The recently awarded “Best New Cidery” Heartland Ciderworks is officially launching their brand in Portland, Oregon on Friday, June 30th at The Place. The new cider brand from life-long Oregonian Eliseo Bell-Uribe shared the honor as the co-winner of new cidery of the year at the recent Northwest Cider Cup awards, and earned a silver medal for one of their first flavors “The Little Apple.” Even though their ciders haven’t even really hit the market yet, Heartland samples have been making the rounds and their first cider “The Avalon” won a bronze at the prestigious Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition and poured at the 2023 Cider Summit Portland.

Heartland Ciderworks is proudly located in the Willamette Valley and Eliseo is a cidermaker at the acclaimed Bauman’s Cider in Gervais, Oregon, but produces his brand at Eola Hills Wine Cellars in Rickreall, OR. Heartland is a harvest cidery, meaning they make all of their ciders with the apple harvest, ferment over the fall and winter and release in the spring. All of their apples are sourced from the Willamette Valley, and Eliseo says that they “only ever make ciders here. We believe that this is one of the greatest places on Earth, and should be celebrated. Our fantastic ciders showcase the amazing produce from this region.”

Founder Eliseo Bell-Uribe started making cider in college with his buddies, and developed his skills until he was awarded a minority scholarship by the Cider Institute of North America for their Cider and Perry Production Foundation Course. The business was started in 2022, but the first cider is now released in 2023, and is just starting to hit shelves and coolers. 

If you have or have not tried Heartland at one of their first events like 19 Acres Craft Beverage Fest or Cider Summit, then “The Place” is the place to be on Friday, June 30th for the launch party starting at 5pm. The Place is the in-the-know cider bar in Portland and an industry hangout, they also serve natural wine and a few specialty beers.