The Art of Disgorging

Disgorging in a French word to describe the last step in the methode champenoise, or Champagne Method for producing a naturally sparkling wine (or in this case cider) in the bottle.

In this step the yeast used in the secondary fermentation to create bubbles is removed from the bottle so the beverage is not cloudy.
The inverted bottles are chilled, the cap is removed along with the yeast and a little bit of cider and then the bottles are topped off with a dosage.

Getting just the right amount of cider out...enough to loose all the yeast, but not so much that cider is wasted, is a real art. We do it all by hand. Or we should say, Ezra does it all by hand. All 24,000 bottles. Each one in the blink of an eye.

Here is a slow motion video that captures the moment in the arc of the bottle when the cap should be removed.