Fenceline Cider & Wine Expands Its Reach

Originally published in the Fall 2020 issue of SPOKE+BLOSSOM

Passing by a landscape full of lush orchards might seem like beautiful scenery, but for Neal Wight, co-founder of Fenceline Cider & Wine, those beautiful orchards are something so much more than that. 

Photos courtesy of Fenceline Cider & Wine

“I grew up in a vineyard, so I’ve always been around agriculture my entire life,” Wight shares. He explains how his upbringing helped guide him to a career revolving around local agriculture. “It’s been a part of my existence, so it’s kind of second nature to me.” 

Fenceline creates amazing, beautifully crafted local ciders and wines. Their ciders are Wight’s passion, using up all the beautiful amenities the apples from the orchards have to offer. It all started from realizing the diminished appreciation for these trees. 

“I mean, a big part of it was the underutilized apple orchards in Montezuma County and La Plata County,” Wight explains. “There’s a long history of apple cultivation in the county and people kind of stopped taking care of their trees so a lot of those fall to the ground.” 

According to Wight, that’s how Fenceline is unique compared to mass cideries and makers. They care about the local origins of the apples and how important it is from the beginning. Also, maintaining a focus on local produce sets this company apart. “I would say about 90 percent of our fruit comes from the Colorado Plateau, the four-corners area,” he shares. 

Some exciting news is these delicious drinks are now available in more areas, expanding their tasty creativity beyond just southwestern Colorado. Wight says a couple of liquor stores in Flagstaff and Prescott, Arizona will now be carrying Fenceline products as well. 

Not only is Fenceline committed to bringing the orchards back to life to produce amazing drinks, but the community takes a huge part of the company. 

“Definitely it’s the community that we serve,” Wight says. A community that has unfortunately taken a huge hit during COVID-19. Wight explains how the initial closing and shutdowns took a toll on local morale. 

Because of this huge impact on the people surrounding Fenceline and those loving their beverages, the company is coming up with new ways to stay connected to their customers. They are launching a whole club dedicated to ciders and cider-lovers. 

“There’s perks with discounts of other purchases, and once we can start doing more events, we can have parties,” Wight shares. “It’s just a way we can serve people right now, locally and outside of the area that want to taste our ciders.” 

Fenceline is open in Mancos, Colorado. The inside isn’t open to the public as of yet, but the patio remains open for now. 

“Now that we’re back open, it really makes me happy to see everybody hanging out,” Wight says.