MAPLE SYRUP SEASON TO BEGIN FEBRUARY 19!

McLaughlin Vineyards in Sandy Hook, Connecticut is one of the largest producers of maple syrup in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Located on a 160 estate, the Vineyard produces several hundred gallons of pure maple syrup at its on-site sugar house. The maple syrup season begins when the first signs of spring begin to show with warmers days with cold nights.

The Sugar House at McLaughlin Vineyards is open weekends 11 - 5 p.m. February 19 until the end of March for maple syrup demonstrations, syrup tastings, tractor rides and guided outings. Learn how the syrup is made by watching the sap boil in the evaporator (free). Take the complete tour on a tractor ride to collect buckets and learn how to tap trees ($5 per person.) The Sugar House also sells maple syrup bottled in a wide variety of plastic, tin, and glass containers.

Maple syrup is made simply and naturally by boiling down the sap collected from Sugar Maple trees. The season in Connecticut is earlier than other New England regions because its climate is warmer. The season in a typical year begins mid-February and continues until the first day of spring. The season commences when the daytime temperatures stay in the forties for several consecutive days while the nighttime temperatures stay below freezing. This allows the sap of the trees to begin its springtime journey from the roots up the tree and out the tip of the branches to the buds. The sap is essentially the “blood” of the tree. The sap brings nutrients to the buds to begin leaf development or the “growing season.” When the buds begin to swell, most of the sap has come up into the tree and the sap collecting and maple syrup season is over.

Maple syrup producers harvest the sap from Sugar Maple trees by drilling a hole through the bark of the tree and using a tap connected to a bucket or tubing line. If using the bucket system the sap flows out of the tree through a metal tap and into a bucket. The buckets are collected twice a day and the sap is brought back to the sugar house for processing. If using the tubing system the sap flows out of the tree through a plastic tap down through an elaborate arrangement of this plastic tubing directly to the sugar house.
McLaughlin uses both kinds of systems. The bucket system is used directly around the sugar house for demonstrations in its educational programs. The tubing system is used on some neighboring properties where the trees are close together on a south facing hill.

The sap through both systems is eventually brought to the sugar house for processing. The making of maple syrup is centuries old and very simple. The sap, which is clear and slightly sweet (approx. 2% sugar), is gravity-fed into an evaporator inside the sugar house. An evaporator is a special machine used specifically for the boiling of sap into maple syrup. Once the sap is in the evaporator the sap is boiled for several hours. As it boils, the water in the sap evaporates away slowly turning the sap thicker and darker. The finished syrup has 59% sugar content at 211 degrees and is ready for filtration and bottling. Nothing is added to the sap to make syrup. It is simply the removal of water that magically turns sap into syrup.

New England is the largest region in the United States for maple syrup production. Connecticut’s maple syrup region is relatively small compared to Vermont and Maine but is a wonderful area to bring families and schools to learn the art of maple syrup production.