Pleasant Valley Cidery is the next level fulfillment for the love of apples from Pleasant Valley Orchard. In 1990 Jim Birkholz and Judy Erickson came to Franconia township to pursue their dream of establishing an apple orchard, Pleasant Valley Orchard. (link to PVO website). Since then, after countless bushels of apples, and tasty bakery treats, the question arose, “What’s next?”
Hard cider! The classic American beverage. If you love our apples, you will love our cider.
Our Apples
At Pleasant Valley Cidery, our ciders are made from apples grown on our trees in the glacial soils of our farm. Because of this they will be distinct from any others. The word “terroir” is from the French language. It means, literally, soil-land. It references the complete natural environment in which a particular wine is produced and the unique taste and flavor imparted by that environment. So, it goes with cider. Look for our ciders to be uniquely reflective of our terroir—glacial soils, hills and the St. Croix Valley. We look forward to sharing our ciders with you—out of our old dairy barn!
We will usually have on tap a Dry and a Semi-Sweet Cider blended from our apples as well as apples blended from other things we grow such as strawberries, cherries and rhubarb other collaborations with local growers will be coming.
Ciders will be available on tap and in 22 oz bomber bottles.
Seasonal Cidery
You will only find Pleasant Valley Ciders on site, served seasonally in our restored dairy barn. This barn served as our Orchard base of operations for the first fifteen years. From 2016-2022, we carefully restored the structure, exterior and interior of the barn. With the seasonal serving area guests are invited to enjoy the ambience of the barn and orchard area. We will host occasional special events and the barn is also available on a limited basis for private groups. Join us for Cider Saturdays starting May 3rd!
17325 Pleasant Valley Road
Shafer, Minnesota 55074