The Empey family’s Sheffield Cider business began as a hobby in the 1960s. But early in this century it sprouted into a full-fledged business growing from a production of 2,000 bottles a year to nearly 50,000 in 2015.

[blockquote quote="The cider apples are hard to find, a lot of the trees are from England, France and back East — places where cider is more common." source="Brady Cutler, Sheffield Cider" align="right" max_width="300px"]

“And we’re growing,” said Brady Cutler of Mesa.

His main job is to oversee the cider production, storage and shipping. But everyone in the five families — all related — who works on the farm get involved with the cider in some manner.

Cutler married Rachael Empey in 2006. By then the first cider trees planted in the Empery Orchard were two years old.

The Empeys farm nearly 1,000 acres, growing a variety of crops and fruits including the heirloom apple varieties used in their cider production.

“The cider apples are hard to find, a lot of the trees are from England, France and back East — places where cider is more common,” Cutler said.

This spring they have about 35 different heirloom varieties of cider apples growing on 40 acres. By the end of the year, he said, they will have 40 varieties. They add more every year.

Cider making has been an Empey family tradition for generations.

It began in the 1960s when Jarl Empey moved to the Columbia Basin and planted 30 acres of apples. Soon he was inviting the neighbors over after harvest for a cider-making festival using an old-fashioned wooden press.

“It was a good party,” said Cutler. “And everyone went home with jugs of cider.”

The farm and orchard has since passed on to the second generation, which include Nolan, Kim and Lance Empey.

It was Nolan Empey’s idea to make cider.

“I don’t drink wine and I was tired of going out to a restaurant for a nice dinner and having nothing to drink with it,” Nolan Empey said. “Our ciders are all non-alcoholic and produced to be enjoyed with food.”

Cutler said they chose to name their business Sheffield Cider because the farm is on Sheffield Road in Franklin County near Mesa. Also, the family has distant ties to the Sheffield area in England.

Sheffield Ciders are made with handpicked apples, not culls. There are no added sugars and the cider is produced, filtered and pasteurized on site. Each one is lightly carbonated.

They have eight different ciders to choose from, all blends, and recently began bottling cider made from single varieties of apples.

“We’re always experimenting, trying different blends,” Cutler said.

All the fruit used, even the cherries and raspberries used in two of the ciders, are grown on the Empeys’ land using mainly organic methods.

The ciders are made to be enjoyed at purchase, it can be stored in a cool, dark location for up to two years.

The family entered their various ciders in judged competitions back East, in Florida and around the Great Lakes region.

“There aren’t many competitions for cider out West. But those we do enter our ciders in usually win a medal, often a gold,” Cutler said.

Sheffield Cider is sold at The Country Mercantile in Pasco and Richland, Yokes Fresh Market in the Tri-Cities, Ranch & Home in Kennewick and Metropolitan Markets in the Seattle area.

It’s also available to enjoy at The Country Gentleman in Kennewick and Camino Heights Bed & Breakfast in Touchet.

For more information or to order cider, go to sheffieldcider.com. Or send an email to Brady Cutler at brady@sheffieldcider.com. You can also find Sheffield Cider on Facebook.