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Chiles Peach Orchard Closed for the 2021 Season

Posted by :Kristen Dagli On : December 19, 2021
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That’s a wrap! Thank you for another incredible season of welcoming visitors from near and far to our orchard for wholesome family fun.

As we close our doors for the winter, we’re fondly remembering the highlights from the 2021 season.

Season’s Pickings

peaches and blueberries at chiles peach orchard

From spring strawberries to fall pumpkins and apples, there sure were plenty of pickings this year! There’s no doubt that summer’s bounty was the star.

We could hardly pick our blueberries and peaches fast enough! While blueberries were late to the party in early June, they held on for a long season and made it through the end of July.

Peaches also started out strong in June and held on ‘til the end of September. In fact, they got some well-deserved attention from Wine & Country Magazine.

Giving Back

This year, we committed to donating our tips to Meals on Wheels of Charlottesville/Albemarle as a heartfelt “thank you” for all that they do. The result? We raised over $5,000! That translates to over 900 meals for Meals on Wheels clients. 

Thank you so much to all who contributed this summer!

Showing Off Our Refreshed Look

We unveiled our new look in May with refreshed logos and a fabulous website update! Leading up to the opening of our new venue, we undertook the family endeavor of unifying each of our locations’ logos with one consistent “C”.

Have you noticed our new logo on products and signs throughout the orchard?

cpo 2021 logo

Raising A Glass

2021 was the year of wine for the Chiles Family Orchards community. While we’ve been harvesting grapes for generations, this year marked our entrance into the world of winemaking. 

Carter Mountain Wine Release

Wine shop at chiles peach orchard

In early June, we released our Carter Mountain Wine label. We are so grapeful to enjoy the fruits of our labor with such delicious Virginia wines!

The Wine Shop at Chiles Peach Orchard opened in early June and features seven different wine varieties. 

Welcoming Chiswell to the Chiles Family

cheers to the view at chiswell winery

The wine fun doesn’t stop there—we also opened Chiswell Farm & Winery in November! This adults-only venue is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the orchard, making it a peaceful escape for wine sippers and connoisseurs alike.

The winery will be open afternoons through the winter, including New Years’ Eve and Day to ring in 2022! Please note that Chiswell will be closed on Christmas Eve and Day.

Thank you for a wonderful 2021 season! We are so grateful for the opportunity to welcome families and friends to our orchard for another year of unforgettable memories. 

Stay connected on our Facebook and Instagram pages for updates on when we will open for the spring!

To enjoy orchard goodies and wine over the winter, visit Carter Mountain Orchard or our Ivy Road Pop-up!

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  • @ajean.photo
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  • @elenamrobertson
  • @lifewithpri
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2019 Season Recap: Chiles Peach Orchard

Posted by :Franziska Matiuk On : December 23, 2019
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Thanks for gathering together for another peachy-keen year at Chiles Peach Orchard! Whether you came to pick fruits and vegetables, sip on wine or cider, or participate in one of our signature events, we enjoyed your company.

Jammin’ Out

Our new stage and pavilion set the scene for Orchard Jams in 2019, a lively concert series co-hosted by Bold Rock Hard Cider. Now it’s even easier to jam out; the Crozet Trolley Service stops at the orchard on Friday nights.

Pavilion and live music stage at Chiles Peach Orchard

Live music stage at Chiles Peach Orchard

Crozet Trolley Co. Photo by @xiaoqiliphotography

Photo by @xiaoqiliphotography

Crozet Trolley Co. rides to Chiles Peach Orchard

Crozet Trolley offered free rides to Orchards Jams in May!

Filled up on family time

We’re still sporting food babies from chowing down on all-you-can-eat pancakes during our signature weekend Pancake Breakfasts. Leave the sticky dishes to us so you can focus on fun with your family!

Gathering at Chiles Peach Orchard

Countdown to Spring

We’re honored that so many visitors featured the orchard in the fun memories you captured this year. Check out the top posts taken at Chiles Peach Orchard on Instagram.

We’ll see ya on April 10 when we re-open for the 2020 season!

Sunflowers, bees, peaches, butterflies, and zinnias

2019 Season Recap: Carter Mountain Orchard

Posted by :Franziska Matiuk On : December 23, 2019
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It’s time to wrap up another phenomenal season of gatherings at Carter Mountain Orchard! Thank you to all the families and friends who made amazing memories with us this year. We love sharing crisp apple crunches, donut smiles, and unforgettable sunsets with you.

