CAM STARK, OUR CIDERMAKER
AN AWARD-WINNING WINEMAKER, NOW AWARD-WINNING CIDERMAKER
The cider team at Ironbound Hard Cider is led by Cameron Stark, an award-winning winemaker who applies his formidable skills to crafting distinctive, well-structured ciders with perfect balance, appealing mouthfeel, and a clean finish.
Before becoming Ironbound's cidermaker, Cameron studied viticulture and enology at U.C. Davis and then devoted twenty-six years to winemaking — spending the first half of his career under the guidance of Napa legends Bob Levy and Robert Sinskey. Levy and Sinskey drilled Cameron in the importance of balance and structure. And they taught him the art of making wine that is seamless — wine that has no edge and in which, from aroma to finish, nothing is out of place.
Moving to New Jersey, Cameron led the winemaking team at Unionville Vineyards where he was given the creative freedom (and mandate) to focus on making great wine. Under his leadership, Unionville was ranked one of the top ten wineries on the east coast by Bon Appétit, Saveur, and Wine Enthusiast.
Because Cameron is a winemaker, not a brewer, Ironbound Hard Cider has qualities that are missing from most other ciders — especially those produced by the giant beer companies that control a majority of U.S. cider sales. Recognizing that corn syrup, added sugar, and "natural flavors" have no place in cider, Cameron crafts sessionable ciders that celebrate the aroma and flavor of apples while maintaining a flawless balance of acidity, tannins, and sweetness. He's also remarkably adept at creating unique flavor variations of Ironbound Hard Cider that celebrate New Jersey's heritage, geography, and indigenous foods.
OUR LOCAL AND REGIONAL APPLE PARTNERS
Our work in regenerative agriculture has made it crystal clear that diversity is essential for building strength and resilience. We see the power of diversity at work in our soil, on our farm, in our workforce, and within our farming community.
We've planted a diverse collection of apple varieties at Ironbound Farm to ensure that our ciders are complex and delicious. That diversity also increases the likelihood of a bountiful apple harvest, despite the wild swings in temperature and weather that we are experiencing, thanks to climate change.
At approximately twenty thousand apple trees, we will reach the maximum carrying capacity of our land. Rather than eyeing our neighbor's land, we've been building a network of farm-partners in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania who are growing apple trees for us. By working with a geographically diverse group of farmers, we get a clearer picture of how heritage Newark cider varieties perform in different soils, altitudes, and climates. Spreading out our trees also gives us a hedge against major crop loss due to climate change. And we are able to provide farmers in remote areas with much-needed income and access to New Jersey's well-populated, food-savvy marketplace. Providing these farmers with substantial revenue also allows us to open up a dialogue with them about shifting to regenerative orcharding practices.
Ironbound is proud — and excited — to be part of a growing movement of interdependent businesses working to revive regional orcharding and American heritage apples.
One of our favorite farm partners is David DeFisher of DeFIsher Fruit Farms and Rootstock Ciderworks in Williamson, NY. A fourth generation fruit grower, David is managing over two thousand Harrison trees for us. He also supplies Ironbound Hard Cider with the amazing sour cherry juice that helped Pinelands Rosé (formerly Devil's Harvest) win Double Gold in CiderCraft magazine's blind tasting of over 400 ciders by 45+ cider industry professionals.
CAPTURING THE FLAVOR OF PLACE
In addition to our apple partners, we are always searching for suppliers of new and interesting ingredients that we can use to infuse our ciders with a unique local flavor twist. We are already well on our way to building a robust community of innovative farmers and renegade foragers who supply our cidery with unusual and indigenous ingredients — allowing our cidermakers to create ciders that capture the essence of New Jersey's woodlands, farms, and fields. We proudly source ingredients from Pitspone Farms, Jalma Farms, DeFisher Fruit Farms, Sky High Hops, The Foraged Feast, Meadows and More, and our own backyard (just to name a few).
Dan Lipow (The Foraged Feast) and his foraging counterpart, Drew, harvesting and packing spicebush berries, leaves and twigs.