(For CSA details and available ciders see link: AB Ciders)
Greetings to
you all,
May 2017: The
trees, the cider, Polly and I are all emerging from dormancy and ready for
a new growing season while simultaneously welcoming the product from last
years’ fruit. We are accustom to Springs’ double workload after the natural period
of rest, but this year the beating sounds of winter’s fury threatened to disrupt
our slumber. And it was a warm winter.
2016 was by many
standards a disaster –I’m speaking agriculturally now. Blossom-time frosts
erased the apple crop for the majority of the apple growers in the Northeast. Then
following the warm, dry winter of 2015-16, the growing season was defined by prolonged
drought. In all, it was a stressful year for the trees. (They responded by
setting-up fruit buds for an abundant 2017 season.)
For those who
did have apples last year, the Fall was the one bright spot. It too was dry but
that’s when you want it to be so. We started getting our cool nights later than
usual but the frost-free period lasted well into November creating a good
ripening period. I have no qualms about the mild December because that’s when
I’m outside cleaning barrels and accidentally spraying myself with the hose. Unfortunately,
the winter, especially January, was way too mild and that’s when trees and
cider are supposed to be at rest. For the second straight year our ciders were
dry by February, threatening the “fruit” notes (In 2012 I learned to prepare
for this with Sussreserves.)
Despite all the
environmental stresses (and I’m not just talking agriculturally now) the 2016
ciders, as limited as they are in quantity, still managed to triumph over it
all. I think that speaks directly of the apple tree. Foraging under abandoned
trees now for almost 25 years I have an inkling why they are known as the tree
of wisdom. With a better perspective on time and a more sensitive feel for
what’s going on in the environment, the apple tree calmly and wisely decides
how to deal with what life throws at it. In contrast to our hysterics and
brutal decisions, the apple tree is the champion of acclimation. It is not an
“invasive”, but it knows how to assimilate to new and existing factors. And just
like its juice sitting dormant in the winter barrel, it all comes together no
thanks to our presumed intelligence.
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So what are we
looking at this year? As mentioned a killing frost found the blossoms in most
of the Northeast but in higher elevations the trees held onto dormancy a bit
longer and escaped. We had apples along the Shawangunk Ridge, the Neversink
Highlands, and in the high valleys of the East Branch. Those trees had fruit but
that still doesn’t mean they were loaded –it was going to be an off-year
anyhow. So in total, we have less than 10% our previous Homestead Apple year
and about 75% the quantities of Appinette and Elderberry Cider from farmed
apples. And that brings us to the CSA, our first release of those ciders.
If I could, I’d
love to sit down with each and every customer who tries these ciders to discuss
the background of each product, to introduce ourselves and our methods, and to
show you real-world examples of free apple trees (a rarity these days.) But
alas, we can’t engage with customers year-round while still maintaining our
focus on the trees and cider. We are “back-of-the-house” artists devoted to the
language of taste; our goal is to create the conditions that allow the trees to
speak for themselves. They are the subjects, but they require our whole presence.
Our solution is
to have two CSA days each year to welcome cider supporters to our home. During
these two days you can hangout and sample the range, talk shop with in the
cider barn, walk the orchards, or just pick up your cases. No Instagram post
can capture the miracle of real apple trees, perhaps no cider can either. But
for you to be here, the cider drinker, that’s another spoke in the wheel. It
completes the cycle. Whether you come here or not, we thank you immensely for
completing the whole.
Sincerely, Andy
Brennan and Polly Giragosian
