Announcing 2016 Vintage Releases

We are so excited to release the following 2016 vintage ciders!

  • Albee Hill 2016
  • Northern Spy 2016
  • Darling Creek 2016
  • Essence 2016

These ciders will be shipping from our online store beginning 12/5/17, and be in the trade by winter 2018.

Labeling Ice Cider
Labeling Ice Cider
A Different Beast

2016 Vintage: A Different Beast.

Frozen Blossoms
Frozen Blossoms

2016 was one of our most challenging vintages to date.

An early March warm up pushed bud phenology three weeks ahead of schedule, only to be followed by record breaking cold in early April, which killed buds and left us with 30% of a normal crop.

As the growing season progressed, it got unusually hot and stopped raining. Four months without rain left our un-irrigated trees stressed and thirsty by fall, with a small crop of even smaller, dry apples.

Our Parched Valley, Summer 2016
Our Parched Valley, Summer 2016

We decided to buy in a few apples from our good friend Steve Wood at Poverty Lane Orchards in New Hampshire (Dabinett and Yarlington Mill), some very ripe Spigold's from Kingtown Orchard in Trumansburg New York and Northern Spy, Idared and Goldrush from Dave Defisher in Williamson, New York (for our ice cider) to help round out a very feeble harvest.

All told, our total cider production for 2016 is down by 75%, and even more for some of our regular blends as we diverted cider that was just too different into one-off blends.

Eve's Cider
Eve's Cider

But the small amount of cider we did make is really great. Big, muscular, extracted. It's a testament to the way vintage can express in cider. Here is it and it won't last long with less than 100 cases of each.