About Us
Rinker Orchards, Inc is a third generation apple orchard nestled in Frederick County, Virginia. Jacob Dudley Rinker and his wife Emma Glaize raised their eight children on the family farm where they grew crops, kept farm animals and had an orchard.
Raymond Dudley Rinker purchased the farm from his siblings after the death of his parents and continued in the family farming tradition until the bull chased him across the pasture one too many times. It was then he decided to sell the animals and plant more apple trees.
Ray and his wife Ruth Boyer Rinker expanded the orchards while raising their two sons in the family business. In 1973 Ruth, who was teaching in the Frederick County schools, created and opened one of the first "Pick Your Own" apple operations in Virginia. Promoting the opportunity to come to the country and pick your own apples to families in the surrounding metropolitan areas opened up a whole new way of educating the public about Virginia Apples.
That same year Ray and Ruth's younger son began to take over the orchard operations. Dudley is the third generation of Rinkers to carry on the family tradition. Seeing a need to fill a niche market Dudley started Rinker's Apple Cider in 1986. Our cider is made using only fruit fresh from the trees. No water, sugar or preservatives are used. While it is flashed pasteurized, it retains all the properties of fresh pressed.
Patronage to the orchard for “Pick Your Own” has remained steady over the last 47 years. Some customers have been coming since the advent of “Pick Your Own” and proudly bring their third generation apple pickers with them year after year.
