Terra Madre Delegate Profile -
Kristin and Rich Ford, cider makers
Cyderworks - Portland, OR
www.cyderworks.com

In 1993, Rich Ford gave his wife Kristin a grafting knife for Christmas. A few weeks later he picked Kristin up after her first Home Orchard Society meeting, her hands wrapped in blood-soaked toilet paper. Since then, she has grafted over 3000 trees and is thrilled to be done with the bulk of it, with the exception of the occasional replacement tree. Grafting may have grown old, but Kristin never tires of spending her days in the orchard, cultivating thirty-four varieties of apples-mostly English, French, and old American varieties. "I love the orchard. It's full of bird nests, and today I found a nest of baby rabbits," she says. "And best of all, no one talks back out in the orchard."

The Ford's farm is on Sauvie Island, fifteen miles east of Portland, Oregon, bounded by the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. Kristin and Rich make traditional French-style cider from their organically grown dwarf apple trees. Like wine, the best cider comes from the finest fruit, which is grown in climates and soils that are conducive to apple production. Sauvie Island is the result of thousands of years of alluvial deposits brought by the rivers, and the soil is deep and fertile. The latitude and proximity to sea are similar to Normandy, France, which is the heart of the French cider making country.

Originally, Kristin and Rich had hoped to grow grapes and make wine, but the geography turned out to be much more suitable to apples. Though they chose a different fruit, the fermentation process is similar, and they produce what Kristin hopes will become an alternative to wine to serve with your next cheese plate or pork roast. According to Kristin, "Rich loves the science end of it, the chemistry, and the balancing of the flavors." They only use fruit grown on their farm, press it on site, and then ferment the unpasteurized juice.

Kristin, now eight years into the apple growing and cider making adventure, lovingly describes each variety they grow. Some of her favorites, which blended together have the ideal combination of acidity, tannin, and sweetness for cider, are Pomme Gris, Golden Russet, Pitmaston Pineapple, Courtland, and Wickson Crab. "The Golden Russet," she says, "is one of the few varieties that is also good to eat, and it makes a beautiful, creamy juice, and is truly golden in color. The Wickson Crab is a beautiful little apple, not a true crab apple, and is incredibly hardy. That's the beauty of growing apples for cider: the apples don't have to be beautiful, so if they get a few scabs, no one cares."

Farming is a family affair, and Kristin and Rich's children help at all stages. Anna, ten, and Jacob, seven, help label the bottles and put on the caps. Kristin notes that Anna has an excellent palate and helps Rich balance the flavors of the cider. And finally, there's Nellie the Pig. "She's the orchard manager, " Kristin explains, "and I remember the day she discovered windfalls. Ever since, she's cleaned up a row a day and most days her stomach is dragging on the ground by the evening." -Katherine Deumling, Slow Food Portland