TERROIR FIRMER

Volcanic Basalt Shakes Up Snow Capped Cider

- L.A. BERRY

The next time you quaff a cider, thank a volcano.

More specifically, thank volcanic basalt formed roughly 10 million years ago in western Colorado, atop what National Geographic Encyclopedia calls the largest flat-topped mountain in the world: Grand Mesa. Rising 6,000 feet above the Gunnison and Colorado River Valleys to an elevation of about 11,000 feet, there are hundreds of lakes to be found along this hard, rugged line of mountains.

But... apples? Peaches? And pears? Oh my...At the base of Grand Mesa, at an impressive 6,130-feet elevation of its own, Snow Capped Cider's orchards in Cedaredge and throughout Delta County have crafted one of the highest-elevation award-winning cideries in the world. At the 2025 GLINTCAP International Cider and Perry Competition, Snow Capped Cider was named Mid-Size Cider Maker of the Year for a second consecutive year and received a record-setting 10 Best in Class awards.

For five generations, its unlikely orchards, atop ancient volcanoes, have brought “boom times” to cider making.

MAKING A MESA

The story of Grand Mesa began 10 million years ago, as dozens of lava flows erupted from vents known today as the Crag Crest Trail, a 10.3-mile National Recreational Trail in Cedaredge, Colorado, with 100-mile views on a clear day. But more interesting is the story underfoot, where lava spilled out in layer upon layer, creating a thick basalt cap more than 310 feet thick.

“Basalt is the hard dark igneous rock formed when lava (magma) cools on or near the Earth's surface and this resistant basalt layer,” a 2007 abstract by the Geological Society of America noted, “Suppressed erosion compared to the surrounding sedimentary rock layers, which suffered rapid downcutting (erosion by water) from the action of the Colorado and Gunnison rivers.”