Regenerative Agritourism (Addison County)

Shacksbury is a cidery located in the Champlain Valley, a place defined by community and an outdoor active lifestyle. As Vermonters, they thrive on nature and Shacksbury is no exception. They make complex ciders that are always pushing forward, while never straying far from that natural beauty their home state is known for. We’ll visit their tasting room, learn about their Lost Apple project, and sip through a flight of ciders.

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Agricola is a small diversified Italian farm that specializes in raising and preparing gourmet meats and are particularly known for their pork. They also raise Icelandic sheep, ducks and heritage chickens, for both eggs and meat, produce salame using traditional Italian curing techniques, and grow Italian varieties of vegetables and herbs. Their animals are lovingly raised on verdant pastures and they strive to farm in connection with the local ecosystem. After touring the farm, we’ll taste through a sampling of their Monti Verdi salumi!

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Lazy Breeze Farm’s Aberdeens are raised on a high protein grass diet with no animal or corn bi-products in order to achieve their goal of gourmet home dining. We’ll stop by their Burger Buggy food truck for a delicious on-farm lunch.

 

Valley Clayplain Forest Farm spans 52 acres of rolling hills in the Champlain Valley and aims to Farm like the Forest. (Clayplain forest was once the dominant land cover in Vermont’s southern Champlain Valley). We’ll meet Mark, a permaculture designer, traditional woodworker, natural builder, community organizer and author of “Coppice Agroforesty,” the most comprehensive resource on coppicing and pollarding for North American audiences, which will be published in June 2022. We’ll learn how Mark and his partner Ammy are meeting their needs as much as possible from things they can produce while also demonstrating a healthy relationship with the landscape. They offer a variety of on-farm educational opportunities in addition to shiitake mushroom and Black Currant Oxymel production.

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Golden Rule Mead brew their mead downstairs from their tasting room, in downtown Middlebury, which also happens to be where Vermont’s first beekeeping association was established in 1875. Each of Golden Rule’s meads starts with 100% Vermont-origin raw honey, and Golden Rule’s Alex does everything he can to source fruits, herbs, spices, and vegetables from farms around the state. We’ll taste through a selection of summer meads, chat with Alex on how he is putting a modern spin on this ancient brew, and we’ll all do our part in saving the bees, one sip at a time.

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Sweet Roots Farm and Market is located in Charlotte and is the newest iteration of a farm business that has been in operation for almost 40 years. Many feet have walked the land over the years - strawberry pickers, blueberry harvesters, pumpkin patch goers and growers of various fruits and plants. The farm is undergoing a multi-year plan to transition all growing to be certified Organic. Sweet Roots Farm grows blueberries, available for pick your own and pre-picked in the Market, blackberries, black raspberries, peaches, pears, plums and organically grown vegetables, herbs and flowers. Their Market offers a wide range of local provisions for you to taste and take home!