Bella Hill Maple Syrup wins top spot at Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

The owners of Bella Hill Maple Syrup in Powassan are celebrating sweet success.

This year, maple syrup from that business won The John David Eaton World Championship Cup after its product took the top spot in the golden/delicate taste category.

"We're pretty excited," Lori Costello said. She and her husband Dan, own the business.

To win, the syrup is carefully inspected by a panel that looks at the colour, density, clarity and taste of the syrup.

How did they do it? Costello says she and Dan have been in the business for 30 years and have learned a lot through experience and getting tips from others in the business.

However, Costello chalks up this year's win to the weather.

"Usually, we make golden [syrup] earlier in the season," she explained.

"This year, on April 13, we made this batch, which is kind of mid-season. As soon as I tasted it, I knew it was a very nice flavour but it was still very light because it had gotten really cold even though it was in April."

As a result, the colour of the syrup stayed light but the flavour remained full. Costello packed it away with the fall fair in mind.

Not long ago, her phone rang with the good news. They got to go to the fair to celebrate and hand out samples of their product.

"It's bragging rights for a year," she said.

"Next year, there will be another competition and another world champion and maybe some year, we'll be lucky enough to do it again."