Sweet Mountain Apple

The Saunders’ family has been growing fruit at Silver Creek Orchards since the mid 1800s. Planting their first grapes in 1999, they now grow about 50 acres of wine grapes and 250 acres of apples. Apples and grapes are grown on the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Nelson County. Elevated exposures allows the early sun to dry off any morning dew, keeping the fruit safer from rot. The adjacent western mountains shade the fruit from the summer heat. With very rocky soil, even the heaviest rains infiltrate the soil but run off quickly, keeping the fruit hydrated but dry. The combination of rocky soil, eastern exposure, high elevation, cool nights and the Saunders family’s five generations of growing experience results in some of the finest fruit in Virginia.