Podcasts about poverty lane orchards

This week, I chat with a couple that makes phenomenal cider in New Hampshire at Farnum Hill. It’s all orchard-based from their own land at Poverty Lane Orchards. In fact, it’s all made right there on-site in a repurposed barn.  Steve Wood and Louisa Spencer have made a life with their cider, but in recent years as the sort of pseudo-craft-cider boom has created both momentum and vulnerability in the cider category, things have gotten a bit out of whack. After all, what is craft cider if it’s not up to par with orchard-based traditional cider? It’s a bit like starting up a craft beer craze when you already have Hill Farmstead and Jester King around.   But that’s what’s happened in cider as these traditional orchardists have had to start competing alongside some fairly mundane cider in canned six packs. It’s a blessing and a curse. The size of the pie increases, but the consumer is more confused than ever before.  Despite that quandary, Farnum Hill is growing. They’re building an entirely new cider house next to the old barn, and hoping the future is as bright as it seems. I stopped by on a whim. I was simply in the area for a wedding this summer and wasn’t going to miss my chance to visit one of my favorite cider producers in the world. So this interview starts a bit spontaneously as Steve expected a chat, and I quickly realized that he and his partner Louisa needed to sit down and talk some things out. It starts abruptly and ends abruptly, but that’s what oral history sounds like. And I treasure this conversation.

Guest Podcaster and cidermaker, Alex Kroh, bring us into the orchard at Eve's Cidery. This episode 90 is Part 1 of a two-part show with  the makers at this New York State cidery! Find Part 2 when it goes live next week on episode 91. Pulling up to Eve’s Cidery in the small town of Van Etten, NY, you would be forgiven for thinking your GPS is broken. There’s no indication you’re in the right place unless you happen to peer in through the barn door to spot some inconspicuous ferment ers back beyond the wooden apple bins. I don’t know what I was expecting. Perhaps because of the reputation Eve’s Cidery has for producing some of the finest ciders in the country, I thought their operation would be more… built up, perhaps. After spending a generous four hours touring through the orchard and ciderhouse, I realized that the humble infrastructure that supports Eve’s is secondary, or even inconsequential compared to the place, the apples and the people. I see, now, that this is a reflection of the values and aspirations of Autumn Stoschek, co-founder of Eve’s cidery, and Ezra Sherman, a lawyer in his previous life, who would both rather spend all of their time growing apples and making cider than tending to the various other aspects of running a business. The ciderhouse is just enough to support that. For instance, there’s no tasting room at Eve’s. When we got the chance to taste through some of their amazing ciders, we sat on wooden crates on the concrete barn floor. Later I would learn from Autumn that the entire operation grew organically from year to year through the hard work and grit that must accompany any agricultural and small-business endeavor. “There was no million dollar investment.” In fact, the “seed money” to start Eve’s came from her saved tip money from waitressing. There were other forces at work, too. A formative experience working at an idyllic organic Vermont farm at the age of 15, and later a job with James Cummins, co-founder of Eve’s and son of famous rootstock breeder Dr. Jim Cummins, and finally an article about Steve Wood’s cider apples (Farnum Hill Ciders and Poverty Lane Orchards, Episodes 32 and 33) in Fruit Growers News all convened in the life of 21 year old Autumn and compelled her to drive to Poverty Lane Orchards in New Hampshire to see it all for herself. It was a risky move, dropping in on Steve Woods a busy orchardist and cidermaker, but one gets the feeling that he was more impressed than anything. He subsequently tasted Autumn through his catalog of ciders and sent her home with scionwood from his own trees. She grafted that budwood onto trees at James’ Littletree orchard and the next year planted more grafted trees on her father’s land before she had land of her own. Then began the life-long journey of learning to grow apples specifically for making cider. Growing great fruit is the key to making great cider, and this is clearly the focus at Eve’s Albee Hill orchard, which we toured during our chat. There’s a way to do it that maximizes the juice qualities that contribute to flavor and complexity, and it tends to fly in the face of “conventional” modern apple growing. Instead, it turns out that these methods have a lot more in common with organic growing methods. Cider fruit doesn’t have the cosmetic standards that dessert fruit does and there’s an opportunity for cider apple growers to align their practices with a more ecologically responsible way growing.  So how do you create the conditions that maximize the apple’s potential for making great cider? Briefly: Create or utilize mineralized soils and maximize mineral accessibility to the tree’s root system through the use of deep-rooted companion crops, healthy soil microbes and mycorrhizal fungi (and don’t spray chemicals in the orchard that will kill these) Encourage a healthy, functioning tree immune system that will produce secondary plant compounds, the phytochemicals that contribute to flavor, aroma, mouthfeel, etc… The trees need some pest and disease pressure, enough to keep the immune system active, not so much that the tree is stressed (again, fewer chemicals to spray) Don’t over-irrigate - less water in the apple means a higher concentration of sugar, tannin and other phytochemicals  Growing cider apples this way lends itself well to an experience of terroir in the glass, too. Of course, the cidermaking techniques employed are just as important. If you have too much residual sugar or cover up subtle flavors with additives or faults, you won’t likely get a hint of what terroir is contributing. In Part II (episode 91) of our chat, we discuss cidermaking techniques that transform great apples into great cider at Eve’s Cidery. Eve's Cidery special August 2017 deal for Cider Chat listeners - free shipping on orders of Eve's Cider!  Mentioned in Part I:  Steve Wood, Farnum Hill Ciders and Poverty Lane Orchards - http://www.povertylaneorchards.com/  Finger Lakes Fruit Geeks: Garrett Miller and Melissa Madden of Finger Lakes Cider House/Kite and String Cider/Good Life Farm - www.fingerlakesciderhouse.com  Eric Shatt Redbyrd Orchard Cider - https://redbyrdorchardcider.com/  Mike Biltonen, Know Your Roots Consulting - http://knowyouroots.com/ Contact Eve's Cidery website: https://www.evescidery.com/ telephone: 607-229-0230 address: 308 Beckhorn Hollow Rd Van Etten, NY 14889 Ask for the following 8 #CiderGoingUP Campaign supporters - By supporting these cider makers, you in turn help Ciderville. Kurant Cider - Pennsylvania : listen to Joe Getz on episode 14 Big Apple Hard Cider - NYC : listen to Danielle von Scheiner on episode 35 Oliver’s Cider and Perry - Herefordshire/UK ; listen to Tom Oliver on episode 29 Santa Cruz Cider Company - California : listen to Nicole Todd on episode 60 The Cider Project aka EthicCider- California Albermale CiderWorks : listen to Chuck Shelton on episode 56 Cider Summit : listen to Alan Shapiro founder of this cider fest on episode 75. Ramborn Cider Co. Luxembourg. Please Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving! Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts. Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio and where ever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on twitter @ciderchat    

