I thought I’d start this website and blog off with my personal story of how we came to cider making. Then, after this, hopefully I’ll pass this on to my husband who speaks much more eloquently than I, and has a deeply rooted connection with this land and all that it has bestowed upon us.

There have been two moments in my life that I have felt fate’s presence, and that everything that had happened up until then, both good and bad were in my destiny.  The first was the day I met my husband, when life serendipitously seated us next to each other on an international flight from New York City to South America.  That moment led to our bond and beautiful marriage and created two of the most incredible beings on this earth; our children Zephyr and River.

The second was the day we found this piece of property that we quickly named Cuyen Mountain Farm. Cuyen meaning moon in the language of the native people of Chile, Rodrigo’s home country.  We moved in on a full moon in July and continue to look to the moon and the lunar cycles to help guide us. We didn’t know at the time that the mountainside we now inhabited was covered with wild apple trees, but the following May when it erupted in pink and white blossoms we knew we were in the presence of something truly unique and special. We didn’t seek out apples or cider, but it certainly found us. It didn’t take long for us start dabbling in cider making. There is something so gratifying in making something so pure and beautiful as this beverage. From watching the blossoms turn into fruit , watching the fruit mature, watching it fall, collecting it, grinding it, pressing its sweet juice and then allowing it to ferment and age itself into  this clean, beautiful, natural elixir is captivating.

I am blessed to share Cuyen with my husband, children, and my mother. We  couldn’t do all that we do without my mom’s steadfast love and support. I know my father is here with us in spirit and we raise our glasses in memory of him often. But he lives on in this land and in us.

So, I hope you all join us on this journey of life and cider.

Cheers, Amanda