Seasonal Sips: Apples

As the leaves turn golden and the air takes on a familiar autumn chill, we’re turning our attention to one of the most beloved fruits of the season: the apple. Maybe it's the sudden abundance of them at the farmers market, stacked in shades of red and gold you didn't know existed. Maybe it's the first cider donut of the season, eaten standing up in a gravel parking lot at some orchard an hour outside of town. Around here, apple season isn't just a flavor; it's a whole mood, and it happens to be one of Oregon's oldest agricultural stories. This installment of our Seasonal Sips series is our love letter to the fruit: a little history, a little harvest economics, and a full lineup of cocktails (plus one very good cake) highlighting Oregon’s iconic Fall bounty.

By the 1890s, Hood River apples were winning ribbons at fairs and expositions across the country, and in 1897 local farmers dug what they called a “farmers ditch,” an irrigation channel that let them plant fruit trees across thousands more acres. By 1907, the valley held nearly 350,000 apple trees, and the newly built Mt. Hood Railroad was hauling crate after crate of them to market.

Then, in 1919, disaster struck: a hard freeze plunged temperatures to 27 degrees below zero and killed a huge share of the valley's apple trees. Many growers replanted with pears instead, which is part of why Hood River is known today as pear country even though apples got there first. Some families stuck with fruit through every chapter of that history, including the Kiyokawa family, who have farmed the valley since 1911 and returned to rebuild their orchard after being forcibly incarcerated during World War II.

Today, that early pioneer ambition has blossomed into a massive, multi-million-dollar agricultural powerhouse. In 2024, Oregon's apple harvest topped 119 million pounds and was worth an estimated $28.2 million, per the USDA. And Oregon does something distinctive with its crop: nearly 90% of it is sold fresh rather than processed into juice or sauce, one of the highest fresh-market rates of any apple-growing state in the country. That means the crisp Red Delicious, Fuji, or Gala you pick up at a Portland farmers market is more likely to have been grown right here in Oregon than almost anywhere else. 

But Oregon apples matter for far more than just the economy. Beyond the fruit itself, orchards support an entire regional economy of farm stands, u-pick tourism, cideries, and festivals that draw visitors from across the Pacific Northwest every fall. The Hood River Fruit Loop, a scenic 35-mile drive through more than 16,000 acres of orchards, turns apple picking into an all-day event. Closer to Portland, farms turn the harvest into a full-blown festival, complete with corn mazes, apple cannons, and hard cider on tap. And then there's what happens at home: cider mulling on the stove, pie contests, caramel apples, and a cocktail shaker full of Oregon apple brandy. 

From Hood River orchards to our copper stills on the Central Eastside, apple season is one of Oregon's best excuses to slow down, gather people around a table, and drink something that tastes like the place we live. Stop by the Bottle Shop to taste Distiller's Workshop Apple Brandy for yourself, or shop our full apple-season lineup — plus Portland Cider Co. and more — online at the New Deal Bottle Shop. Cheers to sweater weather, great company, and the incredible flavors of the season!