Maple Syrup Available Now!

Early Spring Iris reticulata

As the days get wonderfully warmer, spring bulbs emerge from beneath the soil, bird songs generously fill the air and the running of the sweet sap comes to a rest.

Making it through the last 6-8 weeks of winter can often feel like emotional drudgery here in Upstate New York, but when the sap starts flowing, syrup producers actually wish for temperature fluctuations that include below freezing. The freeze/warm cycles keeps the sap running.

Bucket on Sugar Maple

This year's sap season came very late - several weeks later than "normal" - and followed one of the coldest and snowiest February's on record. We didn't tap trees until the first weekend of March. Typically it takes us about 2 hours to tap and hang buckets on our 100 sugar maples. This year, because of the 2.5 feet of snow on the ground, it took us almost 5 hours. (And sore quadriceps reminded us of the labor for the next few days).

Boiling sap is a joy. It's an activity that provides us not only warmth from the boiler and sweetness of the sap, but also invites us to relax and enjoy the last few weeks of cold weather. Friends come gather by the steamy boiler and we often treat ourselves to a whiskey-sap cocktail - a drink only available at this time of year.

The sap season was short, but certainly hefty. Preceding a 10-day forecast above freezing, we removed taps last Sunday, April 5th, and completed our final boil of the year.

Though sap season is over, lucky for us (and you!) Maple Season is all-year round! The sweet golden goodness is all bottled up and now available for purchase. We had a large pre-order for somebody to give as wedding favors, so our remaining supplies are limited.

Order today by emailing Elizabeth@WellspringForestFarm.com. 

Medium Amber Syrup

 
Half-pints: $9
Pint: $12
Quart: $20
Gallon: $60

Note: Only Medium Amber grade available.