Hard Cider

At Oz Farm, we press small batches of estate-grown,
organic apples to make a custom, craft-cider blend.
7.2% alc/vol. Must be 21 or older to purchase.

Our orchard-based blends are crafted with traditional methods; the apples are masticated, pressed and fermented with native yeast in the barn adjacent to the orchard. The farm’s three acres of organically tended apple trees produce over 50 rare and heirloom choice European cider apples that are intentionally blended to lend each vintage a taste of Oz Farm. Infused into the terroir of these ciders is the essence of the rich soil that is continuously revitalized by Garcia River wintertime flooding and decades of regenerative orchard management. Our ciders offer a bone-dry effervescence with a crafted balance of tannins and acids. 

The cidery was born out of a passion to creatively utilize the apples that can’t be sold as dessert-grade. Instead of composting or sending these choice cider apples to pig farmers, four years ago Oz’s new owner Dean Fernandez decided to build a cidery and thus combine two things that add intrigue to any organic farm operation: upcycling and value-added products. Dean first got introduced to cider production while an apprentice at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems in Santa Cruz, and spent years pruning the orchard at Oz before taking ownership of the farm and its “espaliered” orchards with trees trained on trellises in rows much like grapes in vineyards. 

We bring our local and sustainable farming ethic into the production of cider; while it is possible to make cider from concentrate or ship in juice from apples grown far away, Oz’s cidery only uses organic pressed apple juice from our own orchards and is committed to small-batch production. We have learned that the best craft cider is born from the alchemy of blending the juice of multiple choice apples, and their blends trace the arc of the harvest season with early, mid and late-season ciders. The most unique apples are fermented separately to add special qualities to blends such as the acids in the Nehou apple and the unique tannin profile offered by the Siberian Crabapple. We are even experimenting with breeding new varietals of apple by growing out seeds born from the most ancient genetics of the original trees from the mountains of Kazakhstan. Oz Farm now has a full state-of-the-art cidery, but small-batch production as well as sustainability is still a central ethos. Oz Farm is an entirely off-grid farm and retreat center and the cidery is powered by solar and wind energy. 

We plan to expand production and distribution throughout Mendocino County soon and have just acquired a number of upcycled storage tanks from an Oregon tea company that was going out of business. You can find our cider at The New Museum Brewery in Point Arena, Surf Market in Gualala, and Point Arena Pizza.