fall, crushed in November and bottled in April,” Anna said. The name Faustino was chosen because it's Jack middle name and is used affectionately by many of his friends. Jack and Anna didn't plan on being fruit farmers let alone cider producers. In 2002, they went looking for a small acreage, because Jack needed space for his landscaping business.


A decade later, he terminated the landscaping business because of a back injury and concentrated on the six-acre farm.


Faustino cider is made using the Royal Gala, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith apples grown on the Relvas' orchard. “We wanted to show that excellent cider can be made from dessert apples alone,” Anna said.


She has mixed feelings about the B.C. Tree Fruits Cider Company and its Broken Ladder product.


“They're definitely


competition because they can produce in much greater volume at a lower price point,” she said. She questions if the profits are being passed along to growers, who receive the same few cents a pound for culled apples sold to B.C. Tree Fruits as to Sun Rype. Nik and Kate Durisek, owners of Howling Moon, began making cider seven years ago but didn't release any commercially until 2012.


they took the Mt. Vernon courses. In 2014, they bought a


five-acre vineyard in Oliver, ripped out the vines and planted cider apple varieties. “We have 24 different varieties already and will be planting a few more over the next couple of years,” said Nik, who anticipates the first full crop in 2020.


To date they have been purchasing apples from Worrenberg Farms in Keremeos.


In 2013, Howling Moon quickly sold out of the 5000 litres of its flagship blend, Revival, a 60 per cent dessert 40 per cent cider apple blend.


The following year they increased production to 10,000 litres and added three new blends to their list. Revolution is a 75 per cent


cider 25 per cent dessert blend and Apple Justice an apple ice wine.


SUSAN MCIVER


Nik and Kate Durisek, owners of Howling Moon in Oliver, in their newly-planted orchard of cider apple varieties.


Sidre Blanco is a 50:50 blend of a sharp Swiss cider apple variety and late harvest Pinot Blanc. They plan to open their tasting room this coming May and eventually have a restaurant.


“We did that first release under my in-laws winery license. They own Black Dog Cellars in Okanagan Falls,” Nik said.


He and Kate, who both had successful business careers in Vancouver, often came to help her family.


“We started noticing that local fruit farmers would dump fruit at the end of season. It seemed so wasteful,” Kate said.


Soon the young couple was doing research on fruit production and decided that making cider would be a way to help preserve the fruit industry and live a slower paced, freer life. Howling Moon is all about letting go of your inhibitions, throwing back your head and releasing a primal call of the wild they explained.


To learn the basics of cider making 6


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