Breweries & Distilleries
Dominion Cider Co.
About Dominion Cider Co.
Cider begins in the orchard rather than the cellar, which is much of the reason the drink has taken root so firmly on this side of the valley. Dominion Cider Co. is based at 10019 Gould Ave in Prairie Valley, the inland basin behind the bench that holds the schools and the sports fields, with the road running west from there toward the fruit country.
What arrives in the glass varies more than newcomers expect. Cider can be bone dry or frankly sweet, still or sparkling, made from dessert apples or from tannic varieties grown specifically for pressing, and a single producer may cover several of those at once. Other fruit turns up in the valley too, given what grows here. The sensible approach on a first visit is to taste across the range rather than order by the name on the label, and to ask which of the ciders are built to keep and which are meant to be drunk young.
Prairie Valley is quieter than the lakeside strip and reads as working country rather than tourist route, so the drive out is short but the surroundings change quickly. Pressing season falls in the autumn and is the busiest stretch of the year for anyone making cider, while the winter months go to blending, packaging and planning the next round. Checking before you set out is the difference between an open door and a locked one, particularly outside the summer months, when visitor traffic on the bench falls away sharply.
Visiting Dominion Cider Co.
Getting there
In the Prairie Valley neighbourhood of Summerland.
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