Sips from a cider spree

Ian Merwin of Black Diamond Farm. [Photo/Agencies]

Leaving Ithaca the next day, we drove west on County Road 1, passing rows of concord grapes and Amish wagons with "For Sale" signs. We ate (and drank still more cider) on the deck at Stone Cat, surrounded by weeping willows and a lush garden above Seneca Lake. It was gorgeous, but we still had a full day of driving (Tim) and drinking (me) ahead of us. After a quick brunch, we cut northeast, stopping at the festive 700-acre grounds of Beak & Skiff, the maker of 1911 brand cider, where there was such a crush of people the local sheriff's department was directing traffic.

By the time we made it to the Critz Farms, in Cazenovia, we had grown weary of cideries with a pick-your-own operation. And Critz, too, seemed to be overblown, with a parking fee and a wintertime business in Christmas trees－but there appeared to be some interesting ciders among its Harvest Moon lineup, including one made with local, heritage hops.

And when I saw the cider mill－a hulking, noisy Syracuse-made machine that dates from the late 1800s－in action, I was happy to have paid $7.50 per person to park on the farm's muddy lawn. Workers raked the apple pulp like wet cement, bees buzzed and kids watched with wide eyes.

Matthew Critz, who bought the former dairy farm in the 1980s with his wife, Juanita, has kept his son Patrick in the family business by letting him inaugurate the cidery in 2011. Among the nine cider varietals the Critzes, father and son, have developed are three featuring maple syrup.

"We're maple producers and we're farmers," Patrick said. "You got to use what you got."

And that too is the old-world way.

If you go

Where to taste

Hours vary, so it's best to call ahead to check.

Orchard Hill Cider Mill at Soons Orchards, 23 Soons Circle, New Hampton; 845-374-2468; orchardhillnyc.com.

Steampunk Cidery at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery, 10609 Ridge Road, Medina; 585-318-4418; oakeswinery.com.

Bellwether Hard Cider, 9070 Route 89, Trumansburg; 607-387-9464; cidery.com.

Slyboro Cider House at Hick's Orchard, 18 Hicks Road, Granville; 518-642-1788; slyboro.com.

Harvest Moon at Critz Farms, 3232 Rippleton Road-State Route 13, Cazenovia; 315-662-3355; harvestmooncidery.com.

Doc's Draft Hard Apple Cider at Warwick Valley Winery, 114 Little York Road, Warwick; 845-258-4858. wvwinery.com.

Naked Flock Ciders at Applewood Orchards and Winery, 82 Four Corners Road, Warwick; 845-988-9292; applewoodwinery.com.