Gabriel Farm

My friends and I came here to pick some persimmons on a nice fall day, and ended up leaving with persimmons, Asian pears, some guava pineapples, Asian pear apple juice, and Asian pear brandy.
So there is a fee to join as a CSA member ($ 36), you only need 1 person to be join in your group, but it comes with a box of the Asian pear apple juice (6 half gallons). And I’ll say that the Asian Pear Apple Juice ALONE IS WORTH A TRIP TO THIS PLACE. (I really wished they sold this at Bevmo tho, it’s such a far drive!) To make a long story story my friends and I basically destroyed our 6 half gallons because it’s DELICIOUS and Asian Pear juice is known to prevent hangover if consumed before drinking, it’s proven by science go look it up, and it totally works! Which makes sense Koreans can drink A LOT, and we eat a crap ton of Asian Pears aka Korean Pears. If I had know that we would annihilate our 3 gallons, I would’ve purchased much more.
I’m not a huge fan of persimmons, but the Asian pears were delicious, and to my surprised I really enjoyed the guava pineapples which I’ve never had before. The folks working were nice as well.
The downside is the drive mainly, it’s far. Also, I really wish they let you taste the Asian Pear Brandy ($ 80). If I had know what it tasted like, I wouldn’t have purchased it. Because it basically tasted like death. My friends and I could only muster to take the one, and I haven’t touched the bottle since. I guess I’ll just feed it someone that I really don’t like or make it a punishment in some sort of drinking game. The bottle looks nice though lol.
But overall great place to check out! I’m a fan!

We love this u-​pick place. We are now in our 2^nd year as members, and look forward to every weekend we can pick at Lucy, Henry, and Tory’s family farm. We have been able to pick rasberries, blackberries, apples of many varieties, persimmons and pineapple guavas throughout the year. We have enjoyed the friendliness of the family and the workers. It is such a clean and well-​run farm, and beautiful surroundings, that we take every opportunity to go there. Also, we have enjoyed pear-​apple juice and jams. These are top-​notch products, which we eat and share with our enthusiastic friends.

We love coming here. Organic and delicious fruit of all kinds. You can’t beat the freshness and taste of the fruit. They are very friendly to work with and you are able to taste whatever you’d like to pick.

Was hopeful this would be awesome, but they made us pay $ 36 to join as a member which was a huge rip off because they then charged us $ 2 to pick tiny, poor quality apples off of not very mature trees.
Very nice people, and I’m happy to support farmers, but it really sucks to have them angle shoot you on the way in: «we moved to a membership model which gets you unlimited access» is just a rip off.
You’re going to come 1x per year, they are already charging 3x per pound.
I almost left but the kids would have been heartbroken.
Also, no apple pies, cider or other merriment that I experienced as a kid in upstate New York. I would avoid.

We went to this place a couple years ago, It’s a picturesque place, the apples don’t look great but they taste good. We went back this year again It would be nice if there was no membership fee because you do end up paying a premium for the apples. The owners do take pride in the farm and I respect that.

This is a sweet little family owned farm that’s perfect for our little ones to come and pick fresh apples from. They have a CSA program where you pay for 6 bottles of organic apple pear juice and then you can come and pick in their farm. The apples are $ 1.99 per pound, at least the couple times we’ve come to pick, but it’s really great for fresh organic apples… that taste SO good!!! They have Asian pears that are super tasty too :)

Love at first sight!
We joined the CSA for $ 36 and received 6 half-​gallon jugs of organic apple/​pear juice.
Super friendly folks. We really appreciate the opportunity to visit and spend time on this family farm.
A true hidden jewel within Sonoma County and I can appreciate their thoughts on charging a «membership fee» to be able to pick from the orchard as it keeps out people who are not interested in being a part of something special or willing to support a vision.
It was a glorious day and we are very excited to go back and pick again next week.
They accept all forms of payment: cash, check and credit cards.

Third time we’ve been here. Organic apples, family owned, easy to pick fruit for my little guy. They now have a pumpkin patch, also pick your own. Love the different varieties of Asian Apple pears (already picked for you). Since I still have a few bottles of Apple juice from last years trip, I was able to swap out some juice for preserves and vinegar. A heads up: you need to purchase a CSA membership in order to pick your own fruit, but worth the investment in a small business. And seemed like a lot of screaming kids today, but that may be hit or miss. Still my favorite place for fall apple picking!

