Sustainability makes things Better.

Our syrup is produced in harmony with our environment and is different than the blended syrup sold in big box grocery stores.

Here are some of the differences:

• Our syrup is produced from a single forest that is proactively managed under a multi-year plan approved by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. You know where your food comes from, and you know that it comes from a healthy forest because we proactively manage forest health under a 10-year management plan.


• We use small-sized taps to minimize tree wounding. It reduces the amount of sap we harvest but is better for the trees. Increasingly, more producers are using smaller taps every year.


• The amount of firewood needed by our wood-fired evaporator is lower due to better heat management in our wood evaporator. We do not burn fossil fuels such as oil or propane in our evaporator, instead we employ the latest research in heat management to reduce our wood consumption by 70%.


• We only use responsibly harvested firewood from dead & fallen trees in our evaporator. The wood we use would have naturally released carbon as it decayed - so there are zero additional GHG emissions over the lifetime of those trees. This wood is actually net carbon-negative since fallen trees still sequester 25% of their stored carbon in their roots.


• The mature maple trees in our sugarbush each year sequester more carbon than we release via both Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 & 3 (indirect) emissions. So, even when calculated on an annual basis, our maple syrup production has net-zero emissions. Further details on how we achieved net-zero GHG emissions can be found under the Net-Zero menu item.


• By removing dead & fallen trees, we encourage faster growth of replacement trees in our forest. The branches from the trees we harvest are left in the forest to replenish the soil and provide habitat for small animals.


• Like gravity-pressed wine, we filter our syrup using only gravity-filters instead of hydraulic pressure. We filter sap during collection, on entry into our evaporator, and as the syrup is drawn off from the evaporator prior to bottling.


• Every batch of maple syrup is hand-crafted using traditional methods, not produced by automated machines. Similar to single vineyard wine, we do not blend each year's product with other sap from another forest, nor with maple syrup produced in prior years. So, while the flavor each year may be slightly different in subtle ways, the taste is always great.


• No additives are used in our syrup at any time. Not to control boiling, nor to filter it. What you eat is 100% maple syrup with all its natural goodness. Nature's richest source of antioxidants. Our syrup is both good for you and good for the environment.


• Our syrup is hot-packed in glass bottles to avoid single-use plastic bottles or cans. In accordance with food packing regulations, we are required to use a new, sanitary, single-use, plastic cap. Hot-packing kills any bacteria that may have been in the bottle to ensure that the syrup stays fresh until you open it.


• We will take back and re-use the bottle if you choose to return it to us. Ontario regulations prohibit us from selling maple syrup in reused bottles, so we sanitize and re-use them for the syrup that we do not sell to friends & family. There is no deposit charged on the bottle, so there is no refund for it when it is returned.


• We will also take back any clean & undamaged bottle previously used by another Canadian maple syrup producer to help promote zero-waste in our industry.


• Any sedimentation or crystallization is natural; maple syrup doesn't spoil or go bad over time.
  
  
  • Crystallization is maple sugar that may precipitate since our syrup may in some years be slightly sweeter than most store syrups. If you reheat the bottle by placing it in a pot of boiling water, the sugar will dissolve back into the syrup if there is liquid syrup still in the bottle. Of course, you don't need to reheat it, the remaining syrup is still good. Your choice.
  
  
  • Sedimentation, if it occurs over time, is "maple sand" that is normally suspended in the syrup solution which carries some of the naturally occurring minerals in the syrup. Like sedimentation in wine, simply leave it in the bottle if it occurs.
  
  
  • Should you forget to refrigerate after opening a bottle, it is possible that mold may develop after several days (mold loves sugar + air). If that happens, you can skim off any mold that might have developed (it will be only on the top -- the rest of the syrup is still healthy for you & safe to eat).