In 2026 Sebastopol's apple crop came in thin after an early heat wave and fire blight. In the same season, the county's last large apple processor kept moving toward a 2027 exit, and Slow Food Russian River opened a second free community press at a cidery on Occidental Road, this one built for loads far bigger than a few grocery bags.
For anyone with a few trees in the yard or a neglected orchard behind the house, the result is practical. Where your apples go this fall now depends mostly on how many you have: up to 100 pounds goes to one free press, a half bin to a full bin goes to the other, and the plant that once bought growers' fruit by the ton has a closing date.
A Short Crop After a Record One
Last year looked very different. The Sonoma County 2025 Crop Report, as covered by The Press Democrat, showed apple tonnage up 67% over 2024, the highest since 2016. Crop value rose 55% to about $6 million. Gravenstein acreage held at 614, and bearing acreage for all varieties slipped by 33 acres to 1,966.
Then came 2026. On Aug. 2, Dave Hale and his daughter picked 20 trees at Hale's Apple Farm in Sebastopol and filled eight 40-pound boxes. The Press Democrat reported that a single tree there once filled up to seven boxes. Hale put his Gravenstein harvest at 3% of the annual average and closed Gravenstein box sales the next day. That is one grower's August count, not a county total. It still fits the broader picture: Manzana CEO Andy Kay expected about 4,000 tons from Sonoma County producers this year, half the 8,000 the company had planned on.
In September, Ethic Ciders owner Ned Lawton told the same paper the late-season crop looked "pretty light." How the late varieties end up was still unclear when that story ran.
The Big Buyer Has a Closing Date
A short crop would matter less if the usual buyer were staying put. Manzana Products Co. runs Sonoma County's last surviving apple processing plant, in Graton. In February 2024, Kay announced that all operations would move to the Yakima Valley in Washington, and he told 180 employees that week.
The move took longer than planned. In August 2025, The Press Democrat reported that tariffs, supply-chain problems and installation work at the Washington site had pushed the timeline back. Under the revised plan, production and packing lines end by the close of the first quarter of 2027, finished goods ship into fall 2027, and then the site closes. Manzana also said it expected to keep buying from Sonoma growers through 2029. This August, Kay said the company still buys from 15 Sonoma County producers and remains a main sponsor of the Gravenstein Apple Fair.
He explained the decision in the August 2026 report:
"This was a very difficult decision because Manzana's roots are in Sonoma County and our company's identity has been shaped by the region's apple heritage. We're a cooperative owned by farmers who understand the dedication and passion it requires for growers to dedicate their time and resources in producing the crops that feed families near and far."
Small growers felt the gap well before 2027. In the September report, Lawton cited Manzana's coming departure as one reason small growers need more local processing options.
Two Free Presses, Sized for Different Piles
Slow Food Russian River now runs two free options in Sebastopol, and they work at very different scales.
The original Sebastopol Community Apple Press is at Luther Burbank's Gold Ridge Experiment Farm, 7777 Bodega Ave. It runs on weekends from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. during a season the nonprofit describes as mid-August to mid-October, depending on weather. Each visit is capped at 100 pounds. You reserve online, bring your apples and lidded containers, and are asked to book no more than three times a season.
The new option came out of a partnership Ethic Ciders and Slow Food announced on Aug. 5, 2026, made possible by a $90,000 grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The Press Democrat reported that the commercial-grade press can handle up to a ton of apples a day. It sits at the cidery, 8490 Occidental Road.
| Gold Ridge Community Press | Ethic Ciders Bulk Press | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | 7777 Bodega Ave. | 8490 Occidental Road |
| Schedule | Weekends, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Tuesdays, 9 a.m. to noon |
| Season | Mid-August to mid-October, weather-dependent | Tuesday mornings during the 2026 apple season |
| Load per visit | Up to 100 pounds | 500 to 1,000 pounds |
| Booking limit | Three times per season | Three 60-minute slots per season |
| Cost | Free | Free |
One hundred pounds fits a car trunk after a weekend of picking up windfalls. Five hundred to 1,000 pounds is a half bin to a full bin, the output of a small orchard. Slow Food sends anyone with less than that to the weekend press, so the two divide the work by load size.
The weekend season at Gold Ridge usually winds down around now. Slow Food has not posted a fixed last date for either press in 2026, so check slowfoodrr.org before you load the car.
What a Tuesday Session Requires
The Ethic press runs on a working cider farm, and Slow Food's guidelines reflect that:
- Book a 60-minute slot between 9 a.m. and noon on a Tuesday. At least one Slow Food volunteer will be there to help with loading and cleanup.
- Only non-commercial community members can use it.
- Bring between 500 and 1,000 pounds. Unsprayed or near-organic apples are strongly preferred, and smaller loads should go to the weekend press.
- Only Ethic personnel or trained Slow Food staff run the press and conveyor.
- You take everything home: apples, juice containers and pomace. There is no on-site composting.
The pomace rule means planning ahead. A full bin of apples leaves a lot of wet pulp behind, and you need a pickup bed, a compost pile or a neighbor with chickens before you book.
For Households Without a Tree
The thin crop also reaches people who only buy apples. Hale's Apple Farm ended its Gravenstein box sales on Aug. 3, and Hale said he planned to turn the remaining fruit into juice before reopening in early September. Here is where late-season fruit and cider are still listed:
- Gold Ridge Organic Farms Farm Shop lists Friday and Saturday hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with fresh-pressed heirloom apple cider and in-season bags of Fuji, Honeycrisp and heirloom apples. Its 2026 U-pick has closed for the year.
- Apple-a-Day at Ratzlaff Ranch opened its 2026 U-pick on Sunday, Oct. 4. It offers U-pick in September and October and presses its own juice in small batches.
- Sebastopol Farmers Market runs every Sunday year-round, rain or shine, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The state's certified market list places it at 6901 McKinley Ave. at Petaluma Avenue.
Sonoma County Farm Trails advises calling farms first because apples ripen and sell out at different times. In a year with half the expected supply, that advice matters more than usual.
The Next Date on the Apple Calendar
Ethic Ciders has already scheduled its next public event. The cidery's holiday shopping pop-up runs Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 21–22, at 8490 Occidental Road, with no reservation needed. It will have local artisan gifts, mulled cider, seasonal brandies and pommeaus. That is the same farm where Tuesday's bins of neighborhood apples go through the press.
Questions about orchard land, river parcels or the trees behind a long-held family home tend to come up in conversations like this one. If you want to talk through one of those properties, or just compare notes on west county fall, the team at Continuum Real Estate is glad to hear from you.
