Success Stories

The most important part about Flat Rock Ciderworks and what co-founder Jim Sparks wants you to know is that every part of the cider is produced in Henderson County with raw materials grown here.  AgHC was instrumental in connecting the original partners and helping to organize much of the operation, which now includes the downtown tap room. AgHC also connected the original partners and helped organize much of the operation. Mark Williams helped to identify the property where Flat Rock Ciderworks operates along with  their sister company 4J’s Produce & Apples.  AgHC even assisted with contacting the seller who did not have the property publicly listed.

AgHC also refers growers for raw product and storage and helps Flat Rock Ciderworks to find additional wholesale customers. The culmination of the success of the cider industry in Henderson County will be demonstrated through a cider festival (Apple Country Cider Jam), which AgHC is helping to create to bring additional attention and customers to the area.

Since its inception in 2013, Flat Rock Ciderworks now has 250 points of distribution. You can find Flat Rock Ciderworks cider in its tasting room, located downtown, at any of its restaurant partners and at downtown events such as the summer series Rhythm and Brews.

4J's Produce & Apples serves as a storage, marketing and distribution company for other area growers as well.

Flat Rock Ciderworks

Burntshirtvineyard

Agribusiness Henderson County (AgHC) has been steering a rigorous process to gain a federal designation as an American Viticultural Area (AVA) for local grape and wine producers. We are pleased to announce that the Treasury Department has approved the designation.

 

The designation will establish approximately 215-square miles as “Crest of the Blue Ridge Henderson County” AVA. The area has 14 commercial vineyards over 70 acres, with several existing vineyards planning to expand by a combined 55 additional acres in the next 5 years. AgHC indicates Henderson County has at least four more wineries on track to open over the next couple of years and in addition, the County has three hard cider producers.

An AVA is a grape-growing region having distinguishing features, a name and a delineated boundary. These designations allow vintners and consumers to attribute a given quality, reputation, or other characteristics of a wine made from grapes grown in an area of the wine’s geographic origin. To help with this process, Henderson County’s first two wineries, Burntshirt Vineyards and Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards, researched and engaged Geologist Joseph Forest. Forest has been successful in helping other regions navigate the rigorous process.

The establishment of AVAs allows vintners to describe more accurately the origin of their wines to consumers and helps consumers identify wines they may purchase. For a wine to be labeled with an AVA name, at least 85 percent of the wine must be derived from grapes grown within the area represented by that name. Examples of AVAs are Napa and Sonoma Valley in California and Yadkin Valley, here in North Carolina.

The distinguishing features of the Crest of the Blue Ridge Henderson County AVA are its climate and elevation. Warm days and cool mountain nights during the growing season, coupled with the right soils and quality water, provides a favorable and unique combination for grape production. Geographically the area straddles the Blue Ridge Escarpment and the Blue Ridge Plateau, which are separated by the Eastern Continental Divide, also known as the Crest of the Blue Ridge. Attaching “Henderson County” to the name specifically identifies the area.

Crest of blueridge video  

Bold Rock Hard Cider was established in 2012 in Virginia and in just three years, opened its Mills River location. Western North Carolina, unsurprisingly, is a great location for the creation of hard apple cider due to its mass production of apples. In fact, this region is one of the best apple growing regions of the world, making the inclusion of local apples in Bold Rock's Carolina Draft and Caroline Apple varieties an obvious choice. 

AgHC was instrumental in assisting Bold Rock as they made the move to the Mills River location. Their knowledge of the area and specifically of the Agritourism and Agribusiness world was unmatched and helpful in choosing a site for the tasting and brewing facility. "Mark Williams, Executive Director of AgHC, connected us with the local growers and production facilities to ensure we had an easy transition and access to the raw materials needed for our cider," said Bold Rock Founder John Washburn.

At Bold Rock's Mills River location you can have a first-hand hard cider experience. There are free daily tours of the facility and a tasting room for the sampling of any of the eight award-winning varieties of Bold Rock Hard Cider. If a visitor looks up in the tasting room they can view the bottling line overhead. Bold Rock proudly uses natural fruit to give their ciders a refreshing all natural taste. They are excited to further developing the site and take part in the community as good corporate citizens. They are boldly committed to treading lightly on the land that provides for them, and work create as little waste and be as sustainable as possible. 

Bold Rock Hard Cider

test
test 2

When Hishtil-Israel began the process of establishing a US operation, three things were of paramount importance….location, infrastructure and partnership.

LOCATION…They quickly recognized that Henderson County, in the mountains of North Carolina, would meet all their needs for location, being within a day’s drive to all the Eastern U.S., having a mild climate, very suitable for production and an abundance of high quality water. Finding a specific site was accomplished through AgHC playing the role of a realtor, but without the cost of commissions.

INFRASTRUCTURE…The community’s long history as agricultural hub provided the infrastructure the company was seeking, giving them comfort and confidence of having plenty of ag-related businesses as neighbors, along with industry support and readily services available. Additionally, all needs for public utilities needed were in place or made available.

PARTNERSHIP…Finding the right domestic partner was Hishtil’s first objective in establishing operations in the U.S. as a new joint venture. Through established industry relationships, AgHC served as the architect in bringing on board TriEst Ag Group, which also lead to the inclusion SIS/Centro Seia, an Italian partner who had dealings with both the American and Israeli companies. So, Tri-Hishtil was formed and the “new” company with over 50 years of experience begin the U.S. venture in the Mills River community of Henderson County, NC. The companies of three separate countries was not the only partnership, but Tri-Hishtil also established a healthy partnership with AgHC and the rest of the local agricultural and business community.

Tri-Hishtil