It’s not uncommon for our tasting room visitors to react with astonishment when they see our wall of “glam shots” – photos of the various apples that we use for our ciders. Oftentimes, people have never heard of any of the heirloom apples that we so treasure.
A frequent refrain: “I thought there were only five or six different kinds of apples! You know, the ones you see at the grocery store.” What a joy it is to introduce the Winesap, Coxe’s Orange Pippin, Hewe’s Crab, Harrison… the list goes on.
In pre-Prohibition America, there were thousands of different kinds of apples in the South alone. Most people today can’t name more than 20. Most of our ciders are a blend of different apples, fermented individually to enable us to pinpoint the aroma and flavor characteristics of each apple. Much like grapes, every year is unique, meaning that our vintages will have distinctive profiles each time they are created.
In my younger days, I worked in the cellar helping to craft our first batches of cider. I have a vivid memory of sampling Dabinett, an exquisite cider apple, before it was blended into the original lots of Aragon 1904.
The deep color, the vibrant aroma, the transcendent flavor – my palate went into shock. I could not believe this rich, buttery delight had been fermented from apples.
With our new Orchard Potluck series, we seek to celebrate standout apples – “soloists,” as Courtney is apt to say. These ciders are limited, small batch single varietals. This month, we shine the spotlight on York, one of our favorite Nelson County apples. The cider is dry and lively, perfect for the warmer months, like a sassy sister of Aragon 1904.
Join us on Saturday, May 21 for the public release of Orchard Potluck: York, and look for a limited number of bottles and kegs out in the Richmond market.
-Brian Ahnmark
