YOU CAN TOO LEARN NEW TECHNIQUES AND CUISINES FROM THE MASTERS – OUR CHEFS
APPLE CIDER A SWEET HISTORY FROM THE TOP OF THE EMPIRE STATE DOWN TO THE BIG APPLE
C. 1647: Governor Stuyvesant planted an apple tree on the corner of Third Avenue and 13th Street. C. 1700's: Individual family farms grew so many apples, it was common to turn the surplus into 20-50 barrels of cider a year. C. 1820: The first commercial farm was started by Robert Pell in Esopus, NY. C. 2022: Apples make up 89% of fruit agriculture in NY and is the 2nd largest apple growing state in the US.
C. 1629: Pilgrim settlers brought apples from Europe to the Massachsetts Bay Co. C. 1700's: Individual apple orchards became commonplace and apples were considered a staple food and drink. C. 1700's: Surplus cider was often fermented to preserve the juice and even distilled into liquor. C. 1875: New York census counted 18,278,636 apple trees.
FUN FACTS ABOUT...
APPLE CIDER YOU'VE PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF THE APPLES USED TO MAKE HARD APPLE CIDER. Most ciders are made from apples that you will not find in the grocery and are often related to crab apples. Some common apple varietals used for cider are Newton Pippin, Kingston Black, Winter Banana, and Northern Spy.
AN APPLE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY? The original English proverb actually read "Eat an apple on going to bed, and you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread." Some believe this was simply a marketing campaign to sell more apples. Others believe it was a public health campaign to push the popular fruit that is low in calories and sodium, but high in fiber and vitamin C. Recent studies have shown that eating apples every day can lower cholesterol and prevent strokes.
CIDER WAS SAFER TO DRINK THAN WATER. In Colonial America, cider was the most common beverage, and even children drank it in a diluted form. This was because often the water was not safe to drink and most homesteads had an apple orchard. Pressing and fermenting fresh apple juice was the easiest way to preserve the large fruit harvest.
CIDER HAS A RICH HISTORY. The first references to cider date way back to 55 BCE. In Roman times Julius Caesar found the Celtic Britons fermenting cider from native crabapples. The people of northern Spain were making sidra before the birth of Christ. In 1066 many apple varieties from France were introduced to England. This happened during the Norman Conquest of England. Very quickly in England, cider soon became the most popular drink after ale. Cider was even used as a currency. It began to be used to pay tithes and rents – a custom that continued later in America.
RED JACKET
CLASSIC APPLE LOCATED IN THE BEAUTIFUL FINGER LAKES REGION OF NEW YORK STATE ALONG THE ROLLING HILLS OF SENECA LAKE, RED JACKET ORCHARDS HAS MASTERED THE ART OF HARVESTING AND PRESSING PREMIUM FRUITS AND JUICES! THREE GENERATIONS OF THE NICHOLSON FAMILY HAVE GROWN APPLES AND SUMMER FRUITS, INCLUDING BERRIES, CURRANTS, CHERRIES, PEACHES, PLUMS, AND THE LARGEST APRICOT ORCHARD ON THE EAST COAST. FOUNDED IN 1958, WHAT BEGAN AS A LOCAL FRUIT FARM HAS GROWN TO A TRUSTED PRODUCER OF FINEST FRESH AND HEALTHY FOODS. IN 2010, OUR COLD-PRESSED JUICE FACILITY BECAME LEED CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLE, POWERED BY 100% GREEN ENERGY. AFTER RESCUING WASTE APPLES AND TURNING THEM INTO JUICE, WE SHIP THE BY-PRODUCT OF PRESSING APPLE POMACE TO FEED CATTLE. EVERY PART OF THE APPLE IS UTILIZED IN SOME FORM, WITH ZERO FOOD WASTE. IN 2021, WE ALSO BEGAN USING ECOFRIENDLY PACKAGING FOR OUR ONLINE ORDERS.
