43: Heirloom Apples & Craft Cider

Mehgan Blair and Nate Watters are two orchardists and hyper-local craft cidermakers in different Minnesota landscapes. Blair and her family steward a historic dairy farm with an heirloom orchard in Duluth: Canosia Grove. Icelandic sheep are their “land managers,” grazing and conditioning the soil for an eventual expanded orchard.

Watters and his family started their now 6-acre orchard from scratch, planting over 6,000 apple trees of many varieties near Dundas. They bottle their cider as Keepsake Cidery, also offering a cozy tasting room experience with noshes from nearby cheesemakers.

The two prioritize community partnerships, sustainability of land and people, and growing the heirloom apple and cider markets to financial sustainability–the major challenge of note.

 

Nate Watters - Keepsake Cidery, Dundas, MN

Mehgan Blair - Canosia Grove, Duluth, MN

Katie Feterl, SFA Communications Director

 

The viewpoints of the speakers expressed within or outside of this episode do not necessarily reflect the goals and mission of SFA.

Dirt Rich is produced by the Sustainable Farming Association.

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