The Rural We: Anna Rachminov
Anna Rachminov is the owner of Stone Bridge Cider in Hudson, N.Y. and a member of the Hudson Area Library board of directors. The traces of a lilting accent are clues to her heritage: although she was born in Winnipeg, where her father was a professional hockey player, her parents are Swedish and she spent some of her school years in Sweden. But she is fully committed to life in the Hudson Valley, as she describes here.
I had a house in Dutchess County for 15 years. I really loved Columbia County and my boyfriend (he owns Café Le Perche in Hudson) and I moved to Claverack a few years ago. I bought Stone Bridge Farm two-and-a-half years ago. At one time it had been a big apple operation. It had an enormous warehouse and a commercial cider press, but it hadn’t been in operation in 20 years. So I went to the Columbia Land Conservancy Farmer-Landowner Match Program, which connects landowners looking to have their land farmed with farmers seeking land. They introduced me to Matt Toomey, a cider maker who had won some awards for his craft, and we decided to partner with each other. New York State created a (hard) cidery license in 2013, so we applied and got our license a year ago.
We’re in the process of restoring some of the orchards and planting true cider apples. But along the way we’ve been buying apples from local growers. We’re also partnering with Farms2Tables, an app created by Patricia Wind in Rhinebeck, where farmers list the products they have for sale and wholesale buyers purchase them.
We were a vendor at Basilica Farm + Flea and we’re available at Hudson Wine Merchants, Fairview Wines & Spirits and a bunch of local restaurants. We’ve gotten approval for keg labels, which means Stone Bridge Cider can now be served at pubs.
I'm an accountant by trade. I’d gone to a fundraiser for the library and met some people on the board. They wanted help with long-term financial planning, so I joined the board about a year ago. Starting in March, I'll be the new treasurer — that’s when the new library is scheduled to open. It’s going to be so exciting. They’ve done such an incredible job on the building.
Horseback riding and gardening are some of my favorite activities. I love all the local farms and the bounty from the Hudson Valley. I love every season here, and I’m waiting for the snow to come so I can go cross-country skiing.
Photos courtesy of Anna Rachminov.
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