"The cultural practices you employ will have a great influence on the quality of the cider produced."

Claude Jolicoeur, The New Cider Maker's Handbook
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Our orchard is planted on semi-standard rootstock with generous spacing, which is part of what allows us to manage it holistically. This cultural practice greatly reduces the yield-per-acre potential of our orchard. We have adopted this approach (which is akin to traditional practices) because we believe stewardship of a healthy orchard ecosystem produces fruit with more flavor and better characteristics for fermentation. Of course, we live on the farm, so we feel better seeing a biologically rich environment outside our window.

Small Fruit

Much of the distinctive flavor of an apple comes from the skin or in the flesh near the skin. Smaller fruits that haven't been swollen by chemical fertilizers have a higher skin to flesh ration. Therefore, the juice has more flavor.


Looks aren't everything

Producing a cosmetically perfect apple using holistic or organic practices is hard. Thank goodness looks don't really matter for cider apples. We concentrate on keeping the whole tree healthy and the fruit sound.


Low Nitrogen Levels

Conventional orchards grow trees on dwarfing rootstocks that usually require large amounts of fertilizer. This elevates the nitrogen levels in fruit. Higher levels of nitrogen in fruit usually leads to fast, vigorous fermentations that blow off flavor and reduce the complexity of the cider. Our holistic practices produce fruit that ferment more slowly, making it easier to preserve flavor. Of course, if you want a fast ferment you are welcome to add yeast nutrient.



Soil and Climate

The soil on our site is heavy and thin, with a lot of clay and rocks--tough conditions for an apple tree but perhaps good for the fruit. We don't irrigate so the vigorous rootstock really has to dig deep to find enough water. The slope faces east for good morning light and thermals. At an elevation of about 2,000 feet,  the nights tend to be crisp and the cold in fall comes suddenly. It's too early to make any real claims about the impact of terroir on the fruit, but so far we can say that brix levels have been on the high side. We'll keep posting as we notice recurring characteristics.