Wilson’s Orchard to offer hard cider tasting in century old barn

IOWA CITY — Every year, from August through October, countless families make their way to Wilson's Orchard in Iowa City to pick apples, enjoy a cider doughnut or turnover and experience the great outdoors.

On Thursday, orchard owner Paul Rasch took an important step toward making his business a near year-round destination.

Under blue skies, Rasch, a fourth-generation orchard worker, and a team of helpers set to work raising a century-old barn on the orchard property at 4823 Dingleberry Road NE. The barn was donated to Rasch by Paul and Diane Hebl of Iowa City and is to become home to a new cidery — a building for tasting or making alcoholic apple cider.

Paul Hebl said his family no longer had a use for the barn, which was showing signs of deterioration.

'We were just hoping for someone to get use out of it. it's kind of nostalgic,' added Diane Hebl. 'I think he'll do a fine job.'

Rasch, who has an affection for old barns and has actually salvaged more than a dozen others, said he saw the Hebl's barn one day and stopped to ask about it.

'I love seeing them saved. Too many get lost to us,' Rasch said, adding the opportunity to take down and rebuild the barn was almost reason alone to open the new cidery at the orchard.

Rasch plans to erect the gray colored, gable roof barn exactly as it was at the Hebl's farm. He is replacing two rotting beams with those from other barns he has salvaged and placing the 5,000-square-foot structure atop another building, which is new, to create a two story complex.

The Rapid Creek Cidery is to be located in the barn with the interior decked out with treasures Rasch has found in other barns. It is to become a tasting room for the orchard's hard ciders, Rasch said. The new building below, which is to be covered with wood from another historic Iowa City barn, is to serve as an events center. Rasch's daughter, Katie Goering is to be the owner of the business.

Rasch said he hopes to complete the events center space by this fall and the cidery by next spring. Once in operation, he said business is likely to flow in 11 months of the year, rather than three.

Of course, Wilson's Orchard is best known for its 120 varieties of apples, you-pick pumpkins and its cider and delicious treats.

Established in 1980 by Robert and Joyce Wilson, the business is billed as 'part nature park, part orchard.' From August through October, it's open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Special events, like school tours, company picnics, private parties and weddings, are also held at the orchard — which sits in a valley crossed by Rapid Creek — from time to time.

Rasch purchased the orchard from the Wilsons in 2009.

'We want people to enjoy the outdoors and we really pride ourself on keeping it low key and letting people make their own fun here,' Rasch said.

After four hours of work on Thursday, Rasch and his team had the old barn framed in. Rasch said it took two and a half weeks to take the barn down with each piece meticulously marked so it can easily be put back together.

Rasch expects it will take about a month to complete the rebuilding.