Powered by the Sun

This year, we completed a new sustainability project with Sigora Solar—a huge undertaking! Our solar array now produces enough clean energy to grow and harvest over 1,400,000 apples. As a farming family, we’re closely connected to nature and want to ensure we can depend on it for generations to come.

Solar panels on the Mountain Grill building

“Pack” Your Own at the Farmer’s Market

For the first time, we set up shop at the Charlottesville City Market. We love it when visitors c’mon up the mountain, so we decided to return the favor and come right to you!

Carter Mountain and Chiles Peach Orchard at Charlottesville City Market
Our City Market booth featured a seasonal selection of our Farm Market products, including fresh fruit, cider, and cider donuts.

Winding Down on Wednesdays

We enjoyed relaxing on Wind Down Wednesdays, a new signature event. Charlottesville sunsets and acoustic serenades provided a serene backdrop for a mid-week unwind. Keep an eye out for Wind Down Wednesdays starting back up in late May 2020.

With scenery like this, it’s not difficult to capture great moments. Check out the top photos taken at Carter Mountain Orchard on Instagram!

Photos posted to Instagram

Rain or shine, we’ll have a good time!

We’re always looking for ways to make the orchard as welcoming as possible. The stone terrace we added last year, as well as our pavilion, continue to allow visitors to enjoy their outing even through the summer heat and surprise showers.

Stone patio at Carter Mountain Orchard with picnic tables and corn hole boards

Instagram users at Carter Mountain Orchard on stone patio and under pavilion

Recognition and Awards

Check out what folks have been saying about Carter Mountain Orchard:

“We had an amazing time with the family! Beautiful location, amazing scenery and the best apples we have ever tasted! Definitely coming back, it will be a family trip we are going to be taking annually.”

Richard A. via Facebook

“We had a great time picking apples and eating their delicious warm apple donuts. We are from Texas and I am craving those donuts already! It was a cold morning and their hot apple cider hit the spot.”

Bridget B. via Facebook

Though our 2019 visitor season has come to a close, farming never stops. We’ll be hard at work over the winter to ramp up for next year. Our (barn) doors open up again on March 27, 2020!

Orchards Earn 2018 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence

Posted by :Julia Prince On : June 1, 2018
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Carter Mountain Orchard and Chiles Peach Orchard, our hometown’s favorite place to “pick-your-own” fruit, recently announced that they have each been awarded a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence! Certificate of Excellence recipients include accommodations, restaurants, and attractions located all over the world that have continually delivered a quality customer experience.

In addition, Carter Mountain Orchard has achieved “Hall of Fame” status for receiving TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence for five consecutive years.

“We are very excited and honored to receive this award. Our goal has always been to grow the best fruit and provide a fun, unique experience for our customers, so we are very pleased that our hard work is recognized and celebrated by the people who come visit our farm!” says Cynthia Chiles, whose family owns the orchard.

“TripAdvisor is excited to announce the 2018 Certificate of Excellence Hall of Fame recipients, which have consistently received strong praise and ratings from travelers,” said Heather Leisman, Vice President of Industry Marketing, TripAdvisor. “This recognition allows us to publicly honor businesses that are actively engaging with customers and using feedback to help travelers identify and confidently book the perfect trip.”

The Certificate of Excellence accounts for the quality, quantity, and recency of reviews submitted by travelers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews, and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.

Chiles Family Orchards have been in business since 1912. Family-owned and operated still to this day, the farm has exceeded all expectations. A wide variety of fruits and vegetables are grown on the farms, including apples, peaches, nectarines, strawberries, sweet cherries, blueberries, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, sweet corn, green beans, asparagus, bell peppers, cucumbers, pumpkins, and gourds.

In season, the farm offers nearly all produce for purchase in the farm markets, or pick-your-own. The pick-your-own experience grew exponentially in popularity over the last decade or so, making Chiles Peach Orchard and Carter Mountain Orchard a destination for thousands of families.

Chiles Family Orchards enjoys providing the local community with fresh produce and engaging the community by holding a multitude of events for all ages to participate. They teach their customers about where fruit comes from and how it grows, and provide hands-on opportunities to teach families about nature.

Also published for Carter Mountain Orchard.

Orchards Earn 2018 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence

Posted by :Julia Prince On : June 1, 2018
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Carter Mountain Orchard and Chiles Peach Orchard, our hometown’s favorite place to “pick-your-own” fruit, recently announced that they have each been awarded a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence! Certificate of Excellence recipients include accommodations, restaurants, and attractions located all over the world that have continually delivered a quality customer experience.

