Cider Review: Wilson Orchard's Late Harvest

What a scare! Life without much of a sense of smell really felt different for me. I didn’t like that difference either. Thankfully, it’s back. I couldn’t be happier about it. We have guests and holidays arriving imminently. It’s just so much more fun to enjoy the scents of every meal and every moment. On this last evening before the happy chaos begins, I took a moment for a quiet asian meal with my tall companion and a cider that I suspected will be delicious.  I chose Wilson Orchard and Farm’s - Late Harvest.

This is the first time any Iowa cider has made it onto the blog, and I’m so excited to taste another place. When investigating Wilson’s Orchard and Farm, I noticed the strong emphasis not only on local produce but on communicating the larger environmental and economic reasoning behind their investment in the local. The site made succinct points about their goals. I’ll quote one section because I liked it so much. 

Giving Back

The strength of our food supply chain relies on farmers providing reasonable access to locally-grown food and beverages to the entire community. Each season we partner with various local food pantries and community programs that support our neighborhoods and make our products easily available to as many as possible.

Here’s a link to Wilson’s Orchard’s page about the cidery’s beverages: https://www.wilsonsorchard.com/wilsons-beverages

Here is the full description of this seasonal release.

Late Harvest

Spontaneously Fermented hard cider rested on oak

With a chill in the air, even sometimes snow on the branches, late harvest is a time for our orchard staff to exhale and start to unwind. Only a few more varieties to pick - one of which is our favorite apple, Gold Rush. The perfect time to slow down and celebrate a season of hard work, a fruitful harvest, and of course plan the coming winter’s Wassail. 

Tasting notes: Light, fruity with hints of plum, melon, and subtle toffee.

Sugar at harvest: 14.6 degrees brix

Residual Sugar: 0 degrees brix

Appearance: shining trumpet brass, brilliant, fine bubbles

The color is just so strikingly shiny. I’m reminded of my years playing in band and seeing all of the brass instruments with their shining gold hue. I see just a few little bubbles in the glass.

Aromas: white wine, lemon, minerals, tropical fruit, dust, and cedar

The Late Harvest smells immediately like a white wine in a wonderfully appealing way. I also get notes of lemon, dust, minerals, cedar wood and tropical fruit. Somewhere in the mix, you can find a deep note of dark ripeness.

Sweetness/dryness: Dry

This is a perfectly dry cider, and I wouldn’t want it to be any other way.

Flavors and drinking experience: petillant, barrel character, candied orange peel, butterscotch, paper tannins

What I notice first about the late harvest is its petillance. The bubbles are present but not intense. The cider uses its barrel aging beautifully. I’d say that barrel character creates the headline for the cider’s flavors: candied orange peel, butterscotch, dried pineapple, and ripe apple. The cider brings high acid and slight papery tannins as well. I appreciate its full body with some zesty tartness.

The overall impression I gather is that the cider is robust and vigorous but not too boozy. There’s just a hint of warmth on the finish. It manages to simultaneously be stony and yet pervasively apple-y.  The cider’s spontaneous fermentation is a tertiary quality that doesn’t overshadow the apples or the time on oak. Instead the fermentation feels clean and straightforward. This is a lovely cider that I’m so glad to enjoy peacefully with all of my senses returned. 

Cider Review: Aeppeltreow Scarlett Rosey Cider and South Hill Cider Prelude #7

This week, when thinking about cider and Summer, I want to think about the specific cider styles most often associated with the season. There are more than I can cover in a week, but two of the first styles that come to mind are rosé ciders and dry, acid-forward, bubbly ciders. Luckily I found examples of each: one in my own cellar waiting for its moment and the other featured at a local restaurant (Agava: https://www.agavarestaurant.com/) known for showcaseing local food and beverages. 

Today, I’m starting with Aeppeltreow’s Scarlett Rosey Cider. 

