January, a time for …
January Blues?
January Rules!
January is a time for introspection. Here at the farm, the work continues as the light starts its slowly lengthening stretch towards spring. Outside, apple pruning has begun. Inside, my work in the cidery consists of pressing fresh cider weekly, pressing for alcoholic cider, bottling, topping barrels, and keeping notes. For this purpose I will refer to non alcoholic cider as 'fresh cider' and alcoholic cider as 'cider'.
Not all cider is the same. Different factors such as variety, age, yeast strain, additions, terroir, all yield different results, similarly to wine. For example, one morning my coworker and I tasted cider that was toward the end of fermentation but pre-aging. Cloudy, acidic, bright green notes and only a hint of wood from the foedre (giant barrel for fermenting). The cider could be bottled and sold at this stage. In Basque country they have a tradition where the sagardotegi, cider houses, open at this time with a young fermentation and people drink the first glass directly from the foedres before allowing the cider to age.
At this point we rack our cider into barrels, mostly oak, until bottling four to six months later. With age you get clarity, smoothness and coloration.
Tasting the juice, learning to recognize varieties, points of activation on my palate, discernable notes and characteristics of each has become a part of my work and curiosity. I will admit, I don’t drink much, but I enjoy what I drink when I drink it. I enjoy the process, the craft. As more craft cideries emerge I wonder if cider will ever gain the same respect and prestige as wine? Would we even want it to?
For me, January is a time for introspection and for many people, a time of detoxification. We think fresh year, fresh start, fresh me, and this is arguably a good thing. Fresh is fresh but some things get better with time, like a good ferment to add flavor and preservation. For myself, I’m striving for more balance in my life and appreciation for it. That appreciation for life means rethinking, reframing, moments of rest, and of quiet, of having friends over, and of spending quality time with my family. These moments are not wasted time. The need to be busy is not the opposite of laziness, it is an inability to relax and appreciate the present moment. Sharing a bottle of cider with someone I care about over a meal we both enjoy is an important part of what farm to table is all about.
‘Farm to table’ is sometimes perceived as synonymous with elite and expensive, because without local agronomy often, poverty is a barrier to nutritious, delicious food and drink. There are many organizations whose aim is to alleviate this barrier, the local Rolling Harvest Food Rescue comes to mind. However, enjoyment of food and drink and taking pleasure in those traditions transcends socioeconomics. Some say, the best food and drink comes from necessity, elevating ingredients that are left over. We utilize all of the fruit that is blemished or bruised at our farm in pies, jam, cider, even expired fresh cider which we reduce into syrup to use as a natural sweetener for cooking. It's not always easy or convenient to shop from multiple businesses for groceries but it feels more rewarding when we can make those connections and have quality ingredients. Farm to table in my mind, translates directly to better taste, less waste, and a strong local economy. Small farms and artisanal businesses grow and make more diverse products because we’re not limited by size and replicability. Our local economy is more resilient and our food and drink becomes less generic when we culture these direct connections between each other and the land where we reside.
When I drink cider from our farm perhaps I read into it more than others, but I appreciate that my hands have been on every step of the process. Cider has become an integral part of my life now, but I am new to it as well. I would be curious to know what role if any, cider plays in your life?
-Chelsea Manoff