This a beautiful farm and perfect Autumn outing. We went today to celebrate the first day of Autumn and it was wonderful. We apples are delicious! We will be back soon. The price of the membership was made up by the case of apple juice. Wonderful experience and beautiful drive. I highly recommend this farm. I suggest buying more apples than you need because I found plenty of people to share with.

I love this beautiful farm and cannot wait to go back this year! It is so serene & peaceful. 45 minutes — hour drive from the city & well, well worth it. People complaining about the apple quality… look at the dates you went, end of season. What do you expect?
The staff was all very friendly. We got some boxes & they showed us where we could pick. It was the tail end of the season when we went too, but I’m not a moron, I knew it wasn’t going to be prime picking. The tranquility at the farm, alone, is worth the drive. My boyfriend & I both got full boxes of apples, bought a case of their delicious juice & were on on way, stopped in town for a nice lunch, then continued back to San Francisco.
Contributing to their CSA program should be standard. They take time out of their BUSINESS to show you around & allow you to be there. Supporting local businesses is a choice. No one makes you go there.
They love what they do, which is apparent, but at the end of the day, it is a business, and their home. It should be respected as such. They are kind enough to welcome you in.
I didn’t call, but if I did & didn’t get an answer, I would assume it is because they are OUTSIDE, working on their small family farm :) Also explains why they are not inside updating their website constantly. They do it enough to know when the season is, and when its over, and at times, more. After reading some of the reviews with some gripes, I can just come the conclusion, people need to learn to have a little more patience. You come to a wonderful place like this to get away from the hustle & bustle to relax. SO RELAX :)
I made the best, fresh apple pie from scratch with some of the apples, enjoyed some with caramel & just grabbed some in the morning while heading out the door for work. They were yummy.
I only wish I could come once a month to pick anything to relax :)
It says they except credit/​debit cards, but I remember having to have cash, just a heads up.

Drove up here in September and picked a box of Golden Delicious from their beautiful farm. We joined the CSA and got six big bottles of the best apple-​pear cider I’ve ever had. Definitely felt it was worth the price for the quality of the juice and the apples we picked, and for the experience of picking fruit from the trees. My 3 and 5 year old enjoyed the experience and we will definitely get up there again to pick again!

This little farm is wonderful! We spent an awesome Sunday afternoon here, picking the most incredible organic apples. The owners are so friendly and sweet and encouraged us to taste as we went along. We had upwards of 20 lbs before we knew it. We have had apples every possible way this past week – and its been so so yummy! Tonight I’m making apple cake! We joined their CSA and got a case of their organic Asian pear cider (you have to join it to pick but honestly this seemed fair to me). It is a working farm – interesting stuff all around to see, my son was stoked to see the enormous bins of juice apples (not pretty enough for market, but perfecto for juice). They have several kinds of Asian pears (though you can’t pick those) and we’re going back in a couple weeks when their Fujis are ripe.
The people here are lovely, the prices here are super reasonable and lord, the apples here are delicious. Check it out.

We can’t wait to head up to Gabriel Farm again this year to pick some of their amazing organic apples. Farm staff are friendly, prices are reasonable, and it’s a lot of fun. We bring our kids every year and have a lot of fun. Not much beats standing on the middle of an orchard on a warm autumn afternoon munching on an apple you just picked off the tree.
Make sure you go there in September and early October, though, when the apples are actually ripe. It’s annoying to see reviews here taking the owners to task for something they don’t have any control over, namely the seasonality of fruit. Torrey, the owner, posts regularly on their website, so check there first before you head out.

It was a great little u-​pick orchard. The apples were tasty and the people were nice.
The prices were right on par (below the normal farmer’s markets price).
A lot of little kids running around, so it’s a good place to bring on the kids on the weekend to let them get their energy out.

