Visiting Merridale Cider Estate (250-743-4293) is akin to visiting a vineyard, only with apples instead of grapes and hard cider instead of wine. The beautiful estate has a working cider mill, a tasting room, a picnic area, beehives, and, of course, a 13 acre cider apple orchard. Visitors are encouraged to take a self-guided tour through the process of turning an apple into a great alcoholic drink. In the tasting room, visitors are also encouraged to sample the several different varieties of cider – from the very dry to the honey sweetened - that the Estate makes.
To get to Merridale, Take Highway 1 North from Victoria to Cobble Hill (about a 40 minutes drive). Turn off the highway at Shawnigan-Mill Bay Road and after 2.25 km turn right onto Cameron Taggert Road for another 1.25 km. Turn right on Merridale and continue to the end of the road.
