Sparkling Apple Wine 'Infinite Canon' III

Fruit/Site:

• 28% certified organic Grimes Golden and Stayman apples from The Farm at Sunnyside in Washington, harvested in 2022. Clay loam of granitic schist with quartz fragments, 850’.

• 26% Arkansas Black from Williams Orchard in Flint Hill, harvested in 2022. Gravelly loam of granitic gneiss, 650’.

• 6% unsprayed York from Rock Hill Farm in Flint Hill, harvested in 2022. Loam of granitic schist with mica fragments, 550’.

• 41% perpetual reserve (2019-2021) from these sites.

Season:

• The perpetual reserve is an attempt to mediate the (sometimes wildly) variant Virginia vintages and combine the depth of aging with the energy of the most recent year’s fruit.

• 2022 produced more delicate and earthy fruit, so this iteration is more about florals and finesse.

Fermentation/Development:

• Based on vintage character, a varying portion of the apples ferment on their skins before being pressed to finish in neutral French oak.

• Reserve cider ages untopped in a single 425 L acacia (black locust) barrel. At bottling, a portion of this base is blended with still-fermenting cider from the current harvest to finish in bottle. The remaining portion of young cider then tops up the acacia barrel to refresh the perpetual reserve.

• Bottles age on lees for 10-12 months before being riddled and disgorged by hand. *No SO2 has been added since 2020.

- Patois