The winery was named after the region because the Johnstons believe strongly in the idea of "terroir" — that wine should express the land that produced it. Having been growers in Muskoka for half a century, the Johnstons wanted to create a product that reflected the rugged beauty of the region. Working mainly with fruit native to Muskoka (and some wild blueberries from Northern Ontario), the winery now boasts a range of award winning wines from dry to dessert and even some that are now aged in oak.

There are only three commercial cranberry farms in Ontario with one other farm in Muskoka and another in the Ottawa area. The berries love the acid-rich soils of more northern climes and grow best on peat or sand. The cranberries are relatively easy to grow in the marsh but labour-intensive when harvest occurs in late fall. The bogs are flooded using a series of dams during harvest to allow the berries to rise to the surface. A huge machine harvests the floating berries, dries them quickly and they are sorted into wine fruit or commercial berries. A third of the crop is used for wine and the rest is sold as cranberries either for the fruit or to other fruit wine makers and juice companies.

The winery employs five full-time staff, five seasonal staff and use about 40 other workers during the harvest.

There are several different wines and juices made at the winery including Wild Blueberry Wine (from blueberries sourced in northern Ontario), an oak-aged Wild Blueberry Wine, Cranberry Wine, a Cranberry-Blueberry Wine (their most popular), a White Cranberry Wine, Framberge (a sweet Raspberry-Cranberry wine) and a special Red Maple Wine (with a shot of maple syrup). See Rick's Picks for reviews of the wines.

The winery and farm is open year-round for tasting, tours and a range of family acitivities. For more information go to www.cranberry.ca

The Muskokas have always been an escape from the hustle and bustle and city life. But more and more, local food, wine and even beer has found its way into the experience of cottage life. Just down the road from Bala, about a 20-minute drive, in beautiful downtown Bracebridge, the Muskoka Cottage Brewery has been crafting wonderful brews since 1996.

The brewery is a true "craft brewery" and uses only barley, hops, yeast and water in the production of a range of beers. No additives or preservatives are used. The brewery was founded by Gary McMullen and Kirk Evans and now employs a team of 18, all dedicated to providing the finest experience in hand crafted beer. On a tour of the brewery, with marketing manager Mike Laba, the notion of fresh beer is at the centre of everything the brewery does.
"Fresh beer is heaven and earth," says Laba.
As if on cue, as we walk through the production area of the brewery, a couple of workers are dumping cans of beer that were past the due date.