(Denver, CO) This summer, Colorado apple growers and cider producer  Snow Capped Cider, will follow up their exciting canned product launch with a highly anticipated new high-end cider offering—introducing Snow Capped Cider Gold Rush, available now.

Inspired by the Colorado Gold Rush, the cider is made using cider-only apples, estate-grown locally on the Western Slope of Colorado. Made from cider-specific apples grown in 109-year old orchards, Gold Rush is truly a high-end, special product. The Snow Capped Cider family has been cultivating these special apples for years, and as such are the only cidery or grower in Colorado with this volume of cider apples.

Snow Capped Cider is also the only cider company in the United States placing English and French cider varietals in a can and distributing this type of volume—most producers have to blend with some sort of heritage apple, and very few actually grow the fruit themselves.

Growing the fruit themselves allows Snow Capped Cider to price the can competitively, the same as their main can line products, keeping this high-end product accessible for all.

Says owner Kari Williams, “Cider apples are worth their weight in gold—they are some of the most sought-after apples with which to make proper cider, and they are not available to just anyone. We have been carefully cultivating our fruit for a century, and eight years ago added French and English cider-specific varietals for high-end cider. We’ve been testing and developing what works best in our terroir and elevation—we finally have mature enough apples to produce cider up to our high standards. These apples are not readily available to cider makers, and most orchards in the US do not grow them. If they do, it’s a small amount. The varietals are from France and England, are estate-grown and sourced from one location. Rare! Like gold!”

Gold Rush Tasting Notes: Coveted cider apples (specifically, Blanc Mollet, Ashmead’s Kernel, English Golden Russet, and Dabinett) deliver a brilliant golden hue—hence the name—and tantalizing ripe fruit character. Clean quintessential medium tannins only produced from English and French varietals boast complexity and a striking rich mouth feel. Sweetness is found up front leading to an off dry semi sparkling finish, Gold Rush is pressed and slow fermented with no added sugar. Gold Rush is 8% Alcohol by Volume and will be available at retailers statewide in 12 oz. can four-packs as well as through Snow Capped Cider’s website: www.snowcappedcider.com/shop.

Snow Capped Cider’s product is made from 100% Colorado-grown fruit, and stands on over a century of fruit-growing experience.

FRUIT THIS YEAR
This was a difficult year for fruit growing due to the frost, and Snow Capped Cider’s family orchards was one of the only large-scale growers with fruit this year. Since they specialize in high-altitude growing (their orchards are located at 6,130 feet), they are have an extremely high level of frost protection. This year, for example, they used 38,000 gallons of propane and 200 cords of wood per day to keep their fruit viable. The danger of hail still looms and the growers use hail netting as a preventative measure.

As a result, they are the only packing company in their area packing fruit for Colorado grocery stores.

EFFECTS OF COVID-19
Snow Capped Cider, like many businesses, has experienced some challenges due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Thankfully, much of the work to be done is outdoors and the facilities are not in a populated area of the Western Slope, so they have been able to keep their entire cider team intact. While the Tasting Room has been closed, the Snow Capped Cider team focused efforts on fermenting and canning along with learning Orchard work and helping with frost protection.

Says Williams, “Our team has been great— they have risen to the challenges we were facing and helped with frost protection, working all night for a few weeks. They helped plant 65,00 new  apple trees, learned to graft cider apples, pruned, mowed and sprayed in the orchards. This time has really given our staff a foundation and a true look at all that what we do.”

Though Snow Capped Cider saw a slowdown in sales in their own territory (Mountain towns like Telluride, Aspen, Crested Butte, Ouray, Ridgeway, etc.), their distribution to the rest of the state has remained mostly steady, with only a small decrease in volume. “The launch of cans in 2019 was well-timed, as many people will be picnicking and camping this summer due to travel restrictions. Now they can take Snow Capped Cider along safely,” remarks Williams.

 

SNOW CAPPED CIDER

250 South Grand Mesa Road
Cedaredge, CO 81413

About Snow Capped Cider
Born from more than a century of fruit-growing experience, a passion for cider (and an abundance of apples!), Snow Capped Cider was launched in 2014. Starting with exceptional fruit from their historic family orchards, husband-and-wife owners Kari and Ty Williams combine their knowledge and experience with their love of great tasting food and beverages to create their signature series of hard ciders.


Brewed following authentic orchard-based English and French styles, along with modern cider themes and trends, Snow Capped Cider has cultivated an award-winning, well-rounded brand.


More information can be found at www.snowcappedcider.com.


About Williams’ Orchard
The Snowcapped Cider story begins in the late 1800s with James Howard Williams (Pap) and the Williams family orchards. In the early the family moved to Cedaredge, CO and cleared their first twenty acres where they began growing apples and stone fruit including peaches, plumbs and cherries. Pap’s son Ozie, grandson Dan and great-grandson Ty continued purchasing new land, expanding the farm and developing new growing practices.

Beginning with Pap, every generation of the Williams family has been integrally involved in the packing and shipping of fruit out of Surface Creek Valley.  Always mindful of the needs of the local farming community, in any given time period, the family established or helped establish packing companies, partnerships and grower collectives.

At an elevation of 6130 feet, the Williams Family Orchard is one of the highest elevation orchards in the world. READ MORE HISTORY HERE 

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