I was really surprised to see that this place doesn’t have a 5 star overall rating. We’ve gone to Gabriel Farm 2 years in a row for apple picking and have had such a wonderful, fun time. My kids are 5, 3 and 1, and they had a blast… the 5 year old and the 3 year old were able to pick some apples on their own, and the 1 year old just enjoyed wandering through the orchard. :)
The apples are really good, too — delicious for eating plain, but I also made some applesauce and apple cake with them. It’s great that they’re organic.
Also, the people that run this place are so nice. I think I met the female owner (have not seen her husband) and she’s very friendly. Each year we’ve been taken out to the orchard by a different young person (this time a girl from Germany, I think) and they’re super nice, too. Gabriel Farm just makes it a great experience from beginning to end.
Lastly, the location is drop-​dead gorgeous. If you want a picturesque place to do your apple picking, you’ll love Gabriel Farm. (Which is kind of yuppie-​sounding and a bit embarrassing to admit, but you know how it is… if my husband and I are gonna pack our 3 kids in the minivan and drive an hour to get someplace, it needs to be pretty fantastic. This place is worth every ‘are we there yet?’, for sure.)

What a wonderful farm! My husband and I went there on a recent Saturday for blackberry picking. It was so much fun and the female owner could not have been nicer (we didn’t meet the male owner). She showed us the best places to pick and was just so friendly and warm. After we picked for about an hour (I could have easily stayed longer!) we went to pay. The owner found out we had an hour long car ride home, so she not only gave us a large carrying box for all our little berry baskets, but she also went inside her home specifically to get a ziploc bag for us with some ice to keep everything cool. So kind.
Not only was the picking great, as an added bonus they have a port a potty on the premises which was quite convenient, and it was even stocked with soap, paper towels and water for handwashing. Nice touch.
We’re thinking of making a tradition of berry picking at Gabriel Farm since it was such a wonderful day. Love that they’re certified organic!

After re-​reading my review, I feel like what I wrote was unfair to the business because 1.) we came at the tail end of the season when the best fruit was clearly already picked and 2.) it was not a great summer weather-​wise. The owner of Gabriel Farm reached out to me with a very nice email explaining about the bad season, and it was a good reality check for me that it’s not some big bad corporation, but a small local farm. Plus, I was kinda harsh. So thank you Torrey for your email and this year we’ll come back earlier in the season to give it another try.

I am really surprised and saddened to see the low star reviews of this orchard because folks happened to go there at the end of a picking season.
I was there a year or two ago and believe me, there was no wanting for apples! SIx of us gathered bundles and bundles of ripe, crisp delicious fresh-​from-​the-​tree apples. Nothing beats picking fresh apples in the crisp fall air, and we had an amazing time running around the rows of this orchard. My only complaint– the west coast just can’t touch New England’s apples. And CIDER, why does California think apple juice is cider???
I would highly recommend this orchard to anyone. And think we’d all be a little happier if we went apple picking more! I was getting together a group to go up again which is how I stumbled on these reviews. Unfortunately it seems we missed the season, so will have to wait until next year.
While we are used to going to grocery stores stocked with glorious fruits at all times of year (usually packed with all sorts of nasty chemicals simply to get you that flawless look), the reality is that produce grows in nature on its own natural cycle. There is a peak harvest, and then it naturally dwindles. Bugs and rotting are an inherent part of that. As for the «waste» of an organic farm, that is just so silly and entirely out of touch with what growing food entails that I’ll just leave it alone.
I think Unilocalers need to watch themselves. Sure you were disappointed, but that is because you didn’t do your homework about harvest season. I appreciate the mentioning of it– as it actually saved me from going up too late too! However, don’t rate the farm as if it is a bad farm because their farm is a farm, and their apples are acting like apples!

Torrey is very knowledgeable and was ready to answer any questions I had, he showed us the farm and we were able to see and learn about a wide variety of Asian pears. The store was interesting too, especially their pear brandy. You can see a video of it here:

Agree with Dani B. and Kevin E. that the few apples still on the trees looked really beat up, but it’s probably because we visited at the end of the season. It sounded like they started harvesting apples in early August this year. I thought the few apples we were able to pick and the pears we bought were pretty tasty, but it was a long way to drive for about 20 pieces of fruit.
If anyone from Gabriel Farm reads this, I would recommend updating your website and phone recording more often (especially if you don’t answer the phone), so people know if there is still fruit on the trees to pick.
I’d be willing to give this place a second chance since the setting is pretty nice and the staff is friendly, but would try to go earlier in the season next year.