After what seems like the longest winter of my life, I am ready to celebrate sunshine and flowers. There is a reason why spring is considered rosé season. Dry or sweet, rosés are light, fruit forward, and beautiful in the glass. It is just lovely to look at! And it captures the mood of freshening and new life that is all around us.
This spring, Blue Bee Cider has reached out to several small Virginia cideries to pull together a curated flight of small-batch artisan rosé ciders. The line-up will change throughout May as things come and go but you should expect to see a few of the following at any given time: Blush by Big Fish Cider, Bella Vita by Courthouse Creek Cider, Blush by Mt. Defiance Cidery & Distillery, Virginia Strawberry by Old Hill Cider, Strawberry Ginger by Potter’s Craft Cider, 522 Black Currant by Winchester Ciderworks and Mill Race Bramble by Blue Bee Cider.
All of the rosé ciders mentioned above derive their color from the berries with which they are infused. There are also a handful of rosé ciders out in the world that derive their color from red-fleshed apples. These types of apples tend to be highly astringent and the compounds that give them their color, anthocyanins, tend to be extremely unstable. Most of the time, red-fleshed apples will ultimately create a yellow or straw-colored cider. If you find a tasty cider rosé made from only from apples, you have indeed found something rare. Please savor it!
And please savor these beautiful spring days while they last. After the harshest of winters, their beauty and mildness can bring healing. I, for one, know that I needed it.
-Courtney Mailey
Photo by Brandon Hambright
