Southwest Colorado was once a national hub for unique apple varieties. Today, a group of hard cider artisans are restoring the local orchard economy.
Sometimes Jude Schuenemeyer will find an apple tree that he just can’t identify. With over a hundred unidentified varieties in southwest Colorado, the tree could be one of any number of rare or endangered specimens. If Schuenemeyer is lucky and the tree is hanging with ripe fruit, he can take a crunchy, juicy bite into an apple and taste a flavor that has been forgotten for nearly a century. “It blows you away,” Schuenemeyer says.
A hundred and twenty years ago, Montezuma County was a hub for the state’s apple industry, with thousands of trees dotting the mountainous, high-desert terrain. Though neglected for decades, today these historic trees are finding a new market as a budding craft cider industry takes root in southwest Colorado. Continue reading at 5280 Denver’s Mile High Magazine…
BY MARGARET HEDDERMAN
October 18, 2021