Maple Sugaring Begins At McLaughlin’s Vineyard

McLaughlin Vineyards of Sandy Hook announced the beginning of its maple sugaring season with the annual tapping of its sugar maple trees on March 1. The vineyard has a fully operational sugarhouse and offers maple syrup demonstrations and tractor rides through April. Tractor rides and sugarhouse tours are available everyday from 10 am to 5 pm, weather permitting. More information can be obtained by calling 426-1533.

Maple syrup is produced in Connecticut beginning around the second week of February when daily daytime temperatures average around 40 degrees and night temperatures dip under 32 degrees. The season usually continues until the first day of spring or about the third week of March.

Metal or plastic taps are drilled into sugar maple trees to collect the sap that has begun to flow from the trees’ roots to the ends of the branches beginning the process of leaf development. The sap that is collected from sugar maple trees is clear and on average has about a two to four percent sugar content.

The sap is transported to a sugarhouse and is boiled until the sap turns thick and brown with a boiling point sugar content of 59 percent, which is a Grade A maple syrup. To make one gallon of maple syrup one needs to collect about 40 gallons of raw sap.

Because of the severity of this year’s winter, the maple syrup season began about three weeks late. Beginning late, however, does not necessarily mean the season will be extended by the same amount of time. Once daily daytime temperatures surpass 50 degrees and the buds on the trees begin to form, the maple syrup season is over.