Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathan Watters.
Hi Nathan, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
An exact beginning is always hard to pin point. The dream of a family farm, orchard, tasting room and cidery/winery probably grew from many different moments in both our lives. For Nate, the apple farming began as a boy in the orchards of Upstate New York. In his twenties, he searched for a livelihood that met his needs for physical labor and larger meaning, farming became his focus. After a few years of CSA annual vegetable farming, he found his way to the orchard. Simultaneously, he was fascinated by fermentation and a place at the table for locally made drinks. Slowly, his path to grow apples and his path to ferment drinks joined and ended at Keepsake Cidery. Tracy has always loved living on the land, raising animals and crops. Combining her natural inclination to take care of people and her desire to run a shop, the tasting room at the orchard has grown into a destination for drink, food, hospitality and more.
A desire to farm and produce a product in a way that cares for the air, soil, and water while nourishing the people of our community and beyond, all the while raising a family (our kids are our most important crop), drives all that we do at Keepsake Cidery.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Farming is hard. Especially if you are small. Being a small business is incredibly difficult in a system that prioritizes consolidation. Everything from regulations to costs of doing business seems to steer a small business into being big.
We dont want to be big.
We want to be a small family farm cidery.
Encouraging lots of small family farms, we want a future full of many producers/farmers. This will give the consumer more choices and lead to more resiliency in our supply chains. But it feels like an up hill climb in our system.
In addition, we have to to deal with weather. For example, we have lost large amounts of crop to late frosts and hail.
Then, after its all said and done. After all the work of actually making a product with integrity, your product sits on a shelf next to bigger companies that will claim to be doing the same and at half the price.
Our story and our product might be great. But after farming and making all day, then coaching or eating or sleeping there isnt alot of time or budget to promote and tell the story.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a MN Orchard based Cider/Winery. In addition to our organic farmed fruit, we only work with local farms to source all of our fruit. We prioritize, organic, low spray or NO spray ingredients and we use only particular varieties that make the best ciders and wines. We press, age, and bottle all of our products on the farm. Nothing added. Our products are spontaneously fermented, Long aged with no sulfites or sorbates or sugars. Nothing added. We specialize in natural sparkle, using Ancestral and Charmat method, so event the Co2 is local!
Keepsake is available all over MN at retailers, events, restaurants and bars. Plus we can ship to almost 40 states.
Our tasting room, located in the Beautiful Cannon River Valley between Northfield and Faribault, is a destination for natural ciders, wines, NA drinks, food, local products, art, and more. We love welcoming people to the farm. The tasting room is a place of connection and revitalization. Not only can you get a proper cider, including blends only available on farm but you can pair it with our house made toasties (grilled cheese) and lots more. We host special feasts and fests through out the season too.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We love collaborating! Over the years we have collaborated on products with Forager Brewing, Bang Brewing, Imminent Brewing, Chapel Brewing, Idyll Forest, Apple R Us, and Loon Distillery. We are excited to be releasing a special sausage with Lowry Hill Provisions!
Additionally we provide space on our shelves for many locally grown and made products from eggs, to maple syrup to hot sauce to art to herbal tinctures. W
We also love hosting art. We have had comedy, plays, orchestras, and lots of bands.
People can support us by buying and sharing Keepsake. Pair our drinks at your next meal of locally grown vegetables, meats and cheeses. There is so much great food in this state and we believe that MN drinks go best with MN food! Cider is the best drink in the world. They are lower Abv and pair so well with almost any food and occasion.
More places in MN should be serving cider! More Cider lists and sections. Not just Keepsake, support local cider and wine!
Pricing:
- Our ciders and Wines are between $10- 45
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mncider.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keepsakecidery/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keepsakecidery
