I realized this week that I’ve been making apple picking trips to the Nashoba Valley Winery for the last 3 years. My first trip took place in late fall of 2005. On a whim, Chris and I decided that we wanted to pick apples and simply followed red “apple” signs until we ended up in Bolton. Of course I was over the moon when I realized that the particular orchard we’d happened upon also doubled as a winery. Unfortunately since we’d gone so late in the season we essentially picked whatever leftover apples were still on the trees and not rolling around at our feet, but it was still a great experience in a beautiful setting with gorgeous foliage as far as the eye could see. We used the apples we picked to make a pie. Now neither one of us had ever made a pie before. We had to buy everything to make this happen — even the pie plate. It turned out a gooey mess, but we ate it happily anyway.
The following Fall we made a point to pick apples before Halloween and honestly I count the brief time that we spent there that morning as one of my top 5 absolute favorite memories. We arrived early and the air was crisp and cold; a perfect New England day. Once in the orchard we proceeded to take a million silly staged photos of trees and apples and one another. I also made a pie from the fruit we picked that day — fake Pillsbury crust and all.
Fast forward to this year when Chris and I were joined on our traditional excursion by our friend Anna. It was a bit of a mob scene with dozens and dozens of families milling about and even a wedding taking place on the grounds, but all in all it was a controlled chaos. We ended up picking a gigantic bag of apples and guess what?! I made another pie. But you’ll have to wait until Monday to hear all about it…
So if you’re in the neighborhood or looking for a chance to get out of Boston for the day, I’d definitely recommend taking the short trip to Bolton and the Nashoba Valley Winery. The gift shop is fully stocked with a huge selection of wines, hand crafted beers, and distilled spirits in addition to a large number of unique gifts and tasting opportunities. It’s a little more difficult now since I live in the city, but in the past I’ve frequently purchased their wines and given them away at various holidays and birthdays. Everyone loves locally made wine! In addition to the great shopping opportunities the winery also offers tours of their wine making facilities and have an onsite restaurant called J’s that I’ve yet to try, but the menu always sounds mouth watering so If you’ve had the pleasure of dining there please let me know how your experience was.