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Category: Articles

The Craft Beverage Lovers Guide to The Kawarthas

a couple holding a glass of beer a wine

These suds are no duds!

The Kawarthas’ long-standing commitment to local fare isn’t new. Our hopping craft beer and beverage scene is serving up something new on the regular. Craft beer, cider, wine, and spirits are all on offer year-round.

Belmont Lake Brewery

Specializing in brewing craft English beer with a Canadian twist, this small craft brewery is located on Belmont Lake in Havelock, Ontario. The building was constructed using local timber, and features a few Victorian stain glass panels from England. The beers are aptly named for a brewery you can boat up to in the heart of Kawarthas cottage country – whether it’s the Cordova Gold, named for the nearby Cordova Mines, Crowe River named after a river that flows out of Belmont Lake that is known to be tricky to navigate or Mile of Memories, named for a road leading to the east side of the lake with a small white church.

Stop in for a Splash

Rolling Grape Winery

The winery is located on the family farm of winemaker Jonathan Drew, settled amongst the vineyard, offering a growing number of small-batch estate wines. At Rolling Grape, they grow a variety of grapes, including Marquette, Frontenac, Petite Pearl, and Vidal (And they are testing plots of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc). This winery boasts a grape-to-glass vineyard experience featuring tours and beverage tastings, wood-fire pizza, Charcuterie boards (including Brunch boards on weekends), live music, makers markets, and Harvest Dinner Parties.

Kawartha Country Wines

Open year-round, this small, family-owned fruit winery is located in Buckhorn, specializing in 40+ types of fruit wines, cider, vinegars, and gourmet preserves, made using locally-grown fruits and berries. Alongside their complimentary sampling bar is open during their regular operating hours, and they also offer private tasting experiences as well as a tour and tasting experience, special events, wood-fired pizza, and live music in the summer and it is pet-friendly to boot!

That’s the Spirit!

Maple Light

Like any stereotypical Canadian, the team at Maple Light is obsessed with maple syrup.

They tap their own trees and drink it from the bottle. In 2023, while boiling down sap in their sugar shack, they were inspired to craft a refreshing maple cocktail beverage that quickly became a hit with family and friends. Encouraged by their excitement, the Maple Light team saw a clear market opportunity and launched Maple Light one year later: Canada’s first hard maple seltzer.

Although their location is not yet open to the public, their products are featured in restaurants and retail stores across The Kawarthas.

Interested in ordering Maple Light along with your meal or picking up a case? Check out their profile below.

Local Wine and Spirits