Cloe Sliva

CIDERMAKER

Born and raised in the high-altitude ponderosa forests of Flagstaff, AZ, Cloe learned early on that she loved wide-open natural spaces. Inspired by the beauty and grandeur of the Grand Canyon state, she pursued an education in the physical sciences from Northern Arizona University. Along the way, she worked various odd jobs - everything from sand grain analyzer to NPS field scientist to fine dining service and bar management. While Arizona is a magical place, she wanted something that can be difficult to get to in Arizona: flowing water. This led her and her partner James to Missoula, our beautiful town at the confluence of three rivers. The juxtaposition of experience in the physical sciences world and wine and spirits world morphed into an unexpected but welcome opportunity to make cider at Western. Cloe enjoys the balance between art and science required to make good cider, and can appreciate the rigorous sanitation and planning that precedes any cidermaking. Most of all, she enjoys the fall, when our trees become lush with apples ripe for picking. 

When Cloe isn’t keeping ferments happy, she enjoys taking classes at the Lifelong Learning Center, cocktailing, downhill and cross-country skiing, making stained glass, rock-hounding, and hanging out on rivers.