Award-Winning Cidery Snow Capped Opens Western Slope Taproom

“This was a very big project, and I’m proud of it," says Snow Capped Cider owner Kari Williams. On July 4, the brand will celebrate the grand opening of its new taproom at 105 Grand Mesa Drive in the heart of Cedaredge, which Williams hopes will become a regional destination for cider and wine lovers alike.

It's housed in a 1940s gas station where Williams's grandfather once pumped gas for customers, and a photo of him posing with his first car when he was a teenager hangs on a wall. “It’s truly a blend of my family, my husband’s heritage, everything that Snow Capped Cider is," she notes.

All the ciders and wines on offer at the taproom will be 100 percent Colorado-made. Williams dedicated over a year to this project, enlisting a sommelier to help select the highest-quality and most interesting wines from the state.

“I’m really proud to represent the Colorado wine industry; it has grown and developed so much,” says Williams. She has curated an array of distinctive wines, including a white Pinot from Qutori Winery in Paonia, and has thoughtfully designed wine flights that marry various styles and grapes.
Williams will also showcase her own wine brand, 6130, named after the elevation of her family's original farms. “This gives me an opportunity to present 2018 and 2019 Malbecs and Cab Sauvs that I’ve made,” she says. Like her ciders, Williams allows the wine to dictate its release time, ensuring that each beverage feels purposeful.

“Real fine cider is wine,” notes Williams, highlighting her commitment to producing the finest cider possible. Her ciders reflect the unique terroir of the Grand Mesa, a quality consistently recognized in competitions.

Last year, Snow Capped Cider won thirty awards at top competitions. This year has been even more successful, with seven best-in-class medals at the prestigious GLINTCAP competition, including a sweep of the Heritage Cider — Sweet category. Snow Capped also won medals at the Good Food Awards and an impressive twenty medals at the Cidercraft Awards — the second-place cidery won ten medals.

If the equivalent awards were being won by a winemaker in Colorado, the vineyards that grew the grapes would be dubbed the new Napa Valley.

Williams attributes her success to her relentless work ethic and the perfect combination of her food and beverage background, dedication to studying apples, and the high-risk, high-reward environment provided by the high-elevation terroir. “It’s incredible to put Colorado on the map as an estate cider company presenting cider on the world stage,” she says.

The taproom will feature over thirty Colorado wines, about a dozen wines made by Williams, 54 cage and cork bottled ciders, and sixteen taps, with two reserved for guest ciders. Cider-driven classes will guide attendees through tastings and the history of specific apples.

The food menu will include wood-fired pizza, high-end charcuterie, sliders and paninis, with guest chefs and food trucks making appearances.
The taproom was originally slated to open last fall, but the grand opening was postponed to accommodate Williams’s busy winter season of blending and packaging cider. Cedaredge’s limited bar and restaurant scene also played a role in the decision. The town has been supportive of the company, and Williams wanted to ensure that the full capacity of the space, including the outdoor patio, was available for the grand-opening celebration.

Williams designed the remodel of the former gas station herself. “I wanted it to be bougie, like I am, and my cider is,” she says. "But I also wanted to nod to the old 1940s gas station that was abandoned.” She incorporated barrel staves from her property as well as the front of farm trucks. She and her husband drew out the landscape design — they used to run a landscape business years ago, and Williams drew out the design for the bar, working with a contractor who built it to spec.

“This was a very big project, and I’m proud of it," Williams concludes.

Snow Capped Cider's taproom is located at 105 Grand Mesa Drive in Cedaredge and will be open from 2 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday starting July 4. For more information, visit snowcappedcider.com.