- September 9, 2021
- 6:03 pm
New York City may be known as the Big Apple, but upstate New York has over 600 apple orchards. You can go apple picking at may of these apple orchards, but not all the apples are for eating.
Many apples that are grown in upstate NY are used for hard apple cider like Angry Orchard and Treasury Cider.
So I decided to take a weekend trip from NYC and head up to the Hudson Valley region to taste some local New York state ciders at Angry Orchard (in Ulster County) and Fishkill Farms (Dutchess County) where they make their brand Treasury Cider.
You can even go apple picking at Fishkill Farms and then stay for the cider and food afterward. And don’t forget to try the apple cider donuts!
Overall, going to the apple orchards is just a quick trip form New York City and made for a great getaway for a fall weekend! Check out our more videos you may like.
Angry Orchard
Angry Orchard doesn’t have apple picking, but it is the clear leader in terms of hard cider sales. Their sales of $202 million far exceed the next largest Bold Rock out of Virginia ($30m) and 2 Towns from Oregon ($20m). It doesn’t hurt that they are owned by the Boston Beer Company, which brews the popular Sam Adams beer, and thus is distributed nationwide.
Angry Orchard serves flights of their cider varieties, food from their own kitchen, and also has food trucks on site during the busy months. And if you want a unique experience, you can make a reservation for the Tree House tasting room, built by the famed treehouse designer & builder Pete Nelson.
Fishkill Farms
Fishkill Farms, however, has been a family-owned apple orchard and vegetable farm for over 100 years. Their farm store is open year-round, and they offer a seasonal pick your own operation starting with peas and strawberries in the spring and culminating with apples and pumpkins in the fall season.
But it’s their Treasury Cider brand that is a bonus for when you’re done (or just skip the apple picking and go right for the cider). Try their flagship semi-dry Homestead or their semi-dry rosé named Wild at Heart. Or just get a couple flights and try them all. They offer small bites such as cheese plates and hummus, or there is a grill that serves Jamaican jerk chicken, corn on the cob, and other grill items. But most importantly, there is a small stand selling cider donuts. To top it all off, they have a live music schedule during the busy months. This is by far the orchard I visit the most, and one of my favorites in all of upstate.
