there are 20 selections to choose from ranging from very dry to dessert "ice wine types". The winery will be celebrating it's 13th anniversary in June 2010. Regardless of the time span, Fred's passion for creating new wines is stronger than ever. If you are lucky enough to catch him at the tasting bar, you'll see what we mean!
Our Products
100% Ontario! Using our own quality, tree-picked apples, as well as other quality Ontario Fruit, we "create" a number of products:
- Award Winning Fruit Wines – see Wine List for more details
- Non-alcoholic Wines
- Apple Cider Vinegar - coming back soon!
- Apple Pies, Crisp & Dumplings
In Season, we offer:
- Apples – see Approximate Harvest Dates for varieties
- Fresh & Pasteurized Cider
Our Affiliations
We are proud members of: Clarington Board of Trade Clarington Marketing Mind
Durham Farm Fresh Marketing Association Fruit Wineries of Ontario
Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association Ontario Federation of Agriculture
Ontario Viniculture Association