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Winter Point Oysters

Our Winter Point oysters (Crassostrea virginica) are sourced from the pristine waters of Mill Cove (West Bath, Maine-N 43:52:30/W 69:51:35).  The family that harvests and processes our Winter Points for us has been fishing this variety of oyster from these very waters for over 300 years.  No kidding.  How’s that for heritage?  These oysters are of exceptional quality and consistency in their size, shape, cleanliness and flavor.  The Winter Points are roughly three to three-and-a-half inches in diameter, deep cupped, thick shelled, and possess a medium salinity coupled with a hint of sweetness.  I have no reservations in stating that these oysters will exceed the expectations of even your most particular customers and fanatical oyster connoisseurs.  The Winter Points are started in an upweller when they are approximately two millimeters in diameter, and they remain in there for a period of five weeks to two months.  The upweller provides the tiny oysters with both protection and a constant flow of the nutrient rich Mill Cove waters.  Once the oysters reach a more manageable size, they are transferred to a bottom-culture tray and rack system, which is moored to the clay seabed of Mill Cove.  The oysters remain in this sub-tidal zone for roughly six to nine months before they are once again moved for the final stage of their grow-out and finishing.  This last step sees the Winter Point oysters removed from the trays, and hand planted on the hard packed clay and mud of Mill Cove.  The phytoplankton rich tides of the Gulf of Maine continually wash in and out of the cove, bringing an uninterrupted supply of nutrients to the oysters.  The Winter Point oysters are somewhat unique to oysters of this region of Mid-Coast Maine as they are available 12 months a year.  In the temperate months, the Winter Points are harvested from a skiff, by means of bull rake.  However, Mill Cove will freeze over, making travel by small watercraft quite impossible.  This is but a small hurdle for our friends in West Bath.  I wouldn’t be so foolish as to say that Yankee ingenuity has the upper-hand on Mother Nature…However, we hardscrabble New Englanders have learned to cope with the elements (especially with 300 years of accumulated knowledge).  Cove freezes over?  Cut through the ice in order to gather the oysters!

Please email info@jpshellfish.com or call 207-439-6018 for more information on this and or any other J.P.'s Shellfish product or service.