Schwartz Orchards wins Illinois Cider contests
Cider offered locally at Gail's Pumpkin Patch

[October 10, 2014]  The Illinois State Horticulture Society sponsored the 25th Annual Illinois Cider Contest in Springfield, IL. This contest was in conjunction with the Illinois Specialty Crops, Agritourism and Organic Conference. Schwartz Orchards, Centralia, IL, produced the No. 1 overall rated cider at this year’s contest, repeating his 2008 win in both the National and Illinois contests. Tom Schwartz pressed his winning cider for this year’s contests with a bladder press using only Jonathan apples.

Judges evaluated the entries using a 25-point rating scale for cider quality and characteristics. The judges conducted “blind” evaluations where only a randomly chosen sample number identified each cider entry. Dr. Elizabeth Wahle, U of I Extension Educator was the Cider Contest Coordinator.

Schwartz Cider is available at Gail’s Pumpkin Patch, 1709 2000th Avenue, Beason, IL. The pumpkin patch is currently open until October 31, 2014. The award winning cider is available in half pints, half-gallons and gallons.

David and Gail Apel-Sasse, co-owners of Gail’s Pumpkin Patch toured the Schwartz Orchard Cider Open House this summer. They were able to view the cider making process and taste the cider. They have photos of the cider process that can be viewed by their customers.

[Gail Apel-Sasse, Gail's Pumpkin Patch]

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