Cider Review: Penning's Farm Cidery's Wild Series The Continental and New York Cider Week!

It’s almost New York Cider Week! This is a busy time of year; there are more people I’d love to see and things I’d love to do than time. I tasted this cider with the Tall One this evening for two reasons. One, this was a gift from my dear friend Maria who is off on her own cider adventures; it’s a nice way to remember a faraway friend. Two, Alex is practicing taking tasting notes for a certain upcoming cider exam in less than two weeks! Many thanks to Maria for this important study aid!

Before I get into my review though, let me encourage folks to check out information about this fall’s New York Cider Week: https://ciderweeknewyork.com/

Pennings Cidery has a limited run cider called the Wild Series: The Continental. It’s my first ever review of anything by this Warwick, New York cidery. You can find this farm and cidery in the Hudson Valley. The farm is home not only to the cidery itself but also a tasting room and farm that grows apples, pumpkins, nectarines, apricots and peaches. I sense a certain flavor profile here! 

And this is just a little bit from Pennings Farm Cidery’s website about the Wild Series Continental project. 

With nutrient-rich soil and micro-climate conditions, it is no surprise that the Hudson Valley region has been an agricultural hub for more than 200 years. What wasn’t farmed, grew naturally on its own. Among the apple trees, we planted in our own orchard was one such wild seedling apple tree. In 2018 that tree produced an abundance of apples that we picked to be the main ingredient in our first Wild Series Cider, The Continental. Wild apples provide characteristics that cannot be found in culinary apples from cultivated trees. Our Wild Series Ciders will come from such wild seedling trees growing freely throughout the Hudson Valley. When we claim to be #CiderCountry here in Warwick, NY.

And here’s just a bit about how the cidery describes the cider’s taste.

The Cider Notes

You will be at ease with the first sip of The Continental. The tropical fruit aromatics and flavor offer a mood-lifting first impression, followed by a brilliant medium body finish that marches across your palate with a polished texture and intensity from the tannin-heavy skins.

I recommend visiting the Penning's Farm Cidery page to learn more: https://www.penningscidery.com/.

Appearance: intense nectarine color, gentle haze, sediment, visible bubbles

I love the rich dark nectarine skin color! It’s hazily golden with some sediment even on the first two pours. I could see some tiny bubbles rising to the top.

Aromas: homemade applesauce, butterscotch, apricot, toffee and nuts

As soon as I poured the Wild Series, I noticed its powerful and appealing applesauce aroma. I’m a sucker for that scent. Sniffing deeper revealed notes of butterscotch, toffee, and toasted nuts. I almost wonder if barrel aging was involved.

Dryness/sweetness: Dry

This is a truly dry cider. It doesn’t taste only challenging or austere. The Wild Series Continental has plenty going on. Read on for more.

Flavors and drinking experience: peach, orange, baking spices, chipotle pepper, tannins and acid

The Wild Series Continental’s flavor comes across as more restrained than bold, but the cider is definitely fruity. I can taste peach and orange. One of my co-tasters got notes of apricots. Secondarily the cider is redolent with notes of baking spices and smoky chipotle pepper.

In terms of mouthfeel, the cider is petillant with a relaxed level of sparkle. It’s high acid and tannic; repeated sips emphasize the papery tannins and apple bark notes The Wild Series has a light angular body and a lingering fruit leather and limestone finish.

We enjoyed it very much with our first chili of the year. 

Cider Review: Fenceline Cider's Seedling Colorado Plateau Cider

I cannot get a movie out of my head. This weekend, I watched The Menu, and I think it’s relevant to the blog. The film satirizes high end food culture on both the production and consumption sides. There are reviews, cooks, foodies, service industry lifers, and one very particular chef. It’s dark, but it’s also tremendously funny. I recommend it. I will say that I hope that my reviews convey the love and appreciation I feel for cider makers and apple growers. I know that I can’t do what you do, and I’m so grateful that you share it. If you watch The Menu, let me know what you think!

If you’re curious to read more, here’s the Internet Movie Database page for The Menu: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9764362/

Today I’m reviewing Fenceline Cider’s Seedling Colorado Plateau Cider. Yes, that’s a mouthful! This is my first ever review of Fenceline Cider. This was shared with me for review through a cider competition for which I volunteer. Many thanks!

This is what I found on the website about Fenceline Cider’s identity as a cidery. 

Rooted along the upper tributaries of the Colorado River, Fenceline was founded with a curiosity and admiration for wild and historic apples. Reviving the region’s cider traditions, our cider is crafted with cold, slow fermentation — producing a drier libation, with complex flavors, and less sugar. 

Surrounded by thousands of abandoned orchards that continue to grow in Montezuma County’s rich soil and arid climate, we are committed to upcycling the region’s heritage apples and wild, one-of-a-kind varietals into extraordinary craft cider.

You can visit the cidery online here to learn more about all of the ciders: https://www.fenceline.co/

Today I’m tasting the Seedling Colorado Plateau Cider. Here’s what Fenceline Cider has to say about it. 

Colorado Plateau Cider

The classic American cider. Cool fall days slowly ferment a refreshing and approachable, off-dry craft cider with balanced apple notes.

TASTING NOTES:  fresh, crisp, light

OFF-DRY

6.5% ABV

Appearance: hazy, warm straw, few tiny bubbles

The Seedling is nearly transparent with just the gentlest suggestion of haze. I can see a few very small bubbles, and the color is a medium intensity warm straw.

Aromas: minerals, dust, multiple acids, peach and pineapple

This cider brings scents that remind me of minerals, dust, and malic acid, but that’s not the only acid going on. There’s a bit of volatile acidity as well. These are the notes that hit first followed by ripe pineapple and peach.

Sweetness/dryness: Dry

My household disagreed a bit about the sweetness in this cider. To me, it tasted dry. The tall one agrees with the official description and calls it off dry. Either way, this cider isn’t using sweetness as a primary carrier for flavor. 

Flavors and drinking experience: wild, tangy, green apples, leather, acetic acid

The Seedling tastes untamed indeed! My first impression is one of Acetic acid and fruity tartness. The cider is sharp with tangs of wildness and a leather finish. The mid-palate reminds me of Granny Smith apples and twigs. Underneath these notes, there’s something unusual and harder to identify: maybe peanut and breadcrumb notes. It’s almost malty.

What a complex set of flavors! I keep coming back to words like wild, rustic, and funky. Though this cider might not be ideally suited to the casual cider drinker, the Seedling is likely to be a huge hit for the natural wine crowd. It certainly gives my taste buds lots of excitement and zesty stimulation.