In addition, Carter Mountain Orchard has achieved “Hall of Fame” status for receiving TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence for five consecutive years.

“We are very excited and honored to receive this award. Our goal has always been to grow the best fruit and provide a fun, unique experience for our customers, so we are very pleased that our hard work is recognized and celebrated by the people who come visit our farm!” says Cynthia Chiles, whose family owns the orchard.

“TripAdvisor is excited to announce the 2018 Certificate of Excellence Hall of Fame recipients, which have consistently received strong praise and ratings from travelers,” said Heather Leisman, Vice President of Industry Marketing, TripAdvisor. “This recognition allows us to publicly honor businesses that are actively engaging with customers and using feedback to help travelers identify and confidently book the perfect trip.”

The Certificate of Excellence accounts for the quality, quantity, and recency of reviews submitted by travelers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews, and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.

Chiles Family Orchards have been in business since 1912. Family-owned and operated still to this day, the farm has exceeded all expectations. A wide variety of fruits and vegetables are grown on the farms, including apples, peaches, nectarines, strawberries, sweet cherries, blueberries, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, sweet corn, green beans, asparagus, bell peppers, cucumbers, pumpkins, and gourds.

In season, the farm offers nearly all produce for purchase in the farm markets, or pick-your-own. The pick-your-own experience grew exponentially in popularity over the last decade or so, making Chiles Peach Orchard and Carter Mountain Orchard a destination for thousands of families.

Chiles Family Orchards enjoys providing the local community with fresh produce and engaging the community by holding a multitude of events for all ages to participate. They teach their customers about where fruit comes from and how it grows, and provide hands-on opportunities to teach families about nature.

Carter Mountain Named Best Apple Cider

Posted by :Julia Prince On : April 10, 2017
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Delish Magazine recently named Carter Mountain among the Best Spots for Apple Cider Across the Country.

Apple Cider Recipe

So what makes Carter Mountain apple cider so great? Well, we start with Virginia apples and then we add…nothing. Our apple cider is made with one simple ingredient—apples! The cider is all natural, made with a mix of apple varieties. The apple varieties change throughout the season, depending on fruit availability.

Serving Suggestions

The cider can be served cold or hot (or in one of our famous slushies!). There is no ideal temperate for heating the cider, although as hot as the tongue can take is best.

To spice up the cider for a special occasion, add cinnamon, cloves, and mulling spices. For a real kick, add some rum! There are many tasty ways to dress up our apple cider but owner Cynthia Chiles prefers it plain because, as she says, “It tastes too good by itself!”

For apple cider recipes and consumer information, visit the US Apple Association Blog.

Try These Other Great Ciders

Congratulations to our fellow farmers who were also featured in the article! We are proud to call you friends.

Orchards in the News 2016

Posted by :Julia Prince On : November 14, 2016
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We are feeling the love at the Orchards! From local foodies to history buff tourists, here’s what people had to say about Carter Mountain Orchard in 2016:

Where to Experience 6 Quintessential Fall Activities, Flipkey by Trip Advisor

apple orchard ladder“Hike through the acres of orchards nestled in the mountains of Virginia, and fill your sack with a variety of apples, including Fuji, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and Pink Lady.”

An Apple A Day: Explore Virginia’s Orchards and Cideries this Fall, VA Foodie

Carter Mountain orchard mountain view“Don’t forget to stop by their Country Store either, where you can find tons of local goodies to bring home with you, from apple butter to fruit jams, or even just a couple slices of their famous apple pie!”

Pick Your Own Apple Orchards, HGTV

apple tree“Talk about all-American, this orchard is just a few minutes down the road from Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.”

 

Family Friendly Farms for the Season, Fredericksburg Parent

Thursday Evening Sunset Series Carter Mountain“Above all, the mountaintop offers spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and is a perfect and unmatched backdrop for unforgettable family photos and memories.”

Style Weekly’s Family Favorites: Favorite Day Getaways, Richmond Style Weekly (pg. 22)

Family outing carter mountain orchard“A top three day getaway for families!”

 

 

5 Festive Fall Treats for the Taste Buds in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Visit Charlottesville

carter mountain orchard donut“I start thinking about these donuts in July and I can easily finish a pack of 12 all by myself. When I leave Carter Mountain Orchard, my hands are overflowing with cookies, pies, but mostly the apple cider donuts.”

Chiles Peach Orchard got some love, too!

