Past Poured Forward: Oregon’s Heirloom Apples

As the crisp air of autumn returns to Oregon’s Willamette Valley, the ripe scent of apples drifts, through orchards steeped in history. Although modern varieties dominate supermarket shelves, a quiet resurgence is underway: heirloom apples, once nearly forgotten, are returning to assert their place in the region’s agricultural identity — and in our cider glasses.

The story traces back to the mid-1800s, as pioneers on the Oregon Trail brought apple seeds and grafts from across the Rockies. While growing apples to eat was definitely on their agenda, these pioneer farmers planned on drinking their apples as well. Hard cider was safer than water, longer-lasting than fresh fruit, and easier to produce than wine or beer back on the early frontier. The Willamette Valley, with its cool, wet winters and long growing season, proved an ideal climate for the cultivation of fruit — particularly apples.

By the late 19th century, small family orchards sprung up throughout the valley, cultivating varieties like Baldwin, Roxbury Russet, Winesap, Spitzenburg, and Gravenstein. With names as distinctive as their taste, these apples possessed complex flavors and unusual textures. Some were tart, others spicy, and many were prized not for fresh eating, but for baking, preserving, and fermenting.

In the early part of the 20th century Prohibition nearly wiped out the cider tradition in Oregon, and with it, demand for heirloom apples. Orchards were razed or replanted with sweeter dessert varieties like Red Delicious. By the 1950s, America’s apple diversity had narrowed from thousands of named cultivars to a handful of commercial staples.

Fortunately, in the early 1990s, a new wave of orchardists and craft cider makers began seeking out the old trees. Some were rediscovered in abandoned homesteads, growing wild on fence lines or tucked away in forgotten groves. Others were painstakingly regrafted from antique trees still bearing fruit. The result? A renaissance of flavor: a renewed reverence for Oregon’s apple heritage had blossomed. 

Today, in tasting rooms and farmer’s markets from Eugene to McMinnville, cider lovers can sample blends that harken back to centuries-old traditions. Dry ciders, barrel-aged blends, and single-varietal bottlings highlight the full complexity of heirloom apples. Events like the annual Cider Fest in Hood River, and orchard tours in Yamhill and Lane Counties, all celebrate the fall harvest with tastings, storytelling, and apple pressing demonstrations.

Making cider has once again become a communal act — part science, part craft, and entirely seasonal. Families gather to pick apples, crush them into pomace, and ferment the juice into golden elixir. Some producers still use wooden presses and open-air vats, honoring 19th-century methods. Others combine tradition with technology for consistent, award-winning results.

Whether you sip it crisp and dry, spiced and warm, or straight from a roadside stand, heirloom cider offers a taste of Oregon’s past — and a toast to its delicious future!