New Cidery in Oro-Medonte Open for Tours in June
—submitted
Nestled in the hills of Oro Medonte, Woodfolk Cider is a new cidery in Simcoe County, recently opened by husband and wife duo Martha Lowry and Alastair Whitehead. The couple came together through a mutual love of food, music, the outdoors, and dreams of farming. Alastair spent years travelling the world as a musician, while Martha tucked into jobs working at breweries, distilleries and cideries throughout Ontario.
In 2019 the couple decided it was time to get out of the city, lay down some roots and fulfil their long-time dream of planting orchards and opening a cidery. As luck would have it, they found the perfect farm, just down the road from where Martha grew up, and decided to go for it.
Over the past five years, the farm has been a whirlwind of activity with over 2000 apple and pear trees planted, and much cleaning and fixing up around the old homestead. Finally, this past year with the help of some friends and family, Alastair has built a beautiful cidery atop the hill on their farm. Their family knows if they show up here, they’ll likely be put to work picking an apple or hammering a board. But that’s part of what has made this project so fun, growing a community around the farm and the cidery and bringing everyone along for the ride to create something beautiful.
So why cider? Isn’t that the question. Apples grow fantastically in our climate. You can find them growing feral in the hedgerows all around our county. And it turns out, they make wonderful cider. Really good cider is so hard to find in Ontario, and Alastair and Martha wanted to make the kind of ciders that they love drinking. The only way to make good cider is from good fruit. Fruit that is grown for flavour, to peak ripeness from apple varieties with complex flavours. It’s a whole lot of work but the results in the bottle are worth it.
In their home orchard, they grow older eating apples like Egremont Russet, but also newer varieties like Puget Spice, and crab apples like Chestnut. The home orchard now boasts over 43 different varieties of apples and pears. Some for eating, and some bitter apples that are really only good for cider. They also source fruit from the two neighbouring farms: Windy Ridge, which is just down the road, managed by their good friends Steve and Kathy Bryan; and Flynndabeau, the orchard at Martha’s parents’ farm next door. In the fall they will have fresh fruit and juice, as well as their ciders.
What about the ciders? Woodfolk ciders are bright and flavourful, with a focus on apple varieties and the diversity of flavours they create. They strive to make ciders that are complex, yet approachable. Ciders that celebrate the land they come from and bottle a little sunshine in your glass. Some ciders may be bright and fruity, others rich and tannic, and all delicious. These ciders pair gorgeously with food and hopefully bring friends together for a little bit of joy.
The tasting shop and garden will open this coming spring. Woodfolk Cider will be open onsite Fridays and Saturdays starting in June, or by appointment. Also find them at the Barrie and Fairgrounds farmers markets all winter, and Gravenhurst farmers market through the summer. Free local delivery is also an option if you shop online. More details on the website and social media www.woodfolkcider.com. Come for a sample and stay for the view.