Preparing for Fall: 8 Companies to Reach Out to in Richmond, Ridgeline Tree

peach trees Chiles Peach Orchard“The staff is highly educated and will show you where, when, and how to pick the fruit so that it is high quality.”

 

BuzzFeed Visits the Mountain

Posted by :Franziska Matiuk On : September 13, 2016
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BuzzFeed—you’ve heard of them, right? Well, we already knew how amazing Charlottesville (and Carter Mountain Orchard) is, but after their visit in August, we think they’re convinced too!

Apple Cider Donuts“But what if we told you Virginia is wine country, and good wine country at that?” says BuzzFeed. “You’d probably say, ‘No! Biddies. Bonnets. BUTTER.’ That’s what we said too (in not so many words) when we learned we were going to Charlottesville, Virginia, for the Monticello Wine Trail.”

Well, no offense to biddies, bonnets, and butter (who doesn’t love butter?) but us Cville locals know that there’s so much more to Charlottesville than visitors expect. Yes, we have a rich presidential history. And yes, we are home to a world class university (go Hoos!). But we are also rich in local food, craft beverages, and general merriment set against stunning views of the Blue Ridge.

Our BuzzFeed visitors agreed.

“Another must is Carter Mountain Orchard. With its live music nights, cornhole, and apple cider doughnuts, Carter Mountain is extremely family friendly. But you could also just come, spawnless, and drink all the fruit. Try Bold Rock Hard Ciders on tap. Tastefully dry and brisk, these ciders will surprise you with flavor profiles more akin to champagne than juice. And let’s not forget about the WINE SLUSHIES at the Prince Michel Wine Shop on site.”

Some of the other Charlottesville favorites that the BuzzFeed team visited included:

Check out the full BuzzFeed article at buzzfeed.com/virginiatourism/wine-lovers-weve-found-your-new-paradise.

BuzzFeed staff "Hangin’ out at Tom-Tom’s house, NBD"

Behind the Scenes at Chiles Peach Orchard

Posted by :Franziska Matiuk On : April 5, 2016
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Springtime Frost Affects Strawberry Plants and Peach Trees

For our peach ice cream, apple cider slushies, and strawberry frozen yogurt, fruit and icy cold are a winning combination. When freezing temperatures threaten the crops before harvest time, however, we’re not so fond of freezing fruit.

To protect our crops from the cold, we have a few warming methods up our sleeves. For peach trees, wind machines are used to circulate air through the orchard and prevent frost from settling on the fruit. Strawberries are protected with overhead sprinklers that water the strawberries, freezing the plants before the frost can touch them. The ice on the plant creates a barrier between the bud and the frost and helps to seal the heat in like an igloo, known as the “igloo effect”. We also protect the strawberry plants by laying canvas covers (check out our video on Facebook) over the strawberry patch—you could call that the “blanket effect”!

Spring may have come early this year but that doesn’t mean Old Man Winter is done with us yet; we will continue to closely monitor the forecast for frost until May.

How the Orchards Prepare for Frost

View the original Albemarle Co. Orchard Preps for Spring Freezes article on NBC29.com

View another clip Fruit Farmers Concerned with Cool Temperatures article on NBC29.com

Strawberries Are Going to Be Early This Year!

Listen to Cynthia Chiles talk with Les Sinclair about strawberry season, expected to begin in mid- to late-April.

Listen to the original podcast posting on wina.com

What do you do when it’s so cold outside?

Posted by :Cynthia Chiles On : February 15, 2016
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We get a lot of questions about how winter weather affects our crops. We typically like the cold weather – our fruit trees require a certain amount of “chilling hours” in the winter for dormancy so that they can produce the volume and quality of fruit we need. However, the temperatures over the weekend, in the single digits, were much colder than is good for our trees and other crops. Mature trees can typically handle the cold temperatures, but the younger trees, as well as our berries, don’t fare quite as well. We double-covered our strawberry plants to protect the tender vegetation so that we can produce a crop this year. It takes a lot of manual labor to pull these covers and secure them. Our temperatures got down to 7 degrees Sunday morning……brrr.

Covered strawberry plants

Keeping the strawberry plants warm!

Once the weather warms back up, we will uncover the plants so that they can take advantage of sunshine so they can continue to grow.

As far as snow – we love snow! When the weather is cold enough for snow, it helps us get our required chilling hours. The snow also is wonderful for restoring ground water for the spring and summer (when it is often dry). A long winter is good for our crops. It will be spring before we know it!

Chiles Family Orchards ©2025
P.O. Box 229
Batesville, VA 22924
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