Meet the Cidermakers

Josh Morgenthau moved back to the family farm in 2006 when production had dipped to 40 acres of orchard and the land was in dire need of some TLC. In partnership with his father Robert Morgenthau, he began renovating the farm and replanting and pruning the aging trees. Mark Doyle joined the farm as General Manager in 2008, and over the next several years, they built a talented team to help put over 100 acres of fallow land back into production.

Josh fermented his first batch of hard cider in his basement in 2007—it has been an annual tradition since. Over time, he tinkered with his recipe and the apple varieties he used and discovered that cider can be much more than a sweet alternative to beer. In 2010, a trip to France’s Loire Valley was a revelation; the best winemakers were farmers who insisted that the hardest part of making great wine was growing good grapes. With good fruit, the rest came naturally. Josh wanted to see if the same could be done with cider. The renaissance in quality, locally produced orchard ciders and his discovery of traditional European ciders proved that it could.

Over the years, Josh and Mark planted acres of heirloom and cider apple varieties in the farm’s orchards to steer it towards the production of a high-quality fermented cider in a traditional style. Many of these unique varieties came into bearing for the first time in 2015, the concept of Treasury Cider was born, and the first batch was produced for public consumption.

 Currently underway are plans for a brand-new cidery building that will house fermentation, bottling equipment, plus a tasting room!