County Cider Company founder Grant Howes returned home from BC in the early 90’s with a plan to save the family farm in Waupoos.

The era was a depressing time to be growing apples. Produce from overseas had flooded the market. Apple growers were recouping pennies on their investment dollars; it cost more to grow than what packers were willing to pay for a bushel of fresh-picked apples. 

Hundreds of acres of apple trees were ripped up across the County, as orchards were turned to growing crops. 

But Grant had a vision. He had toured the cideries on Vancouver Island. If cider apples worked there, why not grow a stand of them high above Smith Bay?

Innovative

It’s been 30 years since the late Grant Howes started pressing cider. He took his first LCBO order in 1996 and filled it a year later. County Cider has been in the LCBO ever since. 

Jenifer Dean has been carrying the torch alone since her partner passed away eight years ago. She and her team, through trial and toil, have carried on. But now there are over 100 cideries in Ontario. Competition is fierce.

County Cider has stayed ahead of the pack, though. It is an industry leader. Ice cider, described by Grant to this reporter back in 2005 as “liquid apple pie,” and popular flavours such as pear, blackberry, peach, and new arrival cherry bourbon, are just some of the reasons why.

Show up at the cidery on the weekend and you might get a draft glass of raspberry lemonade cider. Or of a delicious iced tea cider. Or strawberry rhubarb, if the keg doesn’t run dry by Sunday afternoon. Those that pass the taste-test are bottled and sent to market across Ontario.

Grant’s spirit is evident in all of this. His legacy looms large in the tasting room, between the trees, and looking out onto Lake Ontario, County Cider’s breathtaking view.

“I think he would be incredibly proud of the way we’ve carried on his legacy here and what the Ontario Craft Cider Association has accomplished and is poised to accomplish in the coming years,” Ms. Dean says. She is now Chair of Ontario Craft Cider Association. That group is poised to see cider treated separately from wine in the LCBO hierarchy. It has also created fairer taxation programs, and eliminated unfair AGCO markups. 

Even before the LCBO started removing U.S.-based bottles and cans from store shelves, it agreed to dedicated craft cider space in 75 outlets.

“OCCA are so excited to have a provincial marketing fund grant so we can keep pushing cider further out into the Ontario marketplace,” said Ms. Dean. “We feel like we are on the cusp of something really exciting.”

It’s been nearly a decade since Jen and Grant walked through their orchard together. But after 30 years, good things continue to grow at County Cider Company. Worth raising a glass to.