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The Horseshoe Vineyard
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July 26, 2015
Maple Creek
by: Timothy W. Shire
images by: Judy and Timothy Shire
Maple Creek
by: Timothy W. Shire
images by: Judy and Timothy Shire
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On the morning of Tuesday, July 14, 2015 the Wheatland Sams from the northeastern part of the province set off shortly after 9:00 on their day’s adventure. Ten rigs were part of the group which had left Tisdale on Sunday, spent the night in Rosetown, then settled in to the in town RV campground in Maple Creek on Monday. We set off in six vehicles for the first tour of the day, the Cypress Hills winery. Our little convoy made a minor error and trucked down a dusty country road for about twenty minutes then a helpful Hutterite pointed us in the right direction.
The Horseshoe Vineyard is located fairly close to the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park and is indeed on a paved highway.
After taking a minute to check out the main building we all sauntered out into the area where the berries are grown. There are a number of helpful signs that explain what we were looking at and the most excitement came with our approach to the rhubarb patch. Yes, a patch of giant rhubarb, a plant familiar to us all, but not usually associated with the making of wine. But, 6,500 pounds of the stuff is turned into wine each year at this facility.
Once we had the patch sorted out, we made our way back up to the main building and most of the group tried out the various varieties of wine. I skipped that part of the visit and settled for coffee. We then had lunch and took a few minutes for a few more pictures, then we were on our way to Fort Walsh.
Though it was overcast for a while and there was even a light shower, the visit to the vineyard was pleasant and well worth the trip out from Maple Creek. If you are in the area don’t miss this opportunity to see the place and enjoy the hospitality.
You can share in our visit by looking through the pictures both Judy and I took.
The Horseshoe Vineyard is located fairly close to the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park and is indeed on a paved highway.
After taking a minute to check out the main building we all sauntered out into the area where the berries are grown. There are a number of helpful signs that explain what we were looking at and the most excitement came with our approach to the rhubarb patch. Yes, a patch of giant rhubarb, a plant familiar to us all, but not usually associated with the making of wine. But, 6,500 pounds of the stuff is turned into wine each year at this facility.
Once we had the patch sorted out, we made our way back up to the main building and most of the group tried out the various varieties of wine. I skipped that part of the visit and settled for coffee. We then had lunch and took a few minutes for a few more pictures, then we were on our way to Fort Walsh.
Though it was overcast for a while and there was even a light shower, the visit to the vineyard was pleasant and well worth the trip out from Maple Creek. If you are in the area don’t miss this opportunity to see the place and enjoy the hospitality.
You can share in our visit by looking through the pictures both Judy and I took.
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