Grower Series - Foggy Ridge Cider Orchards - 2022
{new 750mL sized bottle}
Fruit
49% Grimes Golden, 16% Stoke Red, 16% Kingston Black, 11% Dabinett, 8% Golden Harvey
Site
Foggy Ridge Cider Orchard - Dugspur, Virginia, 2720’
Diane Flynt’s Foggy Ridge is the crown jewel of cider orchards in Virginia. Initially planted in the late 90s, Diane’s goal of planting trees exclusively for the use of making cider was a rarity. The site offers a variety of sloping exposures at high elevations. Her careful, well-studied selection of varietals shows as the orchards yield balanced and enticing field blends of structured and flavor-driven cider.
Vinification
Fruit for this cider was harvested over several weeks, a result of picking fallen fruit off the ground and light shakes of the tree. All fruit was ground and macerated overnight before being pressed directly to a neutral French oak barrel. An uninoculated, native primary fermentation occurred over the following months with minor bâtonnage. In the winter of 2023 the cider was racked off its lees and returned to barrel for an additional year of aging. The cider was bottled sparkling via the traditional method and left undisgorged. No additions of SO2 were made at any stage of this wine.
Notes
Over the years, we have been able to increase our purchases of incredible fruit from Diane at Foggy Ridge. 2022 marked the first time we were able to allocate some of it towards our House Cider, elevating its tannin content and complexity. The fruit for this barrel was specifically selected to be our grower series bottling, illuminating what we call “West Virginia meets West Country”, a 50/50 blend of Grimes Golden and a handful of traditional British cider varietals. The cider required a fair amount of time in bottle to settle into itself and the result is a fine representation of Foggy Ridge’s distinct terroir. This site often contributes a iron-like minerality seemingly derived from its shallow clay and sandstone soil. The Grimes contributes subtle vanilla and yellow apple fruit while the English bitter fruit yields lingering and mouth-watering tannins.
306 Bottles Produced, Alc. 8.47% by Volume, 750ml