I’ve enjoyed a number of Aeppeltreow ciders since starting the blog. Here’s the list:

Sparrow Spiced Cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/01/cider-review-aeppeltreow-sparrow-spiced.html

The Orchard Oriole Perry has to be one of my favorite perries ever: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/05/very-perry-may-aeppeltreows-orchard.html 

In 2015, I got to try the Appley Brut which brings the bubbles: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/09/cider-review-appeltreow-winerys-appley.html 

The first time I had something pretty in pink from Aeppeltreow it was the Blackbird Berried Cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/06/cider-cans-crush-it-aeppeltreow.html

My favorite might still be the Kinglet Bitter: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/09/cider-review-appletreow-kinglet-bitter.html 

When I first moved to Ithaca, I got to try the Barnswallow Draft Cider: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/03/cider-review-appeltreow-barnswallow.html 

For Very Perry May 2017,I reviewed the Sparkling Perry: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/05/very-perry-may-pt-1-aeppeltreow.html

At my friend El’smost recent  birthday dinner, I included the Americana:
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/09/my-dear-friend-el-just-had-birthday.html

Read about all the ciders, and the rest of the delicious lineup online: http://aeppeltreow.com/

Here’s the official description for the Scarlett Rosey Cider, “Scarlett is blended from real red-fleshed crab apples and eating apples specially selected to leave the scent of rose petals in the bottom of the glass. Semi-sweet. It is pink.” 5.5% ABV

Appearance: Brilliant, bubbly, coral pink

The can describes this cider as pink, but it’s a more nuanced shade than just pink. To me, it looks like a coral pink that hints toward peachiness. It’s lovely: far too lovely to leave in a can! Pour this one into a glass.

Aromas: ripe apples, raspberries, stone and dust

The Scarlett smells like ripe apples and raspberries! Underneath all of that juicy ripe apple I get a hint of dust and stone associated notes that make me expect something tart.

Sweetness/dryness: Semi-sweet

This is semi-sweet, but I’m guessing many folks would call the Scarlett Rosey Cider semi-dry. It’s a lovely fruity sweetness that melds with all of the facets of the cider.

Flavors and drinking experience: tart, tannic, sweet, floral and fruity

I love how the Scarlett cider offers up lots of tannins! It also brings enough medium high acidity to balance the sweetness. I enjoy the medium intensity of bubbles, and the heft of the mouthfeel. This cider has both body and lift! The floral and fruity elements play nicely together. What I particularly appreciate is that the floral notes shade more into foody and juicy notes and less into powdery or perfumed ones. 

I enjoyed the Scarlett Rosey Cider with some wheaty crackers and a mature cheddar. It didn’t need anything else!  

South Hill Cider Prelude #7

Previous reviews of South Hill Ciders

South Hill Ciders has a fantastic group of ciders that manage to be different and yet all 100% apple-based and local. Cidermaker Steve Selin uses all manner of apples for the different South Hill ciders including heirloom, crab, and cider specific apples all from the local environs, both grown and foraged. South hill planted a young orchard in Ithaca, NY and has broken ground for a tasting room to be open on the same site soon. 

Here is a list of my previous South Hill Cider reviews:

Most recently I reviewed the Bluegrass Russet: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2019/04/cider-review-sea-ciders-ruby-rose-and.html

I reviewed the Prelude 3: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/12/cider-review-south-hill-ciders-prelude.html

Then it became my #7 favorite cider in 2018
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/12/my-10-favorite-ciders-of-2017.html

My Finger Lakes Cider pairing dinner in September of 2017 included one: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/09/finger-lakes-cider-week-and-birthday.html

I chose South Hill Cider’s Stone Fence Farm as my favorite cider of 2016: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/08/cider-review-south-hill-ciders-stone.html

In 2016, I tasted the 2014 Packbasket: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/04/cider-review-south-hill-ciders-2014.html

And my very first South Hill Cider review was the hyper-limited release Hypothesis: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/05/cider-review-south-hill-ciders.html

You can visit South Hill Cider online to learn more and follow the progress on current projects: http://www.southhillcider.com/

And now for the South Hill Prelude #7. 

