This episode begins on a road trip to New York state, specifically the west side of the Hudson River to Stone Ridge Orchards one of the three farms that is under the umbrella of Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider. The other two orchards are Breezy Hill, on the east side of the Hudson River and Drumlin located in Milton, NY, on the west side of the Hudson River.
Ted Knight greeted the cider van at the Stone Ridge farm shop, and he showed me a beautiful view of Stone Ridge Orchards and then I am off with Elizabeth Ryan, a Cornell trained Pomologist and a champion of orchards and farms in the region along with being a cider maker and so much more via her business Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider.
Ria in the Cider Van
Road Trip Day 2
Onward to Pennsylvania with a stop at Spacetime Mead and Cider Works located in Dunmore. I was so happy to finally have a chat, taste some cheese and tour the storefront and the backroom at the cidery with Dan Schreffler the owner and maker.
That evening I camped in Cider Van and was able to enjoy the fireflies that danced around the campground.
Road Trip Day 3
It was a 2+ hour drive to Big Hill Ciderworks in Gardener's Pennsylvannia in Adams County the premier apple growing region for the state.
I first met with Ben Kishbaugh who along with Troy Lehman the makers at Big Hill. Both own their own farms, with Ben's housing the production room for Big Hill and Troy having the new Tasting Room complete with outdoor and indoor seating.
Ben took me for a ride around the two farm orchards and then I had a sit down recording with both he and Troy. Later that evening more cider friends showed up for a special event spearheaded by cider enthusiast Erica Jeter. She had set us all up, with a tasting of the One Juice Cider Project. It involved one blend and 5 UK cider makers all working with the same juice. It was magnificent.
Road Trip Day 4
From Big Hill I took off for a 2+ hour drive to Tattiebolge CiderWorks in Acme to meet up with Curt Henry. Curt is the cider maker and works with his two brothers and the rest of his family at this spectacularly situated cidery overlooking the lower land region of Latrobe in the distance.
Road Trip Day 5
From Tattiebolge I returned back to Adams County that night and camped at Pine Hill Grove Furnace State Park. On the morning of Day 5 I took the back roads through the state park to Ploughman Cider.
Ben Wenk who along with cidermaker Edwin Winzeler are the backbone of Ploughman, but as Edwin was away and Ben was a bit late due to a farmer's market run, I was thrilled to have a sit down with Ben's father and get the history of the Wenk's family farm.
Notably, the Wenks have been in this area for over 100 years making the Three Spring Farms where Ploughman is located is a designated Centennial Farm of America.
From Ploughman, I headed back to New York for my last stop on this trip to Westwind Orchard to meet cider maker Fabio Chizzola. Before getting fully bit by the cider making bug, Fabio had turned the abandoned orchard into a U-Pick business and also a foodie destination complete with a full Italian menu and espresso bar. There is ample outdoor seating in a beautiful setting just waiting for you to stop by!
Stay tuned for stand alone episodes with each of these makers that I met on this amazing cider road trip, my first since the world closed back in March 2020. I hope this snippet of my road trip, encourages you to take one too!
Mentions in this Cider Chat
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