Category Archives: cider

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

I was pleasantly surprised by Applewood’s wine list.  Between the name and the extensive apple and pear orchards lining the long driveway, I admit I expected fruit wines and cider.  Instead, I found a rather extensive menu of both grape and fruit wines as well as hard cider.  It made it very tough to pick only five, and I probably spent more time over that menu than any other in quite some time.  But in the end, I settled on my five, making sure to include the cider, and began with the

Seyval Chardonnay The lightest and driest of the Applewood whites, the Seyval Chardonnay is crisp and clean, with a lightly floral nose.  In the mouth, the wine has notes of green pepper with a light pop of acid on the end which helps provide the crispness.  A nice wine that would pair well with lighter foods, salads, grilled chicken or shrimp; it would also stand well on its own as a light sipping wine.

Traminette It’s funny how one good experience with a wine can flip you into a fascination with it.  Because I so enjoyed the Traminette at Northwinds, as soon as I saw it on Applewoods menu I knew it would be one of my five choices that afternoon.  Labeled as an off-dry wine, Applewood’s Traminette has a soft nose with lush notes of apricot.  In the mouth, the wine is soft and rich with strong notes of apricot and a very smooth finish.  While not a sweet wine, the strong notes of apricot do provide a sweetness that earns it the “off-dry” label.    There’s very low acid on the finish, and I found myself missing that – I wanted a bit more of a bite to balance out the smooth sweetness on the front.  That being said, I imagine this would be a really popular wine, particularly with those who tend to shy away from really dry wines, but want something that’s not too sweet.

I evenly split my tasting between two whites and two reds and in between took a quick detour with the Stone Fence Cider.   Hard cider is one of the pleasures of Fall – crisp and tangy, it just pairs perfectly with the cooler evenings and heartier foods of Autumn.  Applewood’s is a nice cider, but it didn’t win me over.  The nose is soft and very subtle, and in the mouth what really hit me was the effervescence.  It almost felt too strong.  The cider has both notes of apple and honey, and while the honey provides a nice touch of smooth sweetness, I felt that it toned down the apple too much.  I was really looking for that crisp apple tang that, to me, is the hallmark of a great cider.  Overall, it’s quite pleasant, just not quite what I was expecting.

OBR After the cider I rinsed my glass and moved on to the reds.  First up was the OBR, which unfortunately I didn’t think to ask what the initials stood for until after I left.  A red blend, the color is a medium purply garnet color.  The nose is rich and deep with strong notes of both smoke and earth.  I expected the earthiness to continue in the mouth, but instead found very bright cherry notes, which were almost too bright for my taste.  The wine also has light tannins and smoother finish than I had anticipated; I found myself wishing for a bit more on the finish, perhaps pepper or leather, something to provide a bit of heat or depth to contrast with the brightness of the fruit on the front.  The Tasting Notes indicate this pairs well with food, particularly recommending lamb.

Now that I’m a few weeks removed from my visit to Applewood, I find myself wondering the extent to which the cider influenced my experience with the OBR.  I always cleanse my palate with wine crackers in between tastings, but it may not have been enough and may have factored into my tasting.  I’ll definitely have to try the OBR next time I’m in the area, and if the experience is different, it may be worth buying a bottle, since there’s only so much one can experience from a 1oz tasting.

Cabernet Franc To no one’s surprise, I’m sure, I concluded my tasting with the Cabernet Franc.  One of Applewood’s award winners, this is a very nice wine, and my favorite among the five I sampled that afternoon.  A lovely purply ruby color, the nose has a lovely dusky fruitiness.   In the mouth, this was what I had been looking for in the OBR.  Rich and lush, with light sweet notes of blackberry and black cherry and a warm spice finish with a flash of pepper for heat that settles into the softer, earthier warmth of cumin.  Medium-bodied the wine opens up with each subsequent sip and will do better if allowed to breathe for a good 20-30 minutes before serving.  This should pair well with a variety of meats and heartier foods.

I headed out that afternoon with a bottle of the Cabernet Franc under my arm and a lifetime pass for free wine tastings in my hand.  I also looked into the Wino Club, but Applewood doesn’t ship to Connecticut.  They do ship outside New York, it just depends on the particular state and its distribution laws.  For more on that, check out Gretchen’s posts on the subject, or the Illinois Wine Consumer Coalition website (link on the right of this page).

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