Boutique Wines and Spirits Fall Tasting & Hudson Valley Cideries

On September 29^th, Boutique Wines and Spirits of Fishkill, NY hosted their second annual Fall Hardcore Cider Tasting, their third large cider tasting event in total. Paige and Gennaro, the owners of this fine establishment really went above and beyond to make sure the afternoon was both informational and fun for all. There were plenty of local cideries pouring samples, including some that brought their very own cider makers along to showcase their products. Julia spent the entire day exploring the area, chatting with local cider makers, and trying some delicious craft ciders of the Hudson Valley and beyond.

Graft Cider

The day started at 11 AM when we arrived at Graft Cider in Newburgh, NY to meet with David, one of the cider makers at Graft. Although Graft doesn’t currently have a tasting room open to the public, they were still kind enough to host us for some behind-the-scenes action. David started us off with a tour of the production floor and some samples pulled straight from the fermentation tanks, including a batch of Where Secrets Lie, their hibiscus lavender cider, aged with honey, blueberry, and black currant, as well as one of their newer creations for the Cloud City line, a strawberry banana cider that was so smooth and creamy, it reminded me of a boozy smoothie with just a hint of hoppy-ness on the nose, perfect for such an early morning indulgence.

As we sampled our ciders, David talked us through the process of making their sour ciders, otherwise known as gose ciders. We saw the oak barrel that is used to age their table cider, Farm Flor, an easy drinking go-to cider that isn’t overly complex and can be enjoyed by even the least refined of palates. David let us in on their latest concept of starting a cyser project. Cysers are cider that use honey as the primary source of sugar for fermentation, making them somewhat similar to meads, which use primarily honey to feed the fermentation of wines. On our walk through the production floor we also saw eight different whiskey barrels which are being used to age ciders with either blueberries, raspberries, or cherries to be used in future projects. At this point in the process, the ciders are the sweetest they’ll ever be.

We then made our way upstairs to Research and Development, where we came across more wooden barrels. We sampled some ciders that are for an upcoming collaboration with Rebel Cider from Canada. We tried a cider that had been aged over white grape skins before being pressed, an interestingly acidic combination that will make for a wonderful collaboration — so be on the lookout for that! Another exciting undertaking by Graft is their upcoming Holiday Box, which will include some exclusive Graft merchandise featuring their iconic artwork. In these boxes you’ll find Graft t-shirts, like the one shown here, the first ever release of Graft socks, Graft’s first ever branded glassware, their first hat, and some stickers and posters. These boxes can be purchased for $100, but if you subscribe for future years, you’ll be able to save with a discounted rate of $75 per box.

In case you’re wondering what to expect from Graft in the future, they let us in on some of their upcoming plans. For starters, they’ll be returning back to their roots and releasing a one-time special release bottle of Native Hudson Valley Spontaneous Cider. This blend, expected to hit shelves in November, was aged on the lees for 9 months, and will have been bottle conditioned for 3 months by the time of its release. We were able to snag a sample and a bottle for the road before the end of our stay, and are hoping to allow it some more time to bottle condition before trying it again in order to get the full experience. You can also expect to see a longer version of their barrel-aged cyser series in addition to an exciting barrel-aged winter series. In the upcoming year, Graft plans to undertake a Mochi series, featuring different mochi-inspired ciders made with sake yeast. We hope to see them open a brick and mortar store to offer tastings and cider pours to the public, so everyone can get to know the company and have as positive of an experience as we did! Graft plans to “be interesting, inventive, and fresh” in their journey while always trying to benefit the community in some way. One of the ways that Graft helps support their local community is by sourcing many of their apples from the Hudson Valley and pressing them on a farm that is only 45 minutes from the cidery.

Fall Hardcore Cider Tasting

After leaving Graft, we headed to Fishkill for the main event at Boutique Wine and Spirits. This specialty wine, spirits, and hard cider shop opened only a little over a year ago, and just hosted their third large cider tasting event to help spread the word about craft cider, a concept we can fully stand behind here at CiderScene. Each of their big cider events include new or different cideries and cider makers, or feature seasonal blends and new releases from repeat producers.

The first table we stopped at was King’s Highway of Millerton, NY, where we spoke with the man who does it all, the owner and head cider maker. We tasted through everything they brought for the day and I have to say I was very impressed with the quality of the ciders as well as the in depth conversations with the owner. Kings Highway makes mainly fruited and flavored ciders that can be enjoyed as dessert ciders or casual fun drinks year round. The best part is that they don’t add any residual sugar, so the flavors are very natural and you can enjoy a few without the dizzying headache or hangover that sometimes comes from sweeter ciders. The owner/ cider maker came from a health journalism background and really prides himself on his all natural, no sugar added ciders. I’d have to say that my favorite was the Ginger Snap, as it wasn’t like your typical ginger cider, but rather tasted of roasted ginger with vanilla and caramel undertones. Ginger Snap won a double gold medal (woah!) at the New York Wine Classic as well as a silver medal in another cider competition.

