Lot 18 Trowbridge Apple Cider, 2018

This is an effort to save the 80 year old trees in the orchard of our friend Ben Hurst which are located in the historic apple growing area of Sonoma County called Sebastopol. There are mainly six different varieties of Apples: Granny Smith, Johnathan, Pippin, King, Winesap, and Rome Beauty with 3% Quince These are picked together and milled together, then pressed directly to neutral French Oak barrels, and aged sur lie (never racked), for 12 months. Wild Fermentation occurs naturally. The method of Bottle Conditioning is called Col Fondo. This method is the ancient method of Prosecco making and came to me through the late Ernesto Cattel of Costadilla who I originally met at the Raw Wine Fair in London. After a period of 12 months in barrel, fresh juice is added from the following vintage. The wine is then bottled and a second fermentation takes place in bottle to bring the bubbles. This combines the tertiary flavor qualities of barrel aging with the freshness of the juice to provide a more complex flavor experience. Very light and crushable, mild acidity and bright fruit with a lip smacking tart finish.