For Steve and Jaimie Ortiz, owners of PA Preferred® Mount Bethel Farms, farm to table is a way of life. The two operate a fully self-sufficient 48-acre farm in Northampton County that includes an apiary, orchard and wines they make with honey and fruit grown on the premises. “We do not sell it if we do not raise it or grow it ourselves,” says Steve. This self-contained site of agricultural splendor serves as a seasonal venue for the community to gather and kick back with local food, drinks and music each year.
We spoke with Steve Ortiz about his journey to farming, his many products and endeavors and the future of Mount Bethel Farms.
PA Eats: Can you provide us with a bit of your background?
Steve Ortiz: Sure. Behind it all, I’m from the inner city, I have no past farming experience, didn’t grow up on a farm and wasn’t left a farm by my parents or grandparents, although that would have been awesome. What did happen was that over the course of about 15 years we started growing all of our own vegetables for our family in the backyard of our suburban home. Then, about 11 years ago, we moved from the suburbs to the country at the base of a mountain, below the Appalachian Trail. Moving out to this area gave us some liberties. Not even a year after we moved in, we owned bees, ducks, chicken and goats and even started raising our own turkey.
Our end goal was never to create some huge corporation. We just really want clean food. What really made us turn the corner to becoming a business that provides to our community was COVID. I’ve been an engineer in New York City for 14 years, and I watched COVID really shut things down and how supplies were affected. I thought, ‘This is a sign. This is an opportunity to take everything we have and scale it.’ I was able to make a deal for this 48-acre historic farm that’s right down the street from my home. We took everything we had learned and scaled it all.
What is your approach to farming?
We keep it 100% natural. That is very important to us. I’m disturbed by the grip of Big Ag and pharmaceutical companies on farms and farming in the United States, so I set out to do things without the use of herbicides, pesticides, steroids or antibiotics. The farm itself has an artesian well that we found back in the woods. I believe it to be close to 200 years old. We dug it out, we cleaned it up, and that well now provides the drinking water for the animals and watering for the plants. We try to provide the cleanest products that we can.
Can you tell us about the mead and wine?
The winery is really its own business. I’ve been making wine for about 15 years and have made 100 big batches. We had honey and I thought, ‘What can you do with honey?’ My mind was blown by the fact that I could add yeast and it would eat the sugar and basically produce alcohol. I was floored by that. At first, I created a one gallon batch of mead. That turned into a few hundred batches of three to five gallons. This year, I’ll produce my 100th batch of honey wine. I could provide you with review after review of people saying our honey wines are the best they’ve ever had.
I make all of our straight honey lines, metheglin and most batches of pyment completely from products grown and raised on our farm using old world wine techniques. We maintain at least 32 hives on our property for raw honey. I lightly filter it, taking out knees and elbows basically, and ferment it. I’m not adding sugar and I’m not back-sweetening it. I’m letting the honey be the flavor of the wine. Whatever the bees get into at that time of year – like honeysuckle, wild flowers or pumpkin flowers – is the nuance.
We’ve learned to leave the bees alone. We put them in, add a box about two weeks later, and don’t touch it again until we’re ready for a flow. We’re seeing the benefit of that. I have a great respect for bees and am scared of what seems to be happening to pollinators. When people come to our wine bar, they might just come for the wine, but they get educated on bees.
We’re also currently planting a three acre orchard that houses all of the ingredients for our melomels. We grow a white grape, Gewurztraminer, a red grape, Baco Noir, pawpaws and all kinds of berries.
How can people enjoy your products?
We are seasonal and our farm is open to the public from April through October. We started in 2024 with our wine bar and we now have the ability to sell Pennsylvania beers and spirits. We have live entertainment and food trucks to offer a full experience. People come, sit at the farm and have a drink.
This year, we’re adding a farm tour. Folks can pay a small fee and take a tour of the operating farm, seeing pens of resident animals and market animals including majestic Longhorns, baby emus, piglets, goats, cows and ducks. It’s an opportunity for us to show people how things are done on our farm, to purchase products and taste the actual difference.
Enjoy the delicious products and love farm ambiance at Mount Bethel Farms, 1181 Turkey Ridge Road, Mount Bethel; (484) 202-0752 or order through its online shop.
This series was created in collaboration with PA Preferred.
PA Preferred® is Pennsylvania’s statewide branding program that promotes locally grown and processed food and other agricultural products.
- Photos: Mount Bethel Farms
