“Apples have a whole
lot of personality
Dave Hale grows 40 varieties of apples in the orchards of his Hale’s Family Farm in Sebastopol.
Hale has what Jolie Devoto-
Wade, another lifelong apple
farmer and cider producer, calls
“apple fever.” It’s a passion that
fuels the small but tenacious
group of local farmers, cider
producers, activists and
community leaders who believe
apples can still put Sebastopol
on the map. They note the farms
and tasting rooms near the
Gravenstein Highway — Highway
116 — where tourists and foodies
can spend a day exploring
Sebastopol as a craft cider or
farm visiting destination and
discovering for themselves why
no supermarket Red Delicious can
beat the flavor burst of a fresh,
local apple.
“Apples have a whole lot of
personality and are super useful
in so many applications — cider
and apple pies, of course, but it’s
really cool incorporating them
into food in different ways and
learning about the history,” says
Devoto-Wade, who launched
Golden State Cider with her
husband, Hunter Wade, in 2012
to help promote apple farming
There are more than Pippins or Gravensteins in the apple world, says Dave Hale, who
grows Pink Pearl apples and other varieties at his Sebastopol farm. ARIC CRABB/STAFF
in Sebastopol. “Honestly, I think
craft cider is key for supporting
local apple farmers and keeping
the Gravenstein going.”
ARIC CRABB/STAFF
You can taste those bold, aro-
matic ciders at the Golden State
taproom, which opened in 2018 at
The Barlow, a place with its own
and are super
useful in so many
applications —
cider and apple
pies, of course,
but it’s really cool
incorporating them
into food in different
ways and learning
about the history.”
Jolie Devoto-Wade
apple history. This industrial-chic
hub with restaurants, tasting
rooms and boutiques is a former
applesauce canning facility.
This has long been apple coun-
try. Gravensteins, the tart red and
green-speckled fruit that originat-
ed in Denmark, have thrived in
Sonoma County since at least the
early 1800s. Sebastopol’s apple
industry reached its height before
World War II, with nearly 14,000
acres devoted to apples, includ-
ing some 9,700 acres devoted to
Gravensteins. But apple orchard
acreage has since dropped to
around 2,200.
Hale, who has farmed here
since 1978, says he could enjoy a
much more lucrative and reliable
income if he chopped down the
rest of his apple trees and replaced
them with vineyards. That’s the
fate of orchards throughout West
Sonoma County, including his
family’s former property just south
of the current farm.
“You have a marginal crop in
apples and a high income crop in
vineyards,” Hale says. “But as long
as you’re making a living with a
small family farm, you’ll con-
tinue doing it. In a small family
farm, we’re hands on. I’m doing
deliveries and doing four farmers
markets a week. My daughter
runs the farm stand.”
Sebastopol offers ideal weath-
er and soil conditions for the
endeavor. Apple trees like the
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