Here’s the official description, “#7- An assemblage of all late-season apples. 50% Dabinett, 34% Golden Russet and 16% Goldrush. Bone Dry & Sparkling traditional method. Because of the bottle fermentation and that the apples are all late-season and ripe, the cider is 10.1% ABV. 90 cases”

Appearance: brilliant, bubbly, warm straw

This cider looks very much like what I expect and hope for a cider from this area. I’d call the color warm straw. It’s brilliant, and I can see some bubble activity in the glass.

Aromas: lemons, clean grains, boozy, minerals

This cider smells unlike others I’ve smelled or tasted from South Hill Cider. I suppose that’s the beauty of the Prelue line. The #7 smells lemony and boozy with notes of clean grain and minerals.

Sweetness/dryness: Dry

This is a dry and astringent cider. Folks expecting any sweetness at all will be surprised, but I love that about it.

Flavors and drinking experience: oaky, herbal, anise

The Prelude #7 tastes oaky; maybe some part of this juice saw time in a barrel of some form. The description doesn’t say so, but that’s what I’m tasting. The cider is also strongly herbal with notes of anise, black tea, and dried leaves. I love that it has so many bubbles. It tastes toasted with breadcrumbs and marshmallows. I get brown sugar notes in the finish. This cider is high acid with medium-high tannins.

I had this with a black bean veggie burger and fantastic fries. I definitely recommend the paring.

Summer has lots of long hot days, enough to include both rosé ciders and dry, acid-forward, bubbly ciders. Check back next week to see how else to enjoy cider in the Summer.

Cider Review: Albemarle Ciderworks' Goldrush and 2 Towns Cider La Mure

It may seem like everything is in hibernation right now, but I promise you that the cider world is bustling with activity. Just today, I spent several hours with the New York Cider Association at our annual meeting, brainstorming, debating, and learning about ways we can better our own little corner of the cider world. And this weekend is The Gathering of the Farm Cideries in Albany. I'm so excited!

(Check the event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/384820252086458/)

It has been far too long since I’ve reviewed anything by Albemarle Ciderworks. This company grows a huge variety of heritage and cider specific apples. The tree collection was founded in 1986, long before most of America even dreamed of the cider revolution that’s happening now. Albemarle has a tasting room at the homebase in North Garden, Virginia. I read on the website that you can taste 15 different ciders at the tasting room; that’s certainly an impressive number, particularly when those ciders are all apple blends rather than varied based on adjunct ingredients!

Back in October of 2013, I reviewed Ragged Mountain: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/10/cider-review-albemarle-ragged-mountain.html

And my first Albemarle review covers the Royal Pippin:

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/08/cider-review-albemarle-ciderworks-royal.html

Just a month later, I revisited Albemarle with the Pomme Mary:

http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/09/cider-review-albemarle-ciderworks-pomme.html

You can check out the website here: http://www.albemarleciderworks.com.

Today, I’m really excited to be sharing my notes on the GoldRush. Here’s the official description.

 GoldRush is a recent American apple from Purdue University, named for its color and the rush of flavor it offers. That flavor is rich, complex and vinous. Its tart acidity, balanced with a spicy sweetness, makes it highly prized for cider. This fourth single varietal from Albemarle CiderWorks is dry and crisp with citrus overtones hinting of grapefruit. Its tartness on the tongue is smoothed by notes of honey and ginger. This is an elegantly dry cider that pairs wonderfully with a variety of foods-chicken cordon bleu, trout, Gruyere, Manchego- or on its own. 9.5%ABV

Yes, that's a single varietal! Albemarle Ciderworks practically specializes in them.

Appearance: brilliant, bubbly, warm straw

There are so many bubbles in my glass of cider, and the GoldRush is brilliant, that it’s easy to see them. I’d call the color warm straw. 
Aromas: applesauce, raisins, baking spice

The GoldRush makes my mouth water with every little waft of scne. It smells like homemade applesauce. Something about these aromas just makes me think of juicy golden raisins and baking spices. It’s rich and fruity but that’s not all. There are some mineraly notes that remind me of sauvignon blanc-esque fusel oils. I had a question the last time this aroma happened in a reviewed cider. In small quantities, I do not think this is a bad thing *at all*.

