From land that has been cultivating apples since the late 1800s, Golden Harvest Farms was established on a 45 acre plot by Dan and Madeline Zinke in 1957. Four generations later, the farm has expanded to 250 acres and produces over a dozen apple varieties. The year-round Golden Harvest road stand is a Columbia County fixture, famous for its delicious apple cider donuts, rustic charm, outstanding BBQ, and farm distillery.
1954Zinke moves to Columbia County
Dan and Madeline Zinke move from Queens to Columbia County, near Kinderhook Lake. Dan learns apple farming while working on the old Dudley Farm. They have two daughters, Jackie and Jayne.
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1957
Golden Harvest Farms Established
Dan and Madeline Zinke establish the apple farm on a 45 acre plot of orchards on Route 9 north of Valatie. They built a small cold storage facility and retail farm market or "road stand".
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1960Antique Rack and Cloth Cider Press
A cider house expansion: The main building is expanded with more cold storage and cider house. An antique 32" vertical rack-and-cloth press is installed on the south side of the building.
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1974A New Generation Arrives
The Zinkes' daughter, Jayne and husband, Alan take over Golden Harvest Farms along with their 4 young boys and number 5 soon on the way.
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1988Apple Cider Donuts and Bakery
Doug Grout established the bakery and starts making apple cider donuts.
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2006Farm Distillery Established
Harvest Spirits is established with the goal of making vodka from apple cider, becoming one of New York's first farm distilleries.
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2008Core Vodka launched
After years of planning, Harvest Spirits opens its doors to the public, selling Core Vodka distilled from our own apples
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2009Cornelius Applejack becomes New York's first applejack since prohibition
Aging apple spirits in ex-bourbon barrels leads to amazing results.
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2013John Henry Whiskey launched
In collaboration with Adirondack Brewing we released 2-year old malt whiskey named after John Henry, our dear co-worker and friend.
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2020"Hand Rub" Hand Sanitizer
In response to the Covid pandemic, we converted the distillery to hand sanitizer production for 3 months.
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