Fortune
MEET JEFF & NATHALY.
After first falling in love with each other, and then with Spanish cider on a trip to Mexico city, Jeff and Nathaly turned a years long hobby of cider making into what became Windfall Cider. Learning what they could from old-world techniques passed down by generations of cider makers, Jeff and Nathaly experimented with as many new flavours as they could find. All until the cider was just right – and totally different than anything else in BC.
WHY WINDFALL?
Our name came to us from two places. First, was our belief in the idea of making your own luck. Of going out into the world and chasing your fortune, whatever that may be or look like. Second, a memory from Jeff’s childhood. When he was young, both he and his twin sister and his mother would pick apples in the fall around Southern Ontario. She’d send the two kids up the trunk of the tree to shake the branches and bring down the apples, and she’d wait below, to collect their “winnings” – their Windfall.
HOW WE WORK
We’re here to turn the world of cider on its head, not only in BC, but Canada-wide. This starts by working closely with community farmers to find the best apples and the purest juice. Then, we experiment with as many traditional techniques and interesting flavours as we can—and try to have fun while doing it. We play with yeast strains, wild ferments, barrel aging, and blending, and stay true to our local roots, using only fruits and botanicals native to the Pacific Northwest.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CIDER
You might find it surprising to learn that cider was the preferred, and generally only, alcoholic beverage enjoyed by the first settlers of North America. Barley didn’t grow well—but apples did. For about a century, cider reigned as the drink of choice, most farmers making room for an orchard somewhere on their land.
All this changed with the Temperance movement of the early 1900s. The production of cider, wine, whisky and beer all but stopped on the continent. Apple trees were torn up and replanted with more sensible oak, maple, and pine trees. The industry never quite recovered, becoming overrun with the very sweet ones you can still find on one’s shelves today. We’re here to change all that. With our cider made in BC, freshly.