We escaped the Green Mountains at Bristol and headed down into the Champlain Valley. For touring, you can think of the Champlain Valley in three parts: the hillier and rural lower end from around Rutland to around Middlebury, the beautiful rolling farmland in the middle area from around Vergennes to around Shelburne, and the lake and Hero Islands north of the Burlington sprawl. For this adventure, we explored the farmland of the middle valley.

Ever since the Microbrewers of the Pioneer Valley trip alerted me to how many small brewers work in New England, I have been fascinated by the quest for more. My list of Craft Brewers of New England is over 100 names long now! We passed Bobcat Cafe and Brewery in Bristol, and stopped at Fiddlehead in Shelburne where I got a growler of their delicious Belgian Pale Ale. The venerable and quirky Magic Hat is in nearby South Burlington, Otter Creek and Wolavers Organic are in Middlebury, there are at least three in Burlington, and one is opening up in St. Albans! I will have to set up a Champlain 7 as soon as I finish The Downeast 7.

Of course, Shelburne Farms is famous for their clothbound cheddars and other goodies, and there are wineries and cidermakers, cheesemakers and more in the middle Champlain Valley. I like it because it is one of the few places that I know I can reliably get my Golden Russet and Northern Spyapples in the late fall, and any excuse to drive through Vermont in the fall is a good one!