Colin Davis is the lead ciderman at Shacksbury, a cidery based in northern Vermont in the town of Shoreham. Shacksbury was incorporated in 2013 and began selling ciders in 2014. Unlike many new startups that focus locally, the decision was made early on, to sell broadly.   The immediate success of Shacksbury can be credited to both Colin Davis and his business partner David Dolginow. They hit the road running by creating a formidable team with the likes of Simon Day from the UK's Once Upon a Tree and Ainara Otaño, a Basque cider maker from Petritegi . The Basque collaboration with Ainara is now bottled in Spain.  Shacksbury's Arlo, Farmhouse and Classic ciders are all blended with a Spanish base cider and their own Vermont cider. There is also a base blend that is pre fermented in the UK and shipped to the US.  Simon and Colin work with the Dragon Orchard in England, a 40 acre orchard and decide together what apples go in the base cider. Don't be fooled into thinking that this is all imported cider. Sunrise Orchards is a local Vermont orchard that they work with, as well as, having planted their own trees with scion wood from the Poverty Lane Orchards. Lost Apple Project,  using local apples found on "feral trees" in the Vermont backwoods. As they find the perfect apple that taste just right they are trying to propagate new trees. What is new for Shacksbury? A tasting room in being built and should be ready for 2017. A new selection of canned ciders is in the works for 2017 Contact Shacksbury Website: http://www.shacksbury.com/ Twitter: @shacksbury Telephone: (802) 458-0530 Mentions in this chat John Bunker _ listen to episode 16 with John http://wp.me/p6S28K-7i and 28 where John details his Apple Identification tips Pick Cider is the United States Association of Cider Makers campaign to get American to pick cider to have with their Thanksgiving meal. Stay tuned to what is sure to be a very fun and productive campaign. Eric Bordelet Along Came A Cider recent 3 part blog on Vermont cideries - here is the link to Part 3 with mentions of Shacksbury. Please share this podcast with your cider loving friends.   Follow on twitter @ciderchat    

