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Rhode Island/Maine/Vermont

Lobsters, Wineries and Foods of New England

Program No. 12312RJ

Taste your way through the iconic landscapes of New England as you explore local vineyards, visit a Vermont apple orchard and ride aboard a Maine lobster vessel with a local expert.

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7 days

6 nights

13 meals

6B 3L 4D

Check-In, Registration, Welcome Dinner, Orientation

Middletown/Newport, RI

Mantunuck Oyster Farm, Newport, Newport Vineyards

Middletown/Newport, RI

Salem Cross Inn, Quabbin Reservoir, Vermont

Ludlow, VT

Champlain Orchards, Waybury Inn, Maple Farm, Cheese

Ludlow, VT

Travel to ME, Billings Farm, Flag Hill Winery and Distillery

Portland

Portland City History, Kennebunkport Lobster Pulling Cruise

Portland

Transfer to Rhode Island, Program Concludes

Portland

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At a Glance

Experience the diversity of New England cuisine and the region's beautiful scenery during a weeklong journey through Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Discussions with professional winemakers, lobstermen, and farmers about the products they grow and harvest from the land and sea. Learn about specialty products created by local entrepreneurs and enjoy field trips to vineyards, farms, sugarhouses, markets and the ocean. At stops along the way, enjoy tastes of authentic New England foods such as clam cakes, lobster, clam chowder, local cheeses, yogurt and maple syrup.

Activity Level

On Your Feet

Walking up to one mile over varied terrain, unpaved and uneven surfaces. Some standing required on field trips. Several sets of stairs throughout the program including motorcoach and boat embarking/disembarking.

Best of all, you’ll…

Visit the historic Billings Farm and Museum and meet their herd of Jersey Cows.
Discuss the challenges of fishing with local lobstermen.
Meet with winemaking experts in Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

General Notes

This is a coaching program that travels to five New England states over seven days, spending 2-5 hours on the coach each day. We make every effort to allow time to explore each village and town we visit - however, please be aware that time on the bus is crucial in getting you from place to place.

Featured Expert

All trip experts

Bill Suhr

Bill Suhr and wife Andrea Scott own Champlain Orchards, an idyllic Vermont farm that overlooks Lake Champlain and prides itself in growing a diversity of ecologically grown fruits and vegetables. With a commitment to Vermont’s local food economy, all of the farm’s vegetables are certified organic — as are three blocks of organic apples, as well as organic cherries, plums and peaches. The farm utilizes integrated pest management growing techniques.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Bill Suhr View biography

Suggested Reading List (6 books)

Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop

You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.

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Lobsters, Wineries and Foods of New England

Program Number: 12312

Maple Sugarin' In Vermont: A Sweet History

by Betty Ann Lockhart

Come along for a trip through maple time in Vermont, from the 1600s to the mid-twentieth century. Betty Ann Lockhart introduces the origins of the 'Flavor of Vermont', the tools of the sugaring trade and the personalities who launched maple sugar to world fame. The Abenakis were discoverers of the sweet sap that flowed from Vermont's trees, and Thomas Jefferson was an early promoter of it. During the Civil War, maple sugar was cheered as the moral alternative to cane sugar- the latter having been produced by slave labor- and in subsequent wars, it was shipped to U.S. troops around the world. Enriched with maple-inspired songs, recipes and legends, Maple Sugarin' in Vermont illuminates not just the industry, but also the culture of maple sugar in the Green Mountain State.

America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking

by Keith Stavely, Kathleen Fitzgerald

From baked beans to apple cider, from clam chowder to pumpkin pie, Keith Stavely and Kathleen Fitzgerald's culinary history reveals the complex and colorful origins of New England foods and cookery. Featuring hosts of stories and recipes derived from generations of New Englanders of diverse backgrounds, America's Founding Food chronicles the region's cuisine, from the English settlers' first encounter with Indian corn in the early seventeenth century to the nostalgic marketing of New England dishes in the first half of the twentieth century. Focusing on the traditional foods of the region--including beans, pumpkins, seafood, meats, baked goods, and beverages such as cider and rum--the authors show how New Englanders procured, preserved, and prepared their sustaining dishes. Placing the New England culinary experience in the broader context of British and American history and culture, Stavely and Fitzgerald demonstrate the importance of New England's foods to the formation of American identity, while dispelling some of the myths arising from patriotic sentiment. At once a sharp assessment and a savory recollection, America's Founding Food sets out the rich story of the American dinner table and provides a new way to appreciate American history.

The Secret Life of Lobsters: How Fishermen and Scientists Are Unraveling the Mysteries of Our Favorite Crustacean

by Trevor Corson

In this intimate portrait of an island lobstering community and aneccentric band of renegade biologists, journalist Trevor Corson escorts the reader onto the slippery decks of fishing boats, through danger-filled scuba dives, and deep into the churning currents of the Gulf of Maine to learn about the secret undersea lives of lobsters. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Dishing Up Vermont

by Tracey Medeiros

From world-renowned cheddar cheeses to the delectable dinners turned out by talented chefs, the Green Mountain State has its own unique and rich food traditions. Learn new ways to use maple syrup, recreate that meal you enjoyed at a fancy restaurant, bake tree-ripened local apples into delicious desserts, and find out how the farmers growing the tastiest microgreens like to eat them. Filled with inspiring profiles of local food producers, Dishing Up® Vermont will quickly have you hooked on the joys of Yankee cooking.

Sharing the Harvest: A Citizen's Guide to Community Supported Agriculture

by Elizabeth Henderson

In this new highly revised and expanded edition of a Chelsea Green classic, authors Henderson and Van En provide new insight into making Community Supported Agriculture not only a viable economic model, but the right choice for food lovers and farmers alike. To an increasing number of American families the CSA (community supported agriculture) is the answer to the globalization of our food supply. The premise is simple: create a partnership between local farmers and nearby consumers, who become members or subscribers in support of the farm. In exchange for paying in advanceóat the beginning of the growing season, when the farm needs financingóCSA members receive the freshest, healthiest produce throughout the season and keep money, jobs, and farms in their own community. In this thoroughly revised and expanded edition of a Chelsea Green classic, authors Henderson and Van En provide new insight into making CSA a viable economic model. Thinking and buying local is quickly moving from a novel idea to a mainstream activity. The groundbreaking first edition helped spark a movement and, with this revised edition, Sharing the Harvest is poised to lead the way toward a revitalized agriculture.

Good Maine Food: Ancient and Mordern New England Food and Drink

by Marjorie Mosser

Old recipes, like old friends, are usually most dependable, observes noted author Kenneth Roberts in his pithy introduction to this classic recipe compendium put together by his niece, Marjorie Mosser, in the 1930s. The long career of this bible of Maine cookery has proved him right. With Robert's outspoken commentaries sprinkled throughout, excerpts from some of his best-selling books, and maxims from Maine kitchens, this old favorite is a must-own collection for any modern cook. Down East Books is proud to present this revamped edition-with a brand new foreword by food historian Sandra Oliver-as part of the all-new Best Maine Food cookbook series.

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Lobsters, Wineries and Foods of New England

Enroll with Confidence

Protecting the Environment

At a Glance

Best of all, you’ll…

General Notes

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