December 20, 2008 | Tips from Travellers >
Duncan, Breweries, Distilleries & Cideries
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I'm from Duncan on Vancouver Island and when my husband I were out for a drive about two weeks ago we saw some signs for Merridale Ciderworks, so we said, "Why not?" and we checked it out.
This place is amazing! It's an estate cidery tucked away on Merridale Road (a side road on Cameron Taggart rd.) and they have the nicest views! As soon as we walked in the door we were greeted by the hostess and asked if it was our first time visiting. When we said it was, she offered us to go on their self-guided tour of the distillery to learn more about the process of cider-making, and once we finished that, we went back inside and had a tasting of several different types of their cider (our favourite was the Scrumpy! mmm!).
After the tasting, we had lunch in their bistro (I think it was called the Pommeraie Bistro) and the food was FANTASTIC! My husband had the chicken pot pie and I had the lamb burger and everything was locally grown and organic, and the waitresses were friendly and helpful. I can't believe we had never been to this place before, but now that we know it's there, we've been twice since that first day!
I definitely recommend Merridale Cidery for anyone who wants good food in a warm (literally, they have a fireplace!), friendly venue. And if you want a laugh, go to the tasting bar, Darcy is hilarious! :)