This week on Fuhmentaboudit, get ready for some real cider insight from cidermaking heavyweights Steve Woods & Louisa Spencer of Poverty Lane Orchards & Farnum Hill Cider. They explain how the US wine industry helped cider makers, why almost all the good cider apples still lack something, and what most people get wrong when it comes to cider. This is an incredible behind the curtains look at a blossoming agricultural and beverage revolution!  “Variety is a noun and the cider people should not adopt the great affection as using the word varietal as a noun – it’s a bloody adjective.” [23:00] Most of these [apple] varieties have been propagated because of what they brought to a blended cider…almost every good cider apple is lacking something. All the bittersweets are short on acid, you need to find an acidic variety that will blend well with them.” [25:00]

This week on The Farm Report, host Erin Fairbanks is chatting with Steven Wood of Poverty Lane Orchards and Farnum Hill Ciders from about the new Arctic Apple, a genetically engineered creation of scientists working for the Okanagan Specialty Fruits company in British Columbia. Recently approved for sale by the USDA, they are seemingly identical to any other apple available at a grocery store, with one key difference: they don’t brown after being cut. Steven gives his thoughts on the new apple and explains how it may affect the global market for apples, plus questions if this is the right direction for research to proceed. After the break, Erin is joined by HRN host of The Whole Shebang, John Wilkes to discuss unmanned aerial vehicles as they are gaining popularity in the agricultural realm. Recently writing an article for The Farmer’s Guardian, John relays that the FAA recently released an official proposal for usage and that those who want to use the flying craft for business were generally encouraged by the FAA’s proposal. Tune in for another jam packed show! This program was brought to you by Whole Foods Market. “It’s taking the place of a lot of apple research that’s ultimately aimed at actually understanding the world we live in instead of trying to manipulate it to make it easier for us. We don’t understand enough about what we already have.” [12:00] “If people won’t buy brown apples and somebody breeds brownness out, I’m not going to be the one to object, except that we should be paying more attention to more important things.” [18:00] —Steven Wood on The Farm Report

On this week of Fuhmentaboudit!, Chris Cuzme and Mary Izett share some recordings from a recent cider event at Jimmy’s No. 43 in the East Village, New York City! Greg Hall of Virtue Cider talks about his transition from brewing at Goose Island to making cider. Hear how cidermaking differs from brewing in terms of agricultural production. Find out how Virtue Cider blends different ciders in order to create American takes on different European styles. Later, Steve Wood of Farnum Hill and Poverty Lane Orchards joins the conversation to discuss the importance of playing a premium for cider apples to jump start the industry. What is cider’s role in American history? Find out on this week’s edition of Fuhmentaboudit! Thanks to our sponsor, Heritage Foods USA. “As a brewer, you’re not directly involved with agriculture at all… You’re lucky to know where your hops come from, and you probably don’t know where your malt comes from. Your maltster doesn’t even know where your malt comes from! They just buy the barley from a coop… Cidermaking is very much involved with agriculture.” [5:45] “Real cidermaking comes from blending… You’re focusing on letting the apples go their own way.” [10:15] — Greg Hall on Fuhmentaboudit!

Erin Fairbanks continues her exploration into the world of apples, orchards and cider on this week’s episode of “The Farm Report” with guest Steve Wood of Poverty Lane Orchards and Farnum Hill Cider. Find out how apple picking and orchard development has changed over the years, due to packing machinery, industry demands and consumer trends. Learn what goes into cider production, including growing of the fruit and processing of the cider itself. Discover the differences between heirloom and commodity varieties of apples, and hear some of the logistical challenges that come along with distribution, packing and sales. Also, as always, tune in for the GrowNYC Market Update! This program was brought to you by Susty Party. “I started working here in 1965 when I was a kid – so yeah, I guess I’ve got an apple growing background!” [1:45] “Since packing machinery came around, the market started insisting on larger apples, waxed apples… the whole thing started to change dramatically.” [3:33] “For a lot of [apple] varieties bigger is not better – it’s actually more boring.” [10:55] “Every patch of ground imposes conditions on what things can be grown well there.” [12:00] “A farm is not a natural environment – so the idea that people can grow things naturally is almost a joke to me.” [26:28] “When you plant an orchard – you’re basically planting a candy shop for all kinds of organisms. It’s very different from having an apple tree in your backyard or a cottage in the woods!” [28:27] –Steve Wood of Poverty Lane Orchards and Farnum Hill Cider