WOLFFER ESTATE
DRY ROSE CIDER WHERE: SAGAPONACK, NY
APPLE VARIETALS: JONAGOLD 20.0% MUTSU (CRISPIN) 20.0% GOLDEN DELICIOUS 15.0% IDARED 25.0% GOLD RUSH 10.0% NORTHERN SPY 10.0%
WINEMAKER NOTES: BRIGHT SHINY ROSE IN COLOR. FANTASTIC FRESH FLORAL NOTES FILL THE GLASS; THE CRISPIN AROMAS ESPECIALLY STAND OUT WITH FINE HINTS OF YEAST. THE MOUTH-FEEL IS PURE AND CLEAN, WITH A NICE BALANCE OF SWEET FRUIT, ELEGANT ACIDITY AND FINE TANNINS THAT PROVIDE A LONG AND PLEASANT FINISH. THERE IS A NICE CO2 MOUSSE, MAKING IT VERY PLEASANT AND PLAYFUL.
DOC'S DRAFT
PEAR CIDER WHERE: WARWICK, NY ABOUT THE CIDER: CRAFTED FROM BARTLETT AND BOSC PEARS WITH A REFRESHING AND AN EFFERVESCENT SPARKLE. DELICATE HINTS OF FRESH PEARS. 5.5% ABV. ABOUT THE ORCHARD: WARWICK ORCHARD AND WINERY PLANTED ITS FIRST TREES IN 1990. IT NOW HAS OVER 120 ACRES OF PLANTED LAND AND OVER 65 VARIETIES OF APPLE TREES. DOC'S CIDERY WAS CREATED IN 1994 AND IS THE OLDEST CIDERY IN NY STATE. THEY NOW HAVE A WINERY, DISTILLERY, CIDERY, RESTAURANT, AND LIVE MUSIC VENUE ON-SITE AND IS AN UPSTATE STAPLE IN NY STATE.
GRAFT CIDERY
FARM FLOR OAK AGED FARMHOUSE CIDER. 6.9% ABV
INGREDIENTS: NY HARD CIDER, SPANISH CEDAR, AMERICAN OAK, FRENCH OAK, SULFITES (TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS), CARBON DIOXIDE.
GRAFT WAS CREATED BY SIBLINGS KYLE & SARA SHERRER TO DEVELOP A NEW KIND OF CIDER COMPANY. THEIR CONCEPT WAS TWO-FOLD: PAYING RESPECT TO OLD-WORLD STYLE OF CIDER MAKING WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY EXPERIMENTING WITH MODERN BREWING TECHNIQUES. ALL OF GRAFT’S CIDERS EMPLOY CENTURY-OLD EUROPEAN TRADITIONS OF USING WILD YEAST AND BACTERIA TO FERMENT TO DRYNESS. THEY THEN HARNESS THE FLAVOR PROFILES CREATED FROM THIS STYLE OF NATURAL CIDER AND DEVELOP UNIQUE AND INNOVATIVE STYLES WHICH TAKE A NOD FROM SOME OF THE BEST CRAFT BEER PRODUCERS IN THE WORLD.
SUNDSTROM
SPONTI CIDER SPONTI IS A SPONTANEOUS CUVÉE – A CROSS-REGIONAL REPRESENTATION OF NEW YORK STATE TERROIR, THAT CHANGES A LITTLE EACH YEAR, FOCUSING ON ORCHARDS IN NY’S FINGER LAKES, GREATER LAKE ONTARIO REGION AND HUDSON VALLEY. SPONTI’S BLEND IS ALWAYS BASED ON NORTHERN SPY AND NATIVE NE HEIRLOOM APPLE VARIETIES. THE APPLES RECEIVE A SHORT MACERATION OF ROUGHLY 18 HOURS PRIOR TO PRESSING. NATIVE FERMENTATIONS KICK OFF WITHOUT TEMPERATURE CONTROL AND THE CIDER IS THEN AGED FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD ON THE LEES WITH MODERATE TO NO BATTONAGE, DEPENDING ON THE VINTAGE. BOTTLED BY TRADITIONAL METHOD WITHOUT DISGORGEMENT; NO FINING OR FILTRATION. TYPICALLY SULFURED ONLY ONCE, AT RACKING.
VARIETIES: 43% NORTHERN SPY, 25% MARGIL, 14% GOLDEN RUSSET, 12% BALDWIN AND 6% WICKSON REGION: GREATER LAKE ONTARIO & FINGER LAKES SOIL: LOAM, SHALE, GLACIAL TILL FERMENTATION: NATIVE YEAST, STAINLESS STEEL AGING: 6 MONTHS STAINLESS STEEL, ON FULL LEES ALCOHOL: 9.04% ACIDITY: 5.23 G/L RESIDUAL SUGAR: 0.0 G/L PH: 3.84