Next up, we headed to Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider, of Breezy Hill Orchard in Staatsburg, NY, where we were fortunate enough to meet the famous Elizabeth Ryan, owner and operator, as well as a female pioneer of the cider industry. Elizabeth graduated from Cornell in 1980, where she first started making cider. Since then she has traveled through the most predominant cider regions of Europe, where she learned the ins and outs of fine cider making and mastered the trade. In 1995, Elizabeth opened Hudson Valley Cider and to this day, she produces cider from her original line, Maeve, a common “American” style cider that is back sweetened for easy drinking for all palates. Another cider that stood out to me was “The Last Blacksmith,” an unfiltered, bottle conditioned collaboration using barrels from Hill Rock Distillery.

Third on the list for the day was Orchard Hill Cider of New Hampton, NY. There we also were able to chat with the owner and tasted through their whole line, including ciders as well as two different pommeaus. Pommeaus are an alcoholic drink produced by fermenting a mix of apples and brandy, making them quite a bit higher in alcohol content than traditional ciders. They are an elegant creation, highly sweet as well as really strong. The two blends were aged for 3-4 years and 4-8 years in the barrel, respectively. The longer it is aged, the darker and stronger it becomes.

Another honorable mention for the day was Awestruck Ciders from Sidney, NY. They brought along four different ciders, “Dry Apple and Oak,” “Lavender Hops,” “Hibiscus Ginger,” and “Hometown Homicider,” all of which were positively delicious and very unique. My favorite was definitely the “Hometown Homicider,” Awestruck’s fall seasonal pumpkin cider, which tasted like fall in a bottle with a strong flavor of pumpkin spice and mulled cider. “Hometown Homicider” was probably one of the most popular ciders of the day, being the only pumpkin cider right at the cusp of fall and being poured from the bottle as well as on tap for growler fills. “Hibiscus Ginger” is probably their most popular year-round cider, and was a hit at the tasting as well.

Later in the day, we stopped by Threadbare Cider’s table and tried a few really great blends. Threadbare Cider is based in Pittsburgh, PA, and is relatively new in the cider world. I tried “Bouquet de Rosé,” a hibiscus and rose hip rosé-style cider, “Oaked and Wild,” a sour aged in oak barrels for six months, “Farmhouse,” a naturally sweet cider produced using stop-fermentation, and “Pennings Farm,” a maple and vanilla cider which was also available on tap.

Treasury Cider at Fishkill Farms

Our last stop at the cider tasting was at Treasury Cider, where we tried a few of their ciders before heading to their home at Fishkill Farms down the road. At Fishkill Farms, we met Josh, the owner and cider maker behind Treasury Cider, where he educated us on their orchard cidery and the 80 different apple varieties that are grown right on site. Josh grows a combination of European apple varieties along with American dual-purpose apples, all of which are certified by the Eco-Apple Program, an “organic-ish” middle ground between organic and conventional apples. The Eco-Apple program is a more sustainable way to grow large quantities of apples without compromising on health and quality. In the orchard, we tried Ashmeads Kernels right off of the trees. Ashmeads Kernel is a crisp and crunchy cider apple with a high brix point. It has dry, course skin and very concentrated juices. Josh is extremely knowledgeable and is absolutely killing it, both running a large-scale family farm operation as well as managing a hard cider production facility right on site.

When you drink Treasury Cider you know you’re getting local, fresh apples, straight from the source. The cider apples are pressed into juice right on the farm, meaning that from growth through fermentation they never leave the property. If I had to choose a favorite cider by Treasury, it would probably be Counterpane, one of their bottle conditioned ciders made from a blend of seven different apple varieties grown right on the farm. We loved our visit at Fishkill Farms, learning about growing and caring for apples, the history of the farm, and the cider-making process at Treasury Cider. Thanks Josh for taking time out of your extremely busy day/ life to entertain us, and, of course, for the hot and fresh cider donuts.

Bad Seed Cider Company 

Before we headed home, we had one last stop, Bad Seed Cider, in Highland, NY. Let me start off by saying that the Bad Seed Taproom is absolutely gorgeous. They have a spacious outdoor patio with a view of the apple orchard, complete with a fire pit and plenty of seating. Inside, there is a bar on the main level as well as upstairs. The entire building is LEEDS certified, which is a pretty amazing accomplishment and just makes your time there all the more enjoyable. We started our visit with a flight upstairs, consisting of all 10 ciders they had on tap at the time. The upstairs bar has a window overlooking the fermentation room, a pretty cool sight for those who haven’t seen a cidery operate before. Probably the best part of the upstairs bar, however, is the single can-canning machine, which makes it possible for you to bring home your favorite taproom exclusives to share with others. After our mega-flight, we got a tour of the property from Devin, one of the owners of Bad Seed. Devin showed us the fermentation tanks that were filled with cider the day before, ready to be pitched with yeast the following week as a part of the first fermentation of the season. Bad Seed also presses their own juice on-site at their home orchard, and all of their ciders are canned still and bottle (or in this case, can) conditioned to naturally carbonate. Bad Seed had a very successful year this past year, nearly selling out of their entire stock, and we wish them all the best as they begin pressing and fermenting for the year to come.