Our History

In 1918, thanks to a government grant, 300 apple trees purchased in Rougemont are planted on the old family lands on an experimental basis. The varieties include Wealthy, Greening, Baldwin, Fameuse, Duchess, Transparent, Alexandre and McIntosh.

A few years later, Henri Pedneault goes to Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière to learn the art of transplanting and reproducing apple trees. The business thus starts selling it’s first apple, cherry and plum trees in surrounding villages like Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive and Petite-Rivière-Saint-François.

Year after year, the family business keeps on planting apple, sweet cherry and plum trees on its ancestral lands, with varieties like Blue Damson and Raincloud. By then, the plantation extends to the edge of a strip of swampy woods called "Franière" and the orchard counts approximately 1400 apple trees.

In 1940, 400 new apple trees are planted on the Savard property purchased the previous year, with varieties like McIntosh, Lobo, Cortland, Lofem, Linda, Bettel, Melba, Delicious, Lodi, Spartan and Antonaska. Both orchards now total 1800 apple trees.

In 1981, the Wealthy apple trees on the hillside are replaced by Mont-Royal, Lombard and Burbank plum trees and Bartlett pear trees, and in 1982, part of the oldest orchard is replaced by 132 semi-drawf Lobo and McIntosh apple trees

In 1989, it’s time for the Savard orchard to expand with the integration of semi-dwarf fruit trees. Now, both orchards add up to only 1200 apple trees due to the fact that certain sections have been renewed with other varieties of fruit trees like sweet cherries, pears and plums.

In 1996 the orchard’s finished products are ready to market. We find honey, jelly, apple syrup and butter, pear syrup, cherry, plum and prune jams. In 1997, with Michel Pedneault as President, the business already employs between 15 and 20 seasonal workers.

1999 marks the history of the company in a more significant way with the addition of a wine cellar, vinegar and cider factories. The wine cellar and vinegar factory are incorporated into the existing facilities, but a wing must be added onto the main building for the cider factory. Newly developed products are then put to market: vinegar, mistelles , cider and cider by-products.

In June of 2003, Cidrerie et Vergers Pedneault joins the Network Society. Also, it is now one of Québec’s most dynamic tree farming facilities.