Nine Pin Cider Interview & Give-a-Way

Nine Pin Cider is New York’s first farm cidery. I am familiar with them, I’ve used their ciders in seminars at the Hudson Valley Wine Festival but I never had the chance to sit down and talk with them. That all changed last week when I sat down with Benji and Joshua and we talked about all things Nine Pin.

They had sent me a sample in advance of their Cidre Rose which is right up my alley. It’s cider crafted with apples from Samascott Orchard that they co-fermented with the skins of grapes. The grape varietals they used are Concord, Traminette, Chancellor and Noiret from wineries in New York State. The cider is a beautiful pink in color. You can taste hints of the grapes in the cider, it’s subtle, not overwhelming and refreshing. It’s really a beautiful cider, not completely, but now sweet enough to stand out.

Nine Pin Cider is offering a 10% discount to all my readers, listeners, viewers and fans. Ordering is easy from their online store. They ship everywhere! Just choose the correct button to purchase (either you live in NYS or Out of State.) It’s that simple.

In conjunction with Nine Pin we are holding a give-a-way for a $25 Nine Pin gift certificate and a copy of my book “Tapping the Hudson Valley.” Although it says tomorrow in the video/podcast, it’s happening now. Got over to Instagram and follow hvwinegoddess and ninepinsider and tag two friends. The contest will end tomorrow, Tuesday, April 28.

Watch the video or listen to the podcast and learn about Nine Pin Cider. The process of making cider and why they chose an urban location for their tasting room

Video Interview

Podcast

The Wine Goddess Meets the Cider Goddess

 

So what happens when the Wine Goddess meets the Cider Goddess…Goddess’s unite! That is just what happened when I had some time to kill recently between an event in New Paltz and picking up my grass fed beef in Gardiner so I thought I would go check out Brooklyn Cider House. Since Ohioville Road was right around the corner from where I was I just followed it until I came to (and drove past) the sign for Brooklyn Cider House at Twin Star Orchards. I didn’t realize it was located at an orchard, although that does make sense.

Three years ago sister and brother Peter and Susan Yi had a dream of building a cider house in Brooklyn. Peter had 25 years in the wine business, Susan a teacher. They walked away for that all for apples. Cider begins with good apples and the Hudson Valley is the place with the apple orchards. They purchased Twin Star Orchards, revitalized the orchard and have plans of new plantings and created Brooklyn Cider House with plans of opening the cider house in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Peter Yi is the cider maker and Lindsey Storm is the Cider Goddess who left her corporate sales job and joined the Yi’s last year. Lindsay the Cider Goddess is the one who hold everything together and the backbone behind the cider house.

While visiting the Orchard enjoy lunch in the pavilion serving wood fire pizza and burgers on the weekend. Spend your time roaming through the orchard apple picking then stop by the tasting room in the farmstand for a free tasting of their award winning cider. For newcomers in the business their Half Sour Cider won the best cider in the Hudson Valley Wine & Spirits Competition, so that is a must try!

I had the opportunity to taste three of their ciders when I visited.

Raw Cider - This cider is a full uncarbonated and was just released. Inspired by the cider tradition in Basque Country this cider undergoes three fermentations with wild and wine yeast. It’s fermented for a total of 18 months. It expressed green apple aromas with a hint of citrus and tart green apples on the palate.

Half Sour - I was looking forward to tasting this award winning cider for the first time (No I didn’t get to taste it at the wine competition.) It ferments for between 6 and 8 moths in stainless steel and clocks in at 5.8% alcohol. It’s carbonated and off-dry, but enough of the acid from the apples balances the sweetness and it quite refreshing. I really enjoyed this glass.

Kinda Dry - This cider is made with eating apples you find at their orchard. Fuji, Gala and Jonamac. It is fermented between 2 and 3 months and has an alcohol content of 5.5%. This was nice, not to dry, hint of sweetness.

As of the writing of this article, you can taste the cider at their main base in New Paltz and the Brooklyn Cider House in Bushwick has plans of opening during New York Craft Beverage Week.

You have to love their slogan #UGLYAPPLESTASTEBETTER.

New Wines and a Cider from Glorie Farm Winery

I'm just traveling all over the Hudson Valley this summer in between caring for my mother.  This post brings me to Glorie Farm Winery in Marlboro, New York.  I haven't been there in a while and not only have they come out with some new wines and a cider but they expanded their tasting room.

Photo from Glorie Farm Winery

Their tasting room located above the winery was nice and quaint.  It you ever visited there during a wine trail event you tasted in a roped off section of the winery below.  Now you can taste in style in their enlarged tasting room pictured above.  This room is also used for large group tastings.

Two new wines on the sweet side Blackjack and Jibber Jabber.  Blackjack is 100% Chambourcin and filled with flavors of ripe blackberry. Jibber Jabber will remind you a little of a port. It's jammy with hints of figs and is made with 100% Leon Millot. Both sell at the tasting room for $15

Glorie is getting into the cider market with Mutiny.  This cider isn't to sweet or heavily carbonated.  The aromas of fresh apple just fills the air. Very enjoyable! The majority of the apples in the cider are estate grown.  For the ones that aren't, they will be soon, as they plan on some new apple plantings.

Interview with Jonathan Hull - Applewood Winery

I recently sat down with Jonathan Hull owner/winemaker of Applewood Winery in Warwick, New York. I was very interested in hearing about the history of the Winery and the farm it sits on as well as what brought Jonathan into the world of winemaking. Applewood is the oldest working farm in Orange County and one of the oldest west of the Hudson River.  The history goes back to 1700 when Samuel G. Staats acquired about 5000 acres of land from his friend Governor Bellomont, of the colonial Province of New York. In 1734, 800 acres was purchased by Jacobus Demarest who then in 1863 sold 116 acres to Joseph Roy.  In 1899 the farm passed to James B. Lawrence whose heirs sold it to John E. Predmore in 1921.  In 1949 the farm was purchased by Dr. and Mrs. Donald Hull of Ridgewood New Jersey.   The farm was acquired by his oldest son David who wanted to be a fruit grower.  In 1993 David's youngest son Jonathan opened the winery in a building along the farm lane.

Here are some questions I asked Jonathan when I sat down with him recently.

What made you decide that you wanted to be in the NY wine industry?

                I was living in NYC and had a bottle of Hard Cider made by a lawyer who moved from Brooklyn to Vermont.  I knew exactly what I was going to do for the rest of my life from that moment on.

Which of your current wines is your favorite and why?

Stone Fence Hard Cider, I love it’s simple purity.  100% fresh cider.  Why do all these other wineries botch it up by making it with concentrates, water? brandy etc.

What Riesling is your favorite and why?

Herman Weimer, Dry Riesling, wonderful delicate flavors that come from fermenting with wild yeasts.

What has surprised you most about being a member of the Hudson Valley wine community?

Even though it is every New Yorkers right to be miserable we all work together and have a lot of fun.

Does anyone else in your family share the passion for winemaking?

My cousin is married to Julian Niccolini the owner of the four seasons who has his own wine label and his daughter is in the Wine business in California but I am the only winemaker.

If you weren’t a winemaker what would you be doing?

                Something that actually has a potential to make money.