A couple of weeks ago, on one of those rare sunny Sundays, a couple of friends picked me up in their car for a little road trip adventure. In our hands we clutched our Farm Fresh Guide, which lists nearly a hundred farms and markets in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley (which for you out-of-towners is just less than a one hour drive from Vancouver).

Our plan was to visit some local farms and wineries and get out into the lovely October sunshine. Our first stop was at Cloverdale Country Farms. They had a huge selection of colourful pumpkins grown right at their farm along with tiny nugget potatoes, sweet corn and squash. They also had a large selection of local fruit and I ended up buying a few pounds of Okanagan-grown Granny Smith apples on special at just 39 cents a pound! Cloverdale Country Farms also carries grocery standards like milk, cheese and bread and it was a bit strange to see imported pineapples at a "local farm market." No matter, I was happily weighed down with two kinds of squash, some cremini mushrooms and my deliciously tart apples.

Cloverdale Country Farms
5688 168 St.
Surrey, BC
(604) 575-7818

Our next stop was at a small farm that ended up being closed on Sundays. Too bad! However, we did get to wander the front yard a bit and follow around a very friendly looking chicken (above, right). Next to the farmhouse, we followed a strange bleating noise, which led us right to a small black goat sitting on top of a trailer (above, left)! With the sunflowers in full bloom and the cute goat, it was quite a sight.

Down the road, we found Surrey's only winery, River's Bend Winery. We did a tasting of a selection of reds and whites. Most of the wines we tried came from grapes grown right in the winery's vineyard, while some were blends created with Okanagan grapes. I bought an amber-coloured fortified wine grown from River Bend's own grapes. It was delicious with a whisky nose and a smooth finish. My friends purchased a very lovely 2006 Syrah that was ripe with deep berry flavours like blackberry and black current and ended with a silky, peppery finish. Well, at least it said something like that on the bottle! While my wine palate is pretty inexperienced, I'm certainly a willing taster.

River's Bend Winery
15560 Colebrook Rd.
Surrey, BC
(604) 574-6106

15560

It ended up being a great afternoon. Spending a sunny Sunday road-tripping around the Lower Mainland and visiting farms is such a great way to see the abundance of local produce and products first hand. Now that it's nearing Halloween, I think it's time to gas up the tank as I've got some pumpkins that I want to pick. Local farms, here I come!

Jeannette Ordas is a Vancouver-based Web Designer and Food Blogger who is probably right now thinking about what she'll make for dinner.

Bazaar's Market posts are featured every Monday.