Apple Love is for Keeps: Cidery Grows out of Farming Interest

By Michelle M. Sharp, Founder and Content Creator of Meet the Minnesota Makers

Have you ever taken an apple-inspired personality test? 

Keepsake Cidery in Dundas is named after the “Keepsake” apple. This apple, developed at the University of Minnesota, received its name thanks to its extended storage capabilities, disease resistance, and quality of flavor. “These are qualities we emulate – durability, resiliency and quality!” shares Tracy Jonkman, orchard co-owner along with husband Nate Watters. 

Nate has loved apples and apple orchards since childhood. After working as a preschool teacher and in vegetable farming, he realized that growing apples himself is what he really wanted to do. Nate and Tracy, an Emergency Room physician at Ridges Hospital in Burnsville, chose Minnesota as the perfect place for their orchard venture. 

Keepsake Cidery, just south of Northfield, tends to more than 5000 apple trees on 25 acres. “We are now more than ten years in and I feel like my passion for apples has grown,” says Nate. “It’s such a blessing to be able to farm, to help make people happy, and to contribute to society while creating something with my family and crew here that we all feel invested in and genuinely like doing.” 

Keepsake’s tasting room and seating areas are nestled amid a grove of apple trees, whose fruit is turned on site into naturally fermented cider. They sell this same cider at their orchard-adjacent tasting room and in liquor stores and restaurants throughout Minnesota. The orchard was founded with an emphasis on community and sustainability. In addition to their organic apples, they partner with a handful of local orchards to source the fruit they press.

Keepsake’s  ciders average 12-20 months of fermentation and aging before they are ready to release. To make their ciders, Nate doesn’t depend on recipes, but rather “It’s more of a dance.” Each year the apples will be different and Keepsake’s ciders allow the fruit to speak for itself. The flavor profiles of their beverages vary greatly. Nate considers it to be a great compliment when someone sits down to a tasting flight and declares that every single cider tastes different. It’s Keepsake’s goal to have each of their ciders “have a distinct voice.”

“We are committed to integrity – in the story we tell, the cider we make and the experience we provide at our Tasting Room within sight of the orchard and Cidery (and our home!),” explains Tracy. All their cider consists of regional apples pressed on site. More recently, Keepsake has begun to produce natural wines from local grapes, varieties like Frontenac, Sabrevois and LaCrescent that have shown promise in the Minnesota climate. These natural wines are a more recent endeavor that are currently available only in the Tasting Room. 

When Nate and Tracy developed their business plan to found the cidery in 2014, they decided that the business had to be sustainable economically, ecologically, and emotionally. Nate declares, “Our most important crop is our two kids. We love living on the farm. We love this rural farm life. We do our best to make decisions that we think will make this space a better place.”

Cultivating community is a foundational element for this southeastern Minnesota oasis. “We find joy in the changes in season as farmers, the evolution of cider from apple to bottle as cider makers, and the happiness in the faces of our guests at the Cidery,” reflects Tracy. “An additional joy is the relationships we’ve built with local producers whose products we use in the Tasting Room and other local apple and grape growers with whom we partner. We have a commitment to support other small businesses and producers.”

The local goods include meats, cheeses, breads, and spreads. The tasting room menu of toasties and charcuterie double as a roll call of local growers and producers. Summer Friday nights feature a rotating roster of local chefs and creative restaurateurs who feed the hungry visitors of all ages. Nate and Tracy enjoy being a destination for multigenerational families, fermentation aficionados, or day trippers just looking for a change of scenery —their front porch, also known as the Tasting Room, truly is a site where all are welcome.

The Tasting Room is open March through December. Events include live music, markets, and community gatherings. Multiple spaces are available for private rental for all variety of special events, including the occasional wedding. 

Keepsake Cider can be found at liquor stores and restaurants throughout MN, typically locations that focus on quality, process and the story behind the product. 

Keepsake also ships their cider nationally and has a Cider Club and Cider Farm Share. This program invites cider enthusiasts to develop a closer relationship with what happens at Keepsake with first access to special releases.

This orchard, Tasting Room, event space, cider club, and local hub is both a family business and a  way of life. “We strive to find balance in home, family and business and pride ourselves in continuing to thrive in an increasingly difficult world for small rural businesses,” reflects Tracy.  

Keepsake Cidery is one of three makers sharing their story at the November 9 Taste Makers Class at the Farm at the Arb. Learn what it means to be a naturally fermented cider and taste some of Keepsake’s distinctive varieties. 

Check their website https://www.mncider.com for a full listing of events. Their beautiful tasting room is available for holiday parties and private gatherings. Email keepsakecidery@gmail.com or call 413-552-8872. 

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