For traditional cider-makers, the process begins with the fields, not the juice. In fact, for orchardists like Zielinski, the crops are the primary concern; cider-making is just one of the products that comes from the trees. Being an orchardist distinguishes Zielinski from many American cider-makers, but puts him very much in the mainstream of traditional European cider-making—and he thinks like they do, as well.

When I visited Herefordshire in the UK in 2014, cider-maker Mike Johnson discussed orchards his grandfather had planted. He pointed out an old perry pear tree that dated to 1827 (pear trees outlive apple trees by generations). He’d seen not only seasons and years roll by, but decades, and it gave him a direct sense of what the land brought to his cider. When an orchardist and cider-maker walks his land, he’s already tasting the cider. “Hereford sandstone,” Johnson said, describing his soil. “It’s very free-draining, which can only be a problem in a hot, dry summer. Some varieties suit these soils and some suit heavier soils.”