FAQ

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We’ve got you covered! Visit our PYO page to stay up to date on the latest availability through the summer and fall pick-your-own fruit seasons. 

Visit our PYO page to stay up to date on the latest availability through the summer and fall pick-your-own fruit seasons.

• JULY: Cherries, Raspberries, Currants, Apricots
• EARLY AUGUST: Raspberries, Summer Plums, Blackberries, Currants, Elderberries
• MID AUGUST: Peaches, Summer Plums, Asian and European Pears, Early Apples, Elderberries, Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots
• LATE AUGUST: Early Apples, Peaches, Nectarines, European Plums
• SEPTEMBER: Early Apples, Mid-Season Apples, Asian Pears, European Plums
• OCTOBER: Mid Apples, Asian Pears, Late Apples

Visit our PYO page to stay up to date on the latest availability through the summer and fall pick-your-own fruit seasons.

Eco-Certified:

• Apples $5/half-peck, $10/peck, $18/half-bushel, $32/bushel
• Peaches and Nectarines $3.50/pint, $9/quarter-peck, $17/half-peck, $35/flat, $42/half-bushel
• Eco-Certified Cherries $3/pint
  Eco-Certified Plums $9/quarter-peck, $17/half-peck, $35/flat, $42/half-bushel
  Eco-Certified Asian Pears $5/quarter-peck, $10/half-peck, $18/peck, $34/half-bushel

Certified-Organic:

• Peaches $4/pint, $11/quarter-peck, $19/half-peck, $40/flat, $62/half-bushel
• Berries $5/pint
• Elderberries $12/lb

Great question! We detail this HERE.

A quick answer to “what does Eco mean?”: It’s a third-party certification program verified by the IPM Institute, awarded to growers who follow the most environmentally-sensitive growing protocols possible in the Northeast.

A quick answer to “how does this compare to organic?”: It’s actually nearly impossible to grow organic tree fruit in our region; you’ll notice you almost never see locally grown organic apples at the grocery store. Eco is similar, in that it’s also a growing protocol designed to protect the environment, but it’s designed specifically for our climate. Eco is the most sustainable local-grown choice you can make.

Specifics for our orchard from horticulturist Zeke Goodband:

“We treat the orchard as an ecosystem and as such we try to do whatever we can to enhance its biodiversity and stability or balance. I learned at the beginning of my career (about 40 years ago) that the less I sprayed, the less I had to spray. We constantly scout through all of the orchards checking carefully, we’re looking at the health and general well being of the trees, soil moisture, the populations of beneficial and problem insects, indications of disease. We use traps of different types for insects we want to monitor closely. We use a couple different software programs to record and track degree days; we can predict insect emergence and disease potential using this information. When we determine that a particular insect population is reaching a level that threatens substantial damage or conditions for a major disease are likely we chose a material to spray. Sometimes these may be organically certified and sometimes not. We chose the material that will have the least impact on non-target organisms and disrupt the orchard ecosystem the least amount possible. A large percentage of our fruit goes into our ciders and baked goods so we can easily accept a higher percentage of blemished fruit than most other orchards. If anything, we tend to err on the side of spraying too little and taking risks many other orchards would not take. We’d rather risk the crop than the health of the people working here and the health of our families and customers. When I am making decisions in the orchard I always have in my mind the people that will be picking, our customers and their families throughout the Northeast, that I will be bringing this fruit home to my kids and grandkids and that we want the orchard itself to be healthy. 

I realize this is a pretty general overview of our growing philosophy, the specifics change every year depending on many different conditions. A simple answer to the question, Do we spray less than conventional orchards would be yes, and we are focused on the environmental impact of the materials we use.”

Hard Cider: Yes, completely. Our hard cider is suitable for people with gluten intolerance and allergies — gluten doesn’t ever enter the cidery building.

Sweet Cider: Somewhat. While no gluten is ever added to our sweet cider, our pies are made in the same building and thus we cannot promise no cross-contamination.

Please direct all PR, photo, and general marketing requests to our marketing department: marketing@champlainorchards.com

If interested in our recipes page, please do not use any of the photos included there without permission from the original creator(s), as most don’t belong to us. Creators are credited at the bottom of each recipe.

All event/sponsorship/collaboration requests can be directed to our Event Manager: events@champlainorchards.com

Donations are handled by Michelle Hogaboom. Contact her with all requests for donated items: michelle.hogaboom@champlainorchards.com

Unfortunately, we do not make any vinegars, and have no plans to do so in the future. We recommend checking out Fable Farm or Shelburne Orchards if you are looking for an excellent, small-batch Vermont Apple Cider Vinegar.

No.

We are not licensed or set up to make any type of alcohol beyond hard cider. A local orchard that also makes apple brandy is Shelburne Orchards, with their Dead Bird Brandy.

Absolutely! We would love to host you for a picnic during our business hours. We have picnic tables both down by our market, and up in the meadow by the Pick-Your-Own hut. Picnic tables are first-come, first-served, but if they are all full you are always more than welcome to spread out a blanket on the grass!

Please, do not open or consume any alcohol (even our hard ciders!) while picnicking or anywhere on our property — it is illegal. The only place where it is ok to taste our hard ciders is in our tasting room, or if you bring some home.