All of a sudden, here we are right smack in the middle of fall. The light has shifted, the wind is gusting, and those of us who can’t quite let go of summer are scarfing down the last tomatoes of the year. But the arrival of another seasonal fruit lessens the blow of summer’s departure.
Rosy apples are bursting on the trees and dropping to the ground faster than we can gather, so get out there and maximize the local bounty at peak season.
The most direct way to enjoy an apple, of course, is to pick it off a tree and take a big, crisp bite. From Sebastopol to Placerville and Davenport, there are plenty of places to pick your own. It’s a great way to stock up apples for snacking, as well as for baking and canning — apple buttering? — projects.
Swanton Pacific Ranch near Davenport is an agricultural research site helmed by Cal Poly, but it’s also open seasonally to the public. The 2-acre orchard yields CCOF-certified organic apples with 16 varieties ripening progressively over the course of the fall season. You’ll find everything here from the Cox Orange Pippin to the aromatic Suntan.
Davenport’s Swanton Pacific Ranch, an agricultural research site helmed by Cal Poly, opens to the public for apple picking in the fall. (Courtesy Amber Turpin)
If you prefer to drink your apples — in hard cider form — head for the Santa Cruz Mountains for a scenic picnic and some sips. Felton’s Hallcrest Vineyards is also home to Santa Cruz Scrumpy Hard Cider. Order a flight in the pocket-sized tasting room, then choose your favorite to take home in bottle or can form — pomegranate, perhaps, or the recent rosé cider that blends cabernet franc and Pippin apples. (Word is, they have a new slushy machine, too.)
If you’d like something a bit stronger — but still apple-centric — book a distillery tour and tasting at St. George Spirits in Alameda’s “Spirits Alley, ” a cluster of wine tasting rooms, craft breweries and artisan distilleries on the former Alameda Naval Air Station. St. George’s seasonal California Reserve Apple Brandy captures the pure essence of the fruit and is only available a short while.
The tour offers a behind-the-scenes look at how spirits are made at the nation’s oldest independent craft distillery, plus a chance to sample other spirits, such as the Baller American Single Malt Whiskey.
St. George Spirits master distiller Lance Winters oversees the creation of a long line of special brandies, gins and other spirits. (Courtesy Emma K Creative)
We may have missed Sebastopol’s iconic Gravenstein Apple Fair — mark Aug. 9-10 on your 2025 calendar to celebrate that region’s famous fruit — but McCloud’s Apple Harvest Festival is still ahead on Oct. 12. (That’s the same weekend as Southern California’s Tehachapi Apple Festival, too.)
And the biggest bonanza of all runs through the fall in the orchard and winery and cidery-dotted hills of Placerville and Camino, where the 50 family farms that comprise the Apple Hill Growers offer an abundance of delicious doings, from U-pick to fresh cider and baked treats. Don’t miss High Hill Ranch — the largest apple farm in the association is known for its hot cider doughnuts, apple fitters and pies. Third-generation Delfino Farms includes a winery — Edio Vineyards — as well as Joan’s Apple Bakery and Henrietta Stich Hard Cider.
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If You Go
Swanton Pacific Ranch: Open from dawn to dusk through October, the ranch is located across from the Old School House at 480 Swanton Road in Davenport; spranch.calpoly.edu/upick.
Santa Cruz Scrumpy Hard Cider: Open from noon to 5 p.m. Thursday-Monday at Hallcrest Vineyards, 379 Felton Empire Road in Felton; instagram.com/santacruzscrumpyhardcider/.
St. George Spirits: Open for tastings and tours ($35) by appointment from 3 to 7 p.m. Fridays and noon to 6 p.m. weekends at 2601 Monarch St, Alameda; stgeorgespirits.com.
Apple Hill Growers Association: Find details on the region’s apple orchards, wineries and bake shops at applehill.com.
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