KidsView: From Branch to Bottle

KidsView: From Branch to Bottle
By Brandilyn Mitchell

Are you an apple-autumn person or a pumpkin-autumn person?

Me, I’m both. Apple spice. Pumpkin spice. Apple pie. Pumpkin Pie. Bob for apples. Bob for…well, ok, you got me there.

You know what else got me this year? Lucky You Orchards in Ripon! If you want to pick apples and drink some cider and toss some cornhole bean bags around, you don’t have to drive to Placerville. Just hop on 99 for 10 minutes, and you’ll be transported to autumnal bliss.

Lucky You Orchards has been owned and operated by four generations over 100 years! To say the Chinchiolos know autumn is an understatement. They started with grapes during the prohibition which they sold to Canadian winemakers, then added nuts to their forte. Apples became their main crop in the 80s, and they have pluots and cherries these days, too. They were one of the first approved Fuji Apple farms. They opened for picnicking in 2020 to meet the need for families who wanted to safely gather and hang out, making memories after being cooped up away from each other for too long.

In the picnic area that I have dubbed “Sharing is Caring” after one of the cider names, there are picnic tables, cornhole, hay bales, recliner chairs and TONS of shade for all your picnicking needs. And using the space is FREE when you pick apples. You wanna know what else is free? Taking your kiddos on the “bubble powered” diesel tractor ride! I don’t WHAT it is about bubbles, but they make kids go crazy in the best way.

Actually, anytime your kids go crazy somewhere other than inside the house is fantastic, so bring them here and let them explore, eat, and learn about our bountiful valley while you relax and kick back a cold one. A cold cider that is. Both non-alcoholic and alcoholic!

In 2016, they opened Far West Cider in Richmond, CA. Her brother Adam launched the brewery in 2016. Adam, Andrea and their other sibling Alex, are the brains and hands behind the Richmond cidery. What made Andrea choose brewing? “I was working for a startup in the bay, and thought why am I working so hard for a startup when I could work this hard for our farm?” What is the one thing you want readers to know? “Family is the heart of our business. We love it when families visit the farm!”

When you visit, you’ll be able to try many of their flavors via Tap Travelers. (Sounds familiar? We wrote about them recently here.) We had You Guava Be Kidding Me (the best!), Mimosa (a citrusy paradise!) and Juicy Meade (made with honey!). Their apples are shipped to Far West for processing and brought back in kegs to tantalize your taste buds. “For the first time people can come drink our cider right where the apples are grown. You can buy West Coast apple cider almost everywhere, and that’s great, but this is our history and the way we grow apples. That’s us.” said Andrea Chinchiolo, as she gestured to everything around us.

Andrea and her father, Steve, were walking the farm introducing themselves and making patrons feel like a part of the family. I was standing next to Julie Amaral of Tap Travelers when a keg of hers needed swapped, and Steve got right up to do it. As if that didn’t impress me enough, he wasn’t interested in wasting the condensation that had collected on the previous keg-he poured it right into the giant mister fan, keeping everyone in the sales area nice and cool. Reduce, reuse, recycle? Yes, please! Sustainability isn’t just a word they throw around, they truly live it.

I love it when KidsView and BrewView cross paths. This is one of the BEST ways for everyone in your family to enjoy the season. We hope to catch you on the bubble tractor! Sip on, friends!