A fruitful endeavor
Farmers found an angel in agritourism. When the commercial market dwindled, many opened roadside stands.
“Asking growers to shift their focus from selling tons to selling bags required a culture shift from what they’d done for generations,” says Beth Carden, executive director of Henderson County’s Tourism Development Authority.
Carden’s agency promoted agritourism and persuaded growers to open their orchards to visitors hungry for authentic experiences.
“Families want to make memories and Henderson County is well-suited for that,” Carden says.
That’s evident on the Crest of the Blue Ridge Orchard Trail, where families frolic among 20 orchards offering U-pick produce, farm stands, hayrides, corn mazes and the chance to fire an apple “cannon.”
Henderson County, about 20 miles south of the tourist hot spot of Asheville, accounts for 85 percent of the apple harvest in North Carolina, the seventh largest apple-producing state in the U.S. Nearly 300,000 people attended this year’s Apple
Festival over Labor Day weekend.
“Some farmers make their entire year on festival sales,” Barnwell says. “Agritourism has been a godsend.”
It’s a sentiment shared by
Mike Stepp, who’s often found atop a John Deere tractor pulling wagonloads of visitors through acres of apples, pumpkins and sunflowers at Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard in Hendersonville.
Three generations of Stepps work the farm their family has owned for 70 years.
“There’s a real love for growing apples here and keeping that tradition alive,” he says. “It would be difficult to make it without agritourism.”
As agritourism blossomed, another industry bubbled to the surface.
Asheville’s pristine watershed launched a booming microbrewery destination. Why couldn’t Henderson County tap its terrain to develop a hard cider market? Having grown apples on three continents, Brian Shanks, one of the world’s top cider developers, knew it could be done.
“This pocket of North Carolina produces some of the best apples in the world,” Shanks says.
Shanks helped Bold Rock Hard Cider become one of the largest hard cider producers in the U.S. When the company outgrew its Virginia facility, Shanks and cofounder John Washburn set their sights south.
Today, the company produces 10 year-round and four seasonal craft ciders from apples sourced within 35 miles of its Mills River, North Carolina, facility.
From a dining deck overlooking the production room, patrons watch the pressing, fermenting, clarification, blending, chilling and canning process. Others tour the production room as Shanks or staff members explain how things work.
“We’re using modern technology while making cider the way early American presidents did,” Shanks says.
Kenny Barnwell keeps Bold Rock stocked in 14 varieties of apples.
“Knowing you have a home for your apples makes a lot of difference to a farmer,” he says.
The flavor profiles of local ciders vary, from dry and sparkling to pleasingly tart to full-bodied and fruity, but without cloying sweetness.
“Hard cider is gaining ground as a refreshing alternative to beer,” Shanks says. “It’s pleasant and approachable, with a low alcohol content suitable for drinking over a long afternoon.”
Another local business, Flat Rock Cider Company sells small batch beverages on tap and in growlers at 305 Lounge & Eatery in Hendersonville. This cider maker’s homegrown approach puts a twist on traditional cider.
“People really seem to enjoy the blackberry-infused cider,” says 305’s owner Patty Adamic.
If scenic vistas and favorable growing conditions launched the county’s agritourism movement, the community is what’s kept it going.
“You have an idea and the people around here help make it happen,” says Shanks.
Like the streams running through these mountains, a collaborative spirit runs through the farms and towns tucked among ridges, peaks and valleys. Working together to preserve farming traditions, people of all ages and backgrounds made Henderson County a paradise in its own right.