Sweetness/dryness: dry

As promised by the official description, the GoldRush is dry.

Flavors and drinking experience: Tropical fruit, high acidity, bubbly, leather

I know I played it cool in my previous section, but I love finding a truly dry cider like the GoldRush that still manages to have tons of fruit notes and richness. This cider is dry, in exactly that high acid and tropical fruits way.

The Goldrush is not just fruity though, it’s also smoky with a gently leathery finish. The fruit notes never fully abandon the cider at any stage, but towards the end, they are no longer alone. It's remarkably balanced even as the flavors shift.

I love the GoldRush’s strong bubbles and firm texture. The acidity makes it slap in the best possible way.

Next up is 2 Towns Ciderhouse’s  La Mûre

I have tried many 2 Towns ciders. They make an huge range of ciders. I’m lucky enough to receive a generous number of review samples from them. 2 Towns Ciderhouse releases many different ciders under a few different product lines, but I tend to adore anything I try from the Traditions line of theirs. We'll see if the trend continues. 

Most recently, I reviewed the Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy, a lemon and raspberry cider:
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/12/cider-review-eden-ciders-siren-song-and.html

I loved The Cidre Bouche, and it made my top 10 of 2017: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2017/11/cider-review-2-towns-ciderhouses-cidre.html

For last year’s Very Perry May I tried the Pearadise as part of my series on perries and pear ciders:
http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/05/very-perry-may-2-towns-ciderhouses.html

About a year ago I tried the Pineapple: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2018/02/cider-review-portland-cider-company.html

The rhubarb and hops of The Hop and Stalk was delightful: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2014/12/cider-review-2-towns-ciderhouse-hop-and.html

When travelling out west I reviewed the Bright Cider as part of my travel roundup: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2016/07/cider-review-roundup-common-cider-co.html

I recommend visiting the  2 Towns Cider Website to learn more about the company: https://2townsciderhouse.com/

The official description reads,

 LAMBIC STYLE CIDER~ Oregon grown Marion blackberries ~ ~ Soured with Lactobacillus ~ ~ Aged in Willamette Valley pinot noir barrels ~ 

Inspired by the historic lambic beers of Belgium, La Mûre embodies the Flemish styles of old. Northwest apples and Oregon grown Marion blackberries are fermented wild with Lactobacillus. Aged in Willamette Valley pinot noir barrels for one year, this unique cider is then removed from these dusty casks and bottle conditioned, revealing complex aromatics and a lactic tang that only time can unfold. 6.9%ABV

Appearance: Glowing mulberry, brilliant to transparent, no visible bubbles

I had to sneak in a preview of  La Mûre in the glass to my Instagram the night I tasted it, because it’s just so pretty. This cider has a glowing mulberry color; it’s a dark enough shade that I can’t quite tell if the cider is transparent or fully brilliant. I didn’t see much in the way of bubbles though 

Aromas: berries, vinous, beery, barrel-y

 La Mûre smells vinous and beery and sour and fruity all at the same time. There’s definitely something sour in the fruit aromas that reminds me of tart little apples.
Based on these smells, I expect  La Mûre to be tannic and barrel-influenced.

Dryness/sweetness: Off Dry

I find La Mûre off dry. This cider doesn’t have the austerity of a dry sour cider, but it’s not sweet enough to move from being tart to tasting sweet to any significant degree.

Flavors and drinking experience: Sour, barrel, berries, apple

 La Mûre fulfills it’s promisely beautifully. This cider is a sour indeed but one balanced by berries and mineral and barrel and apples! There’s a lot going on here. I love that this cider tastes woody and stoney while still being lushly fruity.

As a last observation,  La Mûre’s sourness grows with multiple tastes! What’s nice though, is that it doesn’t get overpowering. This has to be one of my favorites from 2 Towns Ciderhouse!

Cider Review: Doc's Draft Gold Rush Cider and GLINTCAP is open for entries

Good day all. I feel like after some of my cider adventuring, it is time to come back home as it were and review a New York state cider, so I finally got to open up my bottle of Doc's Draft Gold Rush Cider. Also, if you've got any curiousity about cider competitions, after the view, I'll be posting a bit about the largest Cider and Perry competition in the world: GLINTCAP!

