Page 16 - The Valley Table - Fall 2021

DAY TRIP
CIDER WITH HISTORY
About 150 years ago, a German family stepped foot in America for the first time. They settled in Callicoon, now a quaint town with ample land, tucked along the Delaware River — a natural divider of New York and Pennsylvania.
Though over a century has passed since Doug Doetsch’s ancestors arrived in Sullivan County, their heritage remains. In the foothills of the Catskill Mountains is Seminary Hill,
a cidery and orchard that reflects on its generational history to provide a holistic food and drink experience.
Once caught in the epic highs and lows of the Catskills resorts boom, Callicoon has seen a revival. Like other towns nearby, boutique hotels, upscale shopping alleys, and even distilleries have been cropping up. And this sustainable, seven-acre orchard has joined the comeback.
Seminary Hill is the brainchild
of Doetsch, along with partners in agriculture, hospitality, and cuisine — some from Callicoon and others from across the globe. Doetsch, an international finance lawyer, returned to his fifth-generation homestead with his wife Susan Manning, a professor at Northwestern University, a few years back.
For eight springs, trees have been planted in an orchard with sweeping views of the Upper Delaware River and a brick steeple of a former Franciscan seminary (which inspired the cidery’s name). Over 1,500 trees and 2,500 gallons of cider later, Seminary Hill opened its doors this past June.
Sitting on 62 acres of land, the cidery and orchard exists as an expansive 9,300-sq-ft project. Built into the hill of the orchard, a two-story building is packed with all things cider and sustainability. The cidery was designed by River Architects’ James Hartford and constructed by Baxter.
It’s the world’s first Passive House-
14 the valley table sept – nov 2021 photos by bryan gardner (top); eric lewandowski (bottom)