Photos | Martinelli keeps juice pouring in Watsonville

Forklifts bring crates of apples to the cider production line at S. Martinelli & Co. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Aaron Guerrero and Roselia Orozco work on the S. Martinelli & Co. filler and conveyor belts during the production of sparkling cider. Martinelli’s has been family owned and operated in Watsonville since 1868. The company uses a blend of U.S. grown fresh apples of the finest varieties, including the flavorful Newtown Pippin, which helps them achieve their balance of sweetness and tartness and adds no concentrates or chemical additives. For their production, the apples are thoroughly washed and hand-sorted to remove any defects and then ground to a pulp and cold pressed to release the fresh juice. The juice is then flash-pasteurized, hot-filled into new bottles, capped and quickly cooled to retain the fresh apple flavor. Martinelli’s signature sparkling cider and other sparkling 100% juices are carbonated, cold-filled, capped, then slowly pasteurized and cooled in the bottle. Both end processes result in product purity and quality for extended shelf life without chemical preservatives. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)

S. Martinelli & Co. President John Martinelli inspects the plant’s filtration equipment. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Manuel Moguel moves inventory in the Martinelli’s West Beach Street plant during a cider production run. . (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Juana Ortega and Aaron Guerrero work on the filler and bottling line at S. Martinelli & Co. in Watsonville during a sparkling cider run. The family owned and operated company has been producing premium juices and ciders in Watsonville for more than 150 years from apples grown in the Pajaro Valley. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)