Ponderosa Cider Co. is a craft cidery based in Auburn, California, tucked down an alley at the edge of the American River Canyon; right where the road narrows, the pavement fades, and the trails take over.

We make around 22,000 gallons of cider each year. We’ve never been in a rush to grow; but lately, the cider’s been disappearing faster than we can make it, so we’re scaling up the same way we do everything else: with intention. What matters to us is how it tastes, how it drinks, and whether it’s something you come back to.

Our ciders start with West Coast apples, sourced as locally as possible and blended based on what’s best at the time, not locked into a formula. Some fruit comes from our own small orchard in Auburn, while the rest comes from growers we trust, like 5 Mile Orchard in Watsonville and Idyll Acres in Oregon. The blends shift with the seasons, and the cider evolves with them.

In the cellar, we keep one foot in precision and the other in curiosity. Our core ciders are clean, balanced, and consistent. Everything else is fair game. Wild ferments, co-ferments, barrel aging in American oak and acacia, and the occasional long-resting batch in a well-traveled barrel that’s been part of Auburn’s cider history way longer than we have. Some ciders are ready quickly. Others take a year or more before they’re ready.

We like working with fruit the way it actually grows, often late in the season, when it’s less pretty but more flavorful. Strawberry, peach, blackberry, and even local grapes like Barbera and Grenache all make their way into the mix. The goal is always the same: cider with structure, balance, and depth. Something that doesn’t lean on sweetness, but still drinks easy.

The tasting room is exactly what you’d expect…and not all at the same time. It’s mostly outside, with room for about 75 people spread across a patio, a shade structure, and a tent in winter. Inside is small, quaint, a little rough around the edges, and cooled by fermentors rather than air conditioning. You’re never far from the tanks, often just a few steps away.

Most days, people find us the same way, coming off the trail, following a tip, or just seeing where the alley leads. We’re right next to Overlook Park, at the edge of the Western States Trail, in a town known as the Endurance Capital of the World. It’s the kind of place you don’t stumble into by accident, but once you know, you know.

Beyond the alley, we self-distribute throughout Northern California, from Tahoe to Vacaville and into The Bay, showing up in places that care about what’s in the glass. We’ve picked up awards along the way, including Best of Class at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, but that’s never been the point.

We make cider for people who want something a little more thoughtful, a little more interesting, and a lot more drinkable than they expected.

Something you open, finish, and immediately want another of.

Dangerously delicious. No shortcuts. No fluff.