Here the website for Warwick Valley Winery and Distillery which not only talks about their cider but also their other beverages and all the happening at their tasting complex: http://www.wvwinery.com/

If you just want to read about cider, you can read about a few of their varieties here: http://www.wvwinery.com/cider/ 

I have actually reviewed six ciders by Doc's Draft before! They make a numver of specialty ciders and interesting fruit blends, and their releases always show up for sale in my area. In case you'd like to see the previous reviews, here's a the full list.

Hard Apple: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/01/cider-review-docs-draft-hard-apple-cider.html

Dry Hopped: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/07/cider-review-docs-draft-hopped-cider.html

Cranberry spice: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/05/cider-review-docs-draft-cranberry-spice.html

Pumpkin: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/10/cider-review-docs-draft-pumpkin-hard.html

Cassis: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/05/cider-review-docs-draft-hard-cassis.html

Peach: http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2015/04/cider-review-docs-draft-peach-hard.html

The Doc's Draft website does not list their Gold Rush Cider. The only information I was able to find came from the back of the bottle. That reads, "Crafted from 100% organic goldrush apples, Doc's Gold rush is fermented using the traditional keeving method which makes a sold cool fermentation over a 6 month period of time. The result is an aromatic flavor with a hint of residual sweetness."

Keeving might be a pretty unfamiliar term, even for some cider lovers. It basically means reducing the nutrients in juice to slow a fermentation down and leave some perceivable sweetness in the cider naturally even after a complete fermentation. If you want to read more about keeving as a fermenation process, I highly recommend checking this page out: http://www.cider.org.uk/keeving.html.

Enough background, time for Doc's Draft Gold Rush Cider!

Appearance: brilliant, plenty of visible bubbles, 

The Gold Rush cider is a true brilliant light straw color that's great for showing off visible bubbles.

Aromas: green grapes, tart fresh apples, wine, and brown paper

The Gold Rush smells like green grapes, wine, tart fresh apples (thin, high fruit acid plus low dusty russet), a hint of brown paper or leather

Sweetness/dryness: off-dry

Huh, I expected more sweetness from a keeved cider. Perhaps I was wrong to expect that, but this cider is off dry in a way that I associate with many other fermentation methods.

Flavors and drinking experience: green fruit, high acid, lingering

At first, it's pleasant and maybe even a little sweet, then it twists into a raw, vegetal, VERY high acid peak. Gold Rush lingers all through the mouth and throat, and the finish surprised me with hints of carrots!  The cider is off dry with medium tannins. I got lots of zesty lime and green twig  flavor.  This plays off of hints of underripe apple and strawberry flavors

The Gold Rush is a summer cider for sure because its so refreshing and tart as to make me feel colder. Small sips give pleasant bright notes with active salivary response.  The whole tasting experience takes about five full seconds to proceed through its stages: a long rise and fall of puckering acidity. 

Texturally, Bubbles are pleasant and small.  At 7.2% ABV it feels boozier than it tastes.  Compared to other ciders by Warwick Valley, this cider almost certainly uses a different yeast strain. Perhaps its this perception that makes the different fermentation choices most clear. This reminds me that I want to learn more about keeving and keeved ciders for sure!

I'd recommend pairing the Gold Rush cider with something heavy, mild, creamy,and not sweet. I enjoyed mine with a tuna and corn chowder. Chowders and dry high acid ciders tend to work tremendously well together.

Now, let's talk about GLINTCAP!  

That GLINTCAP acronym stands for Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition. I've judged for the past two years, and I'm thrilled to say that I'm signed up again to judge this year! The competition happens in Grand Rapids, Michigan on the weekend of April 22-24, 2016. 

You can learn about the competition on its website: http://glintcap.org

Judges train and calibrate together, all tastings are served blind, and all ciders and perrys are judged according to specific style guidelines. 

If you are interested in sending some of your ciders (either commercial or non-commercial) this is the page to read. http://glintcap.org/register/