Entrepreneurship in Rural Canada: Spirit Tree Cidery

In this episode of Give Startups A Chance, I am thrilled to interview Nicole Judge and Thomas Wilson as they share their startup journey in rural Canada while introducing Canada to an age-old delight of Cider.

Dr. Nicole Judge is a veterinarian and her husband, Thomas Wilson, a fifth generation farmer, is also the past president of the Peel Soil and Crop Association and Golden Horseshoe Soil and Crop Association. 

Nicole and Thomas are the co-owners of the Spirit Tree Estate Cidery.Spirit Tree is an award winning straw bale construction apple winery/ wood-fired oven artisan bakery/farm shop/cider mill.  Thomas and Nicole took cider making courses in Somerset, England and Geneva, New York. They also studied artisan bread making at the Cordon Bleu Paris, and the San Francisco Baking Institute. Since opening Spirit Tree Estate Cidery, they have been awarded Commercial Building of The Year 2009 by the Canadian Farm Builders Association, Environmentalist of the Year 2010 by the Town of Caledon, Impact Award 2010 by the Caledon Chamber of Commerce, Culinary Destination 2010 by the Headwaters Tourism Association, Ontario Farm Market of the Year 2010 by the Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association, a Premiers Award in Agricultural Innovation, and Ontario Cider Makers Challenge 2010 for Best Cider in Ontario. 

Listen to this episode on how a couple  realized their vision and the journey of introducing cider to Canada.