Miles of tubing carry the sap to our holding tanks to be collected.

We use heavy equipment to gather the sap to take it back to the sugarhouse.

Our state-of-the art sugarhouse where the boiling and bottling take place.

Syrup is held in food grade kegs until ready to be bottled.

How we turn sap from our hillside sugar maples

into Pure Vermont Gold®

Modern Technology, Quality Control & Old Fashioned Craftsmanship = Pure Vermont Gold®

Boiling at Sweet Retreat Sugarhouse

Producing Maple Syrup Since 1992

At Sweet Retreat Sugarworks we take great pride in turning sap from our 200-acre hillside grove of sugar maples into Pure Vermont Gold®. In early spring when daytime temperatures rise above freezing and nighttime temperatures fall below freezing, sugaring season begins and the sap starts to flow. An extensive tubing network, aided by a vacuum system, carries sap from more than 4,300 taps to enormous stainless steel holding tanks.

State-of-the-Art Technology Combined with Vermont Craftsmanship

At our state-of-the-art sugarhouse, we use reverse osmosis to concentrate the sap. Before carefully boiling it down in oil-fueled double evaporating pans, we mix it with raw sap to ensure a true Vermont maple flavor.

Once transformed into syrup, we use a hydrometer to test the density of each batch before it is drawn off, filtered, and stored in stainless steel barrels until we are ready to reheat, refilter, and bottle the syrup in our distinctive containers.

Ray Morvan of Sweet Retreat Sugarworks tests syrup
Sweet Retreat Maple Syrup Jugs

Unbeatable Quality & Taste in Jugs & Etched Bottles

Pure Vermont Gold® is made from the sap of our sugar maples—nothing else. Our maple syrup is packed in five sizes of recyclable plastic jugs, available in four syrup grades. It is also bottled in 250 and 500 ml Basquaise bottles etched with our standard 3 maple leaf design filled with Grade A Amber Color with Rich Taste syrup—all available in our Maple Store. In addition, we offer custom-etched glass bottles personalized with the design of your choice. Learn more about ordering on our Etched Bottle page.

Sweet Retreat hydrometer

Four Grades of Syrup to Choose From

At Sweet Retreat, we produce many gallons of Pure Vermont Gold® each year, available in four grades. Pure Vermont Maple Syrup must meet strict quality standards and is graded on four characteristics: color, clarity, density and flavor. When ordering syrup in our plastic jugs, shoppers can select the grade of their choice from our Maple Store, to include:

Grade A Golden Color with Delicate Taste

Grade A Amber Color with Rich Taste

Grade A Dark with Robust Taste

Grade A Very Dark with Strong Taste

Sweet Retreat Sugarworks is a member of the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association. Having met VMSMA’s quality and food safety standards, Sweet Retreat is now one of just seven sugarhouses in Vermont to be Sugarhouse Certified.