Andy’s Orchard is part of a long family tradition of fruit culture in the Santa Clara Valley, California. It is operated by well-known fruit expert Andy Mariani and is situated on a family-owned 30-acre farm in the Morgan Hill countryside. Andy’s Orchard is only fifteen minutes south of metropolitan San Jose, yet its rural setting near the gentle hills east of the town of Morgan Hill seems a world apart. Rows of carefully tended orchard trees, a cluster of farm buildings, rustic farm stand and country store await the visitor.

The family orchard is located on a very special site in the Santa Clara Valley where terroir, the French word referring to the combined influence of the local terrain and climate, greatly affects the quality of the fruit. We feel it is one of the most favored spots in all of California to grow superior fruit. Unlike California’s hot interior farmlands, the Santa Clara Valley’s warm summer days and cooler nights allow the fruit to remain on the tree a bit longer thus favoring the development of riper fruit—bursting with flavor and character. However, we also feel that it is more that just the site; it is a dialogue between terroir and technique, between nature and the hand of man.

There appears to be a growing trend in American taste preferences. Fast food is becoming increasingly passe, as there is a change back to "slower" food. Consumers are realizing the value of food prepared in small batches, like farmstead cheeses, produced right on the farm where the dairy herds are tended, rather than in large processing plants. The food maker is an artisan, one who can utilize special techniques, whether new or old processing methods, to create a product that is distinctive and often superior to the mass-produced foods seen in our supermarkets today.

Similarly, Andy’s Orchard is a small business: its fruit is artisanal fruit — tree-ripened fruit — grown, harvested, packaged and handled with special care, in a manner befitting fruit of extraordinary quality. It starts in the orchard with compost, cover crops, gypsum and natural humates that are routinely added to the soil to improve fertility and tilth. To reduce reliance on conventional farm inputs, emphasis is placed on the regular monitoring of the orchard in a biologically integrated program to maintain the vitality of our orchards. We believe that our customers and the general public are best served by our commitment to consciously grown fruit.

Special attention during harvesting also insures that our tree-ripened fruit reaches the customer in perfect condition. All of our fruit is harvested by hand when the fruit is mature; very delicate varieties like ‘Blenheim’ apricots and ‘Rainier’ cherries are handpicked in specially designed low-volume containers to minimize bruising. All peaches, nectarines and plums are also picked and packed by hand, never mechanically. Ours is a more natural product that is never de-fuzzed, dipped in fungicides, waxed or polished—premium fruit that’s not mass produced but grown in small quantities